The Ford Barn

rustydogs · 04-10-2012, 07:14 PM

hello im trying to find the vin on my frame.. its a murry body convertible i can olny find these numbers D39** .. i was told it should start with 1837?...im looking for the vin should it be 9 numbers i only have 5 showing on frame... .. so i guess how many digits? what does the club cab start with..

RPM · 04-10-2012, 07:52 PM

Ford used a consecutive numbering system dating from the first V8 in March? of 32. The last number from 1936 became the start point for 1937 cars. At this point Ford was into the millions of V8 cars produced so the VIN number you are looking for will start with 18 (code for your cars V8 engine) followed by a seven digit number (like 3 million something). I believe this group including the 18 prefix is on top of the left front frame ahead of the firewall and perhaps near the rivets holding the crossmember. Hopefully other Barners can ad to this as I really don't know alot of about 37's (did own an original paint club cab once, but didn't pay alot of attention to some of the nuances). There should also be a repeat of this series of numbers (without the 18) along the top of the left chassis rail near the driver's seat and again above the rear axle. These will be difficult to read and will probably require sandblasting to show-up. If you are lucky enough to have the original trans- mission, you will find the entire VIN # stamped on the upper bellhousing. There is not an absolute correlation between this VIN and the body number, however is one is early, the other should be etc. Good luck, RPM

barnfind · 04-10-2012, 10:34 PM

The frame number is on top of the frame somewhat near the steering box on my 38 (183). Very difficult to find if there is any surface rust. You might try to use a Soft Brass Wire brush carefully and/or scrub with WD40 to see if you can see any signs of the numbers if not visible. I have another frame the surface rust was too bad to find the numbers and a coat of heavy paint could easily hide as well. Sandblasting may not help if surface rust is deep.

TonyM · 04-10-2012, 10:41 PM

It took a lot of effort to bring mine out.

According to the EFV-8 C/A 1937 Ford Reference Book --the 1937 Ford serial numbers appear at three places on top of the left frame rail: the complete number was stamped on top of the left frame rail forward of the dash (firewall) near the steering gear and crossmember rivets; a second time (with out the "18" prefix) near the rear of the driver's door; a third time (again without the "18" prefix) directly over the rear axle.

TonyM

I can't say enough about having the EFV-8 C/A books for reference. I have both the 1937 book and the 1938/1939 book. Both have been invaluable sources of information.

rotorwrench · 04-11-2012, 09:17 AM

If the frame is extremely rusty it can be very difficult to see the numbers. A good cleaning of the area will ususally show some remnants if you use a flashlight and hold it at different angles to the surface in order to better detect shadows in the stamping characters.

There is a procedure that is used by forensic technicians to raise the numbers and it can be used for any steel surface that has been stamped even if it has been filed over for obliteration. The stamping pushes the bond grain of the metal into a more dense cluster of molecules. They usually sand the metal surface back smooth again by hand to make the surface flat again then they apply a certain acidic solution and the more dense metal of the stamping shows up a different color than the surrounding metal surfaces. The numbers appear before your eyes like magic. Procedures can be found on line in google searches for this.

If you have very deep pitting in the area, there may not be enough of the surface left to detect any stamping characters due to the loss of metal. I've seen frames that were so thin you can push a finger through what was originally was some pretty heavy gauge metal.

Bruce Lancaster · 04-11-2012, 10:05 AM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Also you need to know that there is NO information in the serial number about body type or anything else specific to car...it's simply a sequential number noting that your car is numbered from the xxxxxth 221 V8 made by Ford. The actual engine unit number is stamped atop the trans case if your trans is original to the car, and that is actually the primary number that was transferred to the frame as the car was assembled.
The full number on trans and front of frame is also normally bracketed by stamped stars meant to prevent lengthening the serial #...these can be useful for finding the thing. Something like *18-X,XXX,XXX* within the rather large range of engine numbers produced in 1937.

04-10-2012, 07:14 PM	#1
rustydogs Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 18	1937 ford club caborlet vin number hello im trying to find the vin on my frame.. its a murry body convertible i can olny find these numbers D39** .. i was told it should start with 1837?...im looking for the vin should it be 9 numbers i only have 5 showing on frame... .. so i guess how many digits? what does the club cab start with.. Last edited by rustydogs; 04-10-2012 at 07:28 PM.

04-10-2012, 07:52 PM	#2
RPM Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 410	Re: 1937 ford club caborlet vin number Ford used a consecutive numbering system dating from the first V8 in March? of 32. The last number from 1936 became the start point for 1937 cars. At this point Ford was into the millions of V8 cars produced so the VIN number you are looking for will start with 18 (code for your cars V8 engine) followed by a seven digit number (like 3 million something). I believe this group including the 18 prefix is on top of the left front frame ahead of the firewall and perhaps near the rivets holding the crossmember. Hopefully other Barners can ad to this as I really don't know alot of about 37's (did own an original paint club cab once, but didn't pay alot of attention to some of the nuances). There should also be a repeat of this series of numbers (without the 18) along the top of the left chassis rail near the driver's seat and again above the rear axle. These will be difficult to read and will probably require sandblasting to show-up. If you are lucky enough to have the original trans- mission, you will find the entire VIN # stamped on the upper bellhousing. There is not an absolute correlation between this VIN and the body number, however is one is early, the other should be etc. Good luck, RPM

04-10-2012, 10:34 PM	#3
barnfind Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 426	Re: 1937 ford club caborlet vin number The frame number is on top of the frame somewhat near the steering box on my 38 (183). Very difficult to find if there is any surface rust. You might try to use a Soft Brass Wire brush carefully and/or scrub with WD40 to see if you can see any signs of the numbers if not visible. I have another frame the surface rust was too bad to find the numbers and a coat of heavy paint could easily hide as well. Sandblasting may not help if surface rust is deep.

04-10-2012, 10:41 PM	#4
TonyM Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: West Hammond, Illinois Posts: 2,786	Re: 1937 ford club caborlet vin number It took a lot of effort to bring mine out. According to the EFV-8 C/A 1937 Ford Reference Book --the 1937 Ford serial numbers appear at three places on top of the left frame rail: the complete number was stamped on top of the left frame rail forward of the dash (firewall) near the steering gear and crossmember rivets; a second time (with out the "18" prefix) near the rear of the driver's door; a third time (again without the "18" prefix) directly over the rear axle. TonyM I can't say enough about having the EFV-8 C/A books for reference. I have both the 1937 book and the 1938/1939 book. Both have been invaluable sources of information.

04-11-2012, 09:17 AM	#5
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,422	Re: 1937 ford club caborlet vin number If the frame is extremely rusty it can be very difficult to see the numbers. A good cleaning of the area will ususally show some remnants if you use a flashlight and hold it at different angles to the surface in order to better detect shadows in the stamping characters. There is a procedure that is used by forensic technicians to raise the numbers and it can be used for any steel surface that has been stamped even if it has been filed over for obliteration. The stamping pushes the bond grain of the metal into a more dense cluster of molecules. They usually sand the metal surface back smooth again by hand to make the surface flat again then they apply a certain acidic solution and the more dense metal of the stamping shows up a different color than the surrounding metal surfaces. The numbers appear before your eyes like magic. Procedures can be found on line in google searches for this. If you have very deep pitting in the area, there may not be enough of the surface left to detect any stamping characters due to the loss of metal. I've seen frames that were so thin you can push a finger through what was originally was some pretty heavy gauge metal. Last edited by rotorwrench; 04-11-2012 at 10:37 AM.

04-11-2012, 10:05 AM	#6
Bruce Lancaster Member Emeritus Join Date: May 2010 Location: Madison, NJ Posts: 5,230	Re: 1937 ford club caborlet vin number Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Also you need to know that there is NO information in the serial number about body type or anything else specific to car...it's simply a sequential number noting that your car is numbered from the xxxxxth 221 V8 made by Ford. The actual engine unit number is stamped atop the trans case if your trans is original to the car, and that is actually the primary number that was transferred to the frame as the car was assembled. The full number on trans and front of frame is also normally bracketed by stamped stars meant to prevent lengthening the serial #...these can be useful for finding the thing. Something like 18-X,XXX,XXX within the rather large range of engine numbers produced in 1937.