Great kbeach.
I wrote an article about FEDCO for the Gardner Club Newsletter. It includes what was written about FEDCO in 1927.
It's a bit long, but if you're not finding your serial number it's the right length.
Over the years I have met car owners that were convinced their car did not have a serial number. The data plate on the engine listed the Lycoming Motor No. and the Car No. was, as usual, left blank. As of Dec 1, 1926 with the introduction of the 1927 2nd Series Gardner, the Car No. was also on the dashboard.
What is FEDCO?
A serial number plate, made in such a way that it can not be changed or removed without detection. Made of nickel and copper and attached in a way that any attempt to remove it will result in its defacement. Any attempt to alter its figures will also result in defacement.
FEDCO (Federated Engineers Development Corp) gave examples to the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce and the National Automobile Dealers’ Association who made attempts to determine if its purpose could be defeated and failed in every instance. It was said it was more difficult to counterfeit than money.
Who used FEDCO?
Chrysler was first with the 1926 models in mid-1925. By Jan 1927 Duesenberg, Elcar, Gardner, Jordan, Marmon, Stutz, Rickenbacker also used FEDCO.
FEDCO & Gardner
The 1927 2nd Series models 80 and 90 used FEDCO the 6B did not. Thereafter all Gardner cars had the FEDC0 number. The 6B was discontinued about mid-January, and that may be part of the reason for the exclusion. The horizontal plate on the right side of the cluster had a bronze color. On the plate the name GARDNER was overlaid with the smaller serial numbers and can be difficult to read today. However, above and below the overlay the serial number was listed and easy to read.
The 1928 2nd Series models 85 and 95 had a vertical FEDCO number, the model 75 continued with the horizontal number. Today there is no known translation table for the serial number letters and Gardner used more than 10 letter to represent digits; making it almost impossible to crack the code.
In 1927 there was a $2 charge for FEDCO and this was later increased to $5. A smart investment as the car was less likely to be stolen. If it was stolen FEDCO gave the owner $5.00 per day up to 30 days or until it was recovered.
Warning
Do not try to remove it, just clean it gently and tell your restorer to use extreme caution in a restoration. The easiest way to read the number is to take a digital photo and enlarge the image.