typical chassis number for 1943 F60L?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

I was recently sent this question:

i dont know if you are able to help me,but i need to know what a typical chassis number for a 1943 60cwt ford would look like..
i have a civilianised one that was used by a fruit company for many years before being taken off the road in the 1970's..
i am now having a huge hassle getting it registered by our licening authorities,and the military vehicle trust is not being as helpful as i might have hoped..
i believe that some vehicles had a brass i.d. plate on the dash top in front of the driver..where could i get a photograph of that,or evenbetter, a plate itself?

Who can help?

H.

[Keith Webb]

Here's one from a F60L built Jan 25th 1943: 4G43377F

Here's an example of a F60S of 1945. The plate layout is identical other than the stamped details:



Oddly even though there is a chassis serial the engine number which was originally stamped on the engine, gearbox and chassis rail was used as the chassis number.

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Henry Ford* was responsible for the use of engine numbers for chassis numnering, and as a consequence States tended to use engine numbers until 1955 when I think the FBI required what we now call Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs). I am certain that Ford of Canada preferred the engine number system but in 1941 was forced into adopting a serial number system by the DND. Of course GM of Canada adopted their YEAR-MODEL NUMBER-SEQUENTIAL format in 1935 that was used until 1965ish, and it was ideal for the CMP series and derivatives with '8' being available as a marque number, as against Chevrolet's '1'. I think it was next used in the early 1960s for Acadian or Beaumont.


* I seem to recall, and wish to stand corrected, that this was to discourage engine swaps?

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

Oddly even though there is a chassis serial the engine number which was originally stamped on the engine, gearbox and chassis rail was used as the chassis number.

Keith, that should read: "....the engine number which was originally stamped on the engine, gearbox or chassis rail was used as the chassis number".

Ford avoided stamping the Engine Number on the engine block to ALLOW swapping in of factory reconditioned engines which were held in stock and available through local Ford dealerships, thus necessitating no alteration of paperwork for the vehicle. So as not to "Dupe" unsuspecting buyers, factory reconditioned engines were identified by a serialled data plate giving under and oversizes for the rebuild, but the nominal "Engine Number" (aka Chassis number) remained the same for the vehicle.

The pics below also show that the notion of a "1943 60cwt" can be quite elastic. 4G5678F is a 1943 number assembled in '44. 3G31287F is a 1942 number assembled in '45.