Serial Number Question

[Mavman427]

Hi all, I'm the proud owner of what I believe is a 1948/1949 B-1-F (twin of my other pilothouse).  Somebody took the liberty of removing the data plate on the driver's side door pillar, but I do have the body tag (#4712133233) on it.  Driver's side frame rail by front wheel has 3098 stamped into it.  Can you guys help me trace down exactly what year, model, etc. this truck is?  Thanks.

[lonejacklarry]

What does your title indicate?

 

[Merle Coggins]

There should be more to that number on the frame. Try sanding lightly before and after those 4 digits and see if there is more. The chassis serial number should be there, and that is what is needed for identification.

[Mavman427]

Don't have a title for the new one.  Here's a picture of what I found on the driver's frame rail, just ahead of the front wheel.  It's the exact same number as my other 1.5 ton truck has on it, so I don't believe it is a serial number or portion of one.  It must be something else.  There are no other numbers that I can find in that area.

Edited November 26, 2018 by Mavman427

[greg g]

Is there a legible engine number?

[Mavman427]

 

Here's a picture of the latest addition to the family...enjoy.

[Mavman427]

2 minutes ago, greg g said:

Is there a legible engine number?

 

No, engine has been swapped out with a Chevy 350 ?

[Merle Coggins]

Well, the light duty trucks have the chassis serial number stamped into the frame, on the left front side, between the front spring mount and the shock mount. I found mine where the red arrow is pointing. Note the shinier spot on the frame...

 

Maybe the medium duty trucks have the stamping in a different spot???

 

[jmooner3]

I have a B!B (1/2 ton) and the number was in the same spot. I scraped off the crud and did some light sanding to reveal large stamped numbers that matched my door tag.

[DJ194950]

The numbers shown in the picture appear to have been stamped in after the paint was already on and quite large.

Original were not and were stamped in on the frame as they assembled the truck and done by hand and most time smaller and not so deep making finding them and to reading them hard and usually  requires all paint and rust removal carefully down to shiny metal so maybe you need to dig in some more??

 

DJ

[Blue]

Agree with Merle - the outside of the drivers side frame, not far behind the tire. If the frame has been repainted, you may need to lightly sand the area until you uncover the number. When you find it, run it through:

 

http://www.t137.com/registry/help/decode.php

[Mavman427]

Found the serial number...turns out it's a 1948 B-1-F or some other variant, 1.5 ton, built in the good old US of A.  Not sure how to tell what the exact model is as the data plate on the driver's door pillar is missing, but not sure it really matters anyway.  I may eventually try to get the build sheet for it to get more detail just for kicks.

[Jomani]

On 11/26/2018 at 12:19 PM, Mavman427 said:

 

Here's a picture of the latest addition to the family...enjoy.

 

Nice find. Do you have plans for it?

[Mavman427]

15 hours ago, Jomani said:

 

Nice find. Do you have plans for it?

 

Most likely, it will be a parts truck for my 1949 B-1-F.  The flat bed is a lot nicer than the one on mine.  The seat, doors, frame reinforcements, glass, portions of cab, hood ornament, gauge cluster, steering wheel, etc. will also be great additions to my other truck.  This one has a Chevy 350 engine and automatic tranny.  With a little luck, I may be able to unload the engine and transmission to close to what I paid for the entire truck.

[Mavman427]

I just noticed you are close to where I live.  I'm in Nipomo.

[48Dodger]

Here's a video I did that shows where the frame numbers are......its @ 7:35....

 

48D

 

Estrada Motorsports 1948-53 Dodge Trucks: Identification notes part 1

[Jomani]

7 hours ago, Mavman427 said:

I just noticed you are close to where I live.  I'm in Nipomo.

 

Yep - right next door. Did they change the steering when they dropped the 350 in? I am in the process of putting a 360 in my 47 WD-21 and haven’t figured out which direction I am going to go with the steering yet. We might have to get together when the rain stops.

[Mavman427]

On 11/30/2018 at 5:10 AM, Jomani said:

 

Yep - right next door. Did they change the steering when they dropped the 350 in? I am in the process of putting a 360 in my 47 WD-21 and haven’t figured out which direction I am going to go with the steering yet. We might have to get together when the rain stops.

 

I'm up for getting together, would like to see your project.  Haven't done a ton with mine so far due to time constraints, but I have big ideas.  Here's a picture of how somebody did the steering and engine on my parts truck.  They basically pushed the engine up and back, but it still looks like it would have interfered with the steering a little.  Not sure how they were planning to do the pedals either.

[classiccarjack]

Chebbie guys do funny things...  A lot of them give up when they realize that they have to re-engineer the entire truck.

 

I had one idiot do a number on my Forklift before I bought it(230 flathead in a 1969 Pettibone).  They cut off all the linkage to install a Fuurd Carburetor.  I put a Carter back on it and fabricated linkage back to it using a piece of threaded stock and two heim joints.  Now everything works again!!!  Yay.