Establishing month & year of manufacture

[jeff_a]

I have a Model A that I'm restoring and most of the things I've read so far stress the importance of finding what month it was built. That's good, and I know the general reasons behind this, but my problem is that the car is sort of a patchwork of parts from different times.

My car is a 1930 Standard Coupe and has been in the family for 73 years. I haven't taken the body off but know that there's supposed to be a serial number visible on the left frame rail after doing so.

My rear bumper cross-brace is tubular * rather than pressed. One rear fender support is pressed steel ## and one is cast iron ***. The registration number suggests a motor built in Feb., 1929. The Ford's on it's second or third motor. The brake lever is to the right side # of the gearshift lever, and my car has a round #### rather than an oval speedometer. The original seat fabric is brown large-check wool ###. Front bumpers measure 64" wide ** but don't have bends near the ends #.

I'm not planning on doing a show-winning restoration and won't worry too much if 10 or 15 things are "off a little" out of the 5,000 parts that make up a Model A. Right now I'm thinking of just assigning a date-of-manufacture of, say, March 1st, 1930 and going on from there. Anybody have any opinions?
----Jeff

P.S. : I forgot to say that there's a fitting for a vacuum line # in the firewall but that there's an electric windshield wiper ****. The car was Black originally, but I've decided to paint it Chicle Drab and Copra Drab ###.

This feature is supposed to correspond to a build date of:
* '28-early '30
** 28-29
*** early 28
**** 28-mid 30
# 30-31
## 28-31
### correct for early 30
#### mid 30-31

[JFranklin]

If your family had the car for 73 years your vin or serial # on the registration should be the original engine # as that usually was what was used for ID. or if it has the origonal engine that would give you the date. My car had the original engine and the # was my vin # on the registration.

[jeff_a]

Thanks for your input on registration numbers. What has me confused is: the original engine was built in February, 1929, but the car's cowl, radiator-surround, and 19" wheel size are all 1930-style.

[JFranklin]

I missed your spedometer description. Your round speedo started in mid 1930. I have a July car with round speedo.