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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / black out car?

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Posted By Discussion Topic: black out car?     hotrodfun1 04-22-2021 @ 1:21 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 3 Joined: Apr 2021 How to tell a black out car? Thanks wmsteed 04-22-2021 @ 7:07 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 If my memory serves me correctly the US Government stopped the production of civilian vehicle on or about Jan 9, 1942, therefore a correct 'black out car' would have been built after that date and have no bright metal trim, bumpers, etc. The majority of the pre-January 1942 vehicles were impounded by the government for later use by the military and/or special civilian use. I have seen a few '42 Fords that originally had bright metal, that had been painted over. I have a pix of a '42 Ford US Army Staff car that had all of the bright metal painted over with OD green paint. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe hotrodfun1 04-22-2021 @ 8:09 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 3 Joined: Apr 2021 Thank you for the info. I have a 42 coupe I am trying to see if its a black out car has lots of the stuff you talked about. The stainless down the side will shine up and the dash and door handles other then that its all like silver paint dull and the metal around the park lights is soft I think. If I could post a picture I sure would. Thanks again for the info and any other help. P.S. I wish there was a way to date them when they where built. 42wagon 04-23-2021 @ 3:53 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 585 Joined: Oct 2009 The late 41 early 42 era apparently was a turbulent one for civilian car production. The 41-48 Ford Book published by the club has a description of the time. To sum it quickly in early January 1942. the government froze the supply of certain metals including chrome. The actual cutoff of car production was mid February 1942. Apparently all cars still in dealer inventory or produced after January 1st 1942 were impounded to be saved for critical civilian uses. In any event the production of "blackout" cars started mid January and lasted to mid February. Apparently Ford was not hit as badly as the other manufacturers as much of what appears to be chrome was actually stainless steel. However at some point other manufacturers complained and Ford was required to paint it as well. There also are 10,000 fordor sedans built on contract with the army as staff cars that have the entire car and all trim painted army green. And there are 1500 station wagons built on contract for the navy that appear to have a varnished wood body but all steel parts and trim painted haze gray. So getting back to you car, it would appear that it might be a "blackout" car built between January and February. Two clues as to when it was built are the engine serial number found stamped on the frame and the identification marks on the glass that indicate when it was produced. Using those two clues you can make an educated guess as to when your car was built. Incidentally those doing research for the club had not found a certified "blackout" car as of the time the book was published. hotrodfun1 04-23-2021 @ 10:17 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 3 Joined: Apr 2021 Thank you for the help. great information. Where on the frame would I find them numbers? I did get it running after 20+ years and got the brakes working. wmsteed 04-24-2021 @ 10:14 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 The vehicle serial number is located on the left frame rail adjacent to the steering gear attachment to the frame. The number will start with IGA-34801 if it was born a 6 cyln, 18-000000 if it is a V8. The EFV8 serial numbers are sequential production numbers that were assigned to the engine/trans combo when the engine was mated to the trans at the Ford plant in Dearborn, therefore they mean very little. As it has been mentioned in an earlier contribution to this thread, look for the glass bug/code, it will be located in the lower portion of the glass within an oval with a, number-Ford-number, ie; 9 Ford 41 through 2 Ford 42. The glass code on my '36 runs from 4-36 to 8-36 which puts my car in the last few hundred built. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe Gertidon 08-02-2021 @ 2:03 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 2 Joined: May 2021 Guys, I've read your messages carefully.TBT, It's good to see that the government is concerned about the car industry and supports the production of new cars. But still, as a retro car lover, I am sad to realize that the number of old vehicles would decrease soon. So the only possibility for us to admire these masterpieces is by visiting a museum. Anyway, I know a gorgeous museum with a wide variety of old cars. So in case, someone is interested, you can visit their website https://www.greatbritishcarjourney.com. This message was edited by Gertidon on 8-3-21 @ 3:10 AM 40 Coupe 08-02-2021 @ 3:56 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1678 Joined: Oct 2009 The original glass should have Ford script and a date code. The car was assembled shortly after the date code. warengryn 09-06-2021 @ 2:55 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 1 Joined: Aug 2021 I prefer classic cars. At least because for decades engineers have been trying to make the servo wheel as communicative as the usual one. But no matter how hard they try, their attempts pale against the background of a genuine feeling. However, the trend can no longer be reversed, since electric amplifiers are already dominating the market with might and main. The only way to experience the real pleasure of driving a car is to get behind the wheel of a classic car https://www.drivedadscar.com/ . This is something incredible! The driving experience is indescribable and will never be compared with any of the modern models. This message was edited by warengryn on 9-8-21 @ 12:43 AM trjford8 09-06-2021 @ 7:50 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4219 Joined: Oct 2009 For the ID number I have found that the later cars from 1940 forward the ID number is usually found on top of the left frame rail near the front crossmember. On the earlier cars the ID number is near the steering box on top of the left frame rail.

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