Post to the EFV-8 Forum
Post Classified Ads
Shop the Online Store

User Login

Not Registered Yet? Click Here to Sign Up!

Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

FORUM RULES: Users agree to these Rules when using Forum.

The site administrator reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the user agreement without prior notice to the user. It is the responsibility of the user to regularly review the terms of this agreement.

The user agrees to the following terms:

All information that you provide to us for your membership is correct.
You will not use your membership to spam, harrass, or exploit other members in any way.
Vulgar, Abusive, Racist and Sexist Language will not be tolerated.
Commercial-type sales postings will not be allowed.
No mass posting or flooding of the boards is allowed.
No Advertising of parts or cars; no Ebay or business/commercial ads (please use the "Classified" for ads Wanted or For Sale).
VIEWING MULTIPLE TOPICS ON SCREEN: You can choose to see more than 10 Topics at a time ... Log In and choose "Preferences" from the top bar on the Forum page. Scroll down and Change the "Default Topics Returned" parameter to 25 or 50, and save the changes. Since this setting is stored in your browser 'cookies' (if enabled), it seems to use that stored value even if you are not logged in. So, if you use a PC that you haven't logged into the forum from, the setting still seem to remain at the default.
EXTERNAL PHOTO LINKS ON FORUM: You can still use external photo links in your posts on the new forum. They follow the rules of any link in that they have to have the URL link qualified down to the full image file name (example: .jpg). The links will open in a new browser window, the same as an uploaded image attached to a post. Since an image attachment to any post does not display inline with the post, the results are the same. You can use multiple external links within a post. This link is from photos on a site from Don Clink's 'Deuce@75' albums:

http://donclink.com/deuce_75_1/images/dscn2950.jpg

Using links from photo sites such as Photobucket can help in "size" issue with uploaded attachment files. For best viewing in web browsers, photos should be around the 800x600 pixel range, and probably not more than 1024x768. Most cameras today store HUGE jpg image files, as the default settings are in the 7, 8, 10, and 12Mb image sizes. The image files that are then attached are very large, and the browser can't display the full image size without using the scroll bars. Use the re-sizing functions of your photo editing software to reduce the image to 800x600, which reduces the file sixe and the image load time in the browser. Don uses Google's free Picassa3 software, which is an excellent photo management product. All of the photo albums of the Deuce, Grand National, and Auburn that are links on the NORG site were built using Picassa's web creation functions. And it's free? (THANKS to Don Clink for the info!)
HOW DO I SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS ALONG WITH MY USERNAME? You can LogIn on the Forum, and select PREFERENCES. On this page Members can add optional information such as their City,State, Country; Occupation; Hobbies: list a Homepage; list AOL Instant Messanger Handle; Signature; "Make Email Address viewable to others;" and even change the number of Default Topics shown on a page. WHEN others click on your profile, they will see this information.

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / VIN & Production Number Decoder Help

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion

<< previous || next >>

Posted By

Discussion Topic: VIN & Production Number Decoder Help

Rich53

01-07-2010 @ 9:42 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Jan 2010

Hi! I'm new here. I just bought a 1953 Ford Customline. I understand how to decipher the VIN number and the body code. However, I do not know how to decipher the paint and trim codes, and the production number. My car has the paint code of V, and the trim code is C, and the production number is 12JLS3181A. Any help you may be able to give me is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

nelsb01

01-07-2010 @ 10:24 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 982
Joined: Oct 2009

From the 1949-1953 Ford Passenger Car Chassis Parts and Accessories Catalog (Jan 1953) here is the following:
Paint code V is not listed (maybe a late year color)
Trim code C is Two-Tone Gray Stripe Craftcord

Your Patent Plate should read:
70B (Customline Tudor)
72B (Customline Club Coupe)
73B (Customline Fordor)

Body Color Trim Production Code
7xB V C 12JLS3181A
x = customline style from above list

Serial No : B 3 a G nnnnnnn
B = V-8
3 = year
a = assembly plant code
G = all other body styles (Tudor, Fordor, Coupe)
n = consecutive unit number

Sorry I can't help you more -- but someone else should be able to.

Rich53

01-07-2010 @ 4:14 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Jan 2010

So, V is probably a late year color? Does anyone have a 1954 code for V? Thanks for your help!!

trjford8

01-07-2010 @ 8:25 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 4214
Joined: Oct 2009

In 1954 the V code is the color Goldenrod.

Rich53

01-08-2010 @ 10:04 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Jan 2010

I've done a small amount of digging. It seems like in 1953 the Carnival Red was not shown on some charts because it told me somewhere that Ford used that color from 49-51 and to check those charts for it. So, I'm assuming what I have is an early 53 with the paint code V. It's Carnival Red now and has been repainted once. I'm not sure if the car was orignally Carnival Red, but I DO know that the tag code for paint is V. Can anyone find somewhere the code V in their paint charts for late 52 or 1953? Thanks for your help.

Rich53

01-09-2010 @ 8:50 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Jan 2010

My wife wandered over to lovefords.org and emailed John Rotelle with my serial number and production number, color and trim codes. He replied back the next day and told me everything we needed to know. Thanks John! We found out that this car was made on Sept. 12, 1953, late in production. The color code of V means it was painted with 1954 paint, and V was for Goldenrod. Mystery solved!

ford38v8

01-09-2010 @ 11:37 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 2758
Joined: Oct 2009

Rich, That is very curious! I've never heard of anything like this happening before with a paint color. It is understandable when you're talking about a mechanical part, but it just doesn't make sense to me when you're talking about a paint color.

Just goes to show that anything can happen, but still, these oddities do require documentation if the car is to be judged on the Concourse. In your case, of course, you have the patent plate itself as documentation, but to firm up the whole question, I suggest you find a remote location on the body to uncover an example of the original Goldenrod color.

Alan

Rich53

01-16-2010 @ 10:16 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Jan 2010

After much digging, we actually found out that late in 53 they were using some 1954 colors. However, after looking at areas under the car that have not been repainted, we found the original color of Dovetone Gray. My wife then found a complete 53 color paint chart and chips that shows that V code for 53 and it is DOVETONE GRAY. So the car was not Goldenrod yellow, it was Dovetone Gray. This is fun finding this stuff out.

<< previous || next >>

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

Merchandise Questions

Membership Questions