A thought on these data plates.
Both are 1942 and I think that is when KL production actually started. The KL was apparently a dedicated Ford product.
It might be possible that when Ford ramped up for production of this vehicle (for which the cab and chassis assemblies were their sole production concern), the information they had to go on was that it was going to be a new class of 15-cwt Machinery Truck, so the first data plates that were produced were stamped 'MACH -I'.
By the time the KL bodies started arriving from their manufacturers, Ford had much clearer information at hand that stated the coding for these vehicles should delete 'MACH - I' and go with KL. Those cab and chassis with the first iteration of the data plate were left as is and all subsequent production went with the KL coding. So these two vehicles could be very early production KL's.
David
|