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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Order, Manufacture and Shipping Under Lend Lease

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Order, Manufacture and Shipping Under Lend Lease -- page: 1 2 3     Ron Schram 11-01-2023 @ 7:37 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Jul 2022 Here is a copy of the note sent along with a listing of existing records. There seems to be some difference of opinion. We reviewed the Spreadsheet the University of Windsor attached. We found this lady to be very helpful and seemed to be doing the best she could, within the limits of actual material still existing and will leave her name and position off this reply. Any misunderstanding of what she sent to us would be my fault. I'm sure you have a great deal of important insight gained during your time with Ford, and talking with you would be very interesting, but I am inclined to believe that if the records were still in existence we would have received the information we requested. Here is the text of the email we received: " Hi Ron, It was nice speaking with you today. What an interesting project! I have attached the spreadsheet version of the Ford of Canada collection finding aid. You will see that there are letters patent, account ledgers, monthly statement ledgers, machine tools inventory and other material, but nothing about production. We often have inquiries such as yours about a specific make or model from a specific year. It is always disappointing to report that we simply do not have the information. In reply, we always refer to the fire that destroyed many of the old documents and point out that the remaining Canadian archives were given to Dearborn afterward. The Ford of Canada collection has since been returned Canada and is housed at the University of Windsor, without production information. What happened to it? Was it lost in the fire? Was it lost in transit? Was it ever a part of this collection? These are questions we will never be able to answer. Thank you for your inquiry and thank you for the work you do keeping the past alive for future generations. " 3w2 10-31-2023 @ 6:38 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 842 Joined: Oct 2009 Wow, whomever you spoke to at the University of Windsor is incredibly misinformed. Ford of Canada had its own archives located in the top floor of the Ford of Canada headquarters in Oakville up until early this century when that building was replaced with a new building. It was this event that triggered the gifting of those archives to the University. The two fires in Dearborn, first at the Rotunda in 1962 and at the Henry Ford in 1970 preceded that gifting to the University by several decades and had nothing to do with those fires in the U.S.. How do I know that? I had the privilege of being the Vice-President, Treasurer of Ford of Canada in the 1980s and I was a frequent visitor to the archives where Herm Smith (RIP), former President of the Antique Automobile Club of America, was curator. Ron Schram 10-31-2023 @ 11:03 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Jul 2022 Our car has been verified as an RCAF Staff Car so this morning we donated this wonderful old survivor to Historic Aviation Foundation here in Wetaskiwin and the car will be placed in a Canadian Air Museum. Since a friend acquired our 1942, 1/2 ton, this marks the first time since the seventies that we don't have a vehicle from the forties. Turning of a page, but if you're as blessed as we are, you get to keep turning pages! Ron Schram 10-31-2023 @ 10:56 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Jul 2022 We have an update which may be of interest to owners of Ford of Canada vehicles. We contacted the Windsor University Archive Section as suggested. They informed us that the Ford Motor Company Records section in Dearborn suffered a fire and production records for most of the Ford of Canada Vehicles was lost. Information for our 1941 was part of the destroyed material. Ford in Dearborn then sent all remaining information, records and Patent Documents to the University of Windsor. They still have that information and a listing was forwarded to us. Mostly consisted of hundreds of Patents for Ford Vehicles that were developed by Ford Of Canada. Persons doing research are welcome to contact them for copies of this information. Ron Schram 10-20-2023 @ 4:57 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Jul 2022 Thanks for your assessment and help. We will check the Windsor Archives. Ron 3w2 10-20-2023 @ 9:01 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 842 Joined: Oct 2009 The car in question was without a reasonable doubt a product of Ford of Canada given the stamped number on the firewall which was a period practice of Ford of Canada and not of Ford U.S.. Further period Canadian-built vehicles did not have patent plates on their firewalls even though the holes for such a plate were there. The numbers on the period patent plates were all for U.S. patents and had no relevance (at that time) in Canada. What is left of the archives of Ford of Canada is located at the University of Windsor and perhaps some information on those special staff cars survives, although it is likely a long shot. This message was edited by 3w2 on 10-20-23 @ 9:03 AM Ron Schram 10-19-2023 @ 1:45 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Jul 2022 Hi, I thoroughly checked the top both frame rails under the hood and there are no numbers applied or stamped. Ron Ron Schram 10-19-2023 @ 8:13 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Jul 2022 Our 1942 1/2 ton, manufactured by Ford of Canada, has the engine number on top of the bell housing and on a small aluminum plaque attached to the firewall directly below the Voltage Regulator. This is a matching numbers, survivor as well, with 75,000 miles, original paint etc. Here are a few more pictures. I will check our car in the locations you describe later today. Thanks, Ron 42wagon 10-18-2023 @ 2:07 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 585 Joined: Oct 2009 Ron Okay the number you have there is some sort of contract number for the vehicle. It is not however the serial number. All engines where numbered sequentially when they were assembled at the Dearborn engine plant. The serial number would have been stamped on the top of the transmission. This started with 18-1 in 1932. When the engine was installed in a frame the number was transferred to the left frame rail between the radiator and cowl. It is believed that Canadian engines were assembled at the Canadian engine plant and therefore would not have numbers in the US serial number system. If that is true you should be able to tell by the engine serial number if the car was assembled in the USA or Canada. Ron Schram 10-17-2023 @ 6:07 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Jul 2022 The previous photograph clearly shows the rivet holes where the RCAF ID tag was removed prior to sale. All Staff cars examined have the identical rivet holes present

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