Help ID engine numbers...

[Guest logicwireless]

I have a 1953 1/2 ton - All original - VIN matches title and frame, but the title states that it's a 1952. Body Style, etc... all seem to be a 1953.

Is this normal ?

Mike

[Merle Coggins]

Mine is a '50 and the title has it as a '51. As you state, the body style and VIN match a '50 model year. You're not the only one. Even in Don Bunn's book he states that this was fairly common on these older trucks.

Mike, do you have any pics of you truck to share? Maybe add one to your profile?

Merle

[Steven Hood]

There are quite a few differences between '52 and a '53. It is very possible that if your truck was a '52, and sat on the dealer lot until after the '53's came out, it could have been titled a '53. What is the serial number of the door post tag? I bet it shows it is a "late in the run" truck.

I have a 1949 1-ton "X" truck, that has all the 1950 upgrades on it. It came off the line that way. All they did was start putting an "X" on the serial number until they switched over to the 1950 model year. This was the only year they did that though. Chrysler was very adamant about getting improvements to the trucks as soon as possible, not just waiting until model changes to release them.

[Steven Hood]

I just reread your post and I answered you backwards. It sound like your '53 may have been one of the first, and the dealer still listed it as an older '52. At least that would be my guess! Sorry for the confusion and the rambling on.

[greg g]

Depends on the state where it was originally titled. A lot ot states wnet by the calander year i which a new vehicle was first delivered from the dealers lot. So you truck could have been a 53 model released say in October or November of 1952 and sent to a dealer as a 53 model. However if it was sold and titled in November or December of 1952 as a NEW vehicle it may have been titled as a 52. Also some states used engine numbers as ID numbers for titling and registration purposes. Could be your engine is a late 52 production put in an early 53 truck. This could be prevelent at Model change over dates that used to happen in Sept or October. I remember snooping around the back lots and peekin in the shop windows at about the same time school started in the fall trying to find out what the NEW cars would look like before anybody else knew.

So what is the engine number on your truck. It is stamped into a flat spot cast into the block above the generator, just below the head. Is this the number that shows on your title???