49 buick - month of manufacture help needed

[superG]

Hello,

 

Could someone please advise me how to identify what month my 49 Buick Roadmaster was manufactured?

I don't know if the vin helps. vin 54318747

The car is in the States - I am in Australia

 

Cheers - Graham

[Larry Schramm]

Can you get a picture of the body tag?

[1953mack]

No pictures needed here.

♦  There wasn't a universally recognized VIN in 1949. 

♦  Your number looks more like a 1949 Engine Serial Number.....not a Car Serial Number. There is a difference. E.S.Ns. were running about 220K higher than C.S.Ns in 1949.  

♦  Some states used the Engine Serial Number rather than the Car Serial Number for title identification.

♦  If your title only shows the number that you said (54318747), that was one of the states (California ?). The last digit 7 = engine was originally installed in some kind of a Roadmaster Model.

♦  If the engine is original to your Buick, the best guess you will probably find using just the E.S.N. is that the number falls in the range at approximately the mid-point of the 1949 production run.

 

Why is the month so important? There are other parts on your Buick with date codes that could get you closer and most likely confirm that the engine wasn't replaced. More info would help.

 

Al Malachowski

BCA #8965

"500 Miles West of Flint"

[gdmn852]

Hello, Buick has a riveted date plate located on firewall,upper passenger side ,  that contains paint color, interior , and also body number. there is also to the right a smaller tag that is used for the VIN , early cars also have on on drivers side inner door post. The first digit on the VIN will indicate where car was built, 1 is Flint,  3 is Linden , 6  would be Atlanta. Also check window glass , if it is original it will be date coded month and year, also the back of speedometer  may have a date ink stamped on it ,mine was NOV 8 1948 . later cars will have the VIN stamped on frame near steering  gear box and don,t have the stamped VIN plates as mentioned .

 As mentioned previously last number stamped on engine block will indicate series 4 = Special  5= Super 7 = Roadmaster,  

All Roadmasters will be Dynaflow Transmission, option on a Super.and not available on Specials.    

[Pete Phillips]

54318747 is a very late 1949 vehicle ID number: November 1949, according to the information I have. And this is a 1950 frame #, not 1949. Are you sure you didn't transpose the numbers? 534... would be a 1949 frame number

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Leonard, Texas

[1953mack]

16 hours ago, Pete Phillips said:

54318747 is a very late 1949 vehicle ID number: November 1949, according to the information I have. And this is a 1950 frame #, not 1949. Are you sure you didn't transpose the numbers? 534... would be a 1949 frame number

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Leonard, Texas

 

I do not agree with any word you just said for the following reasons…..

 

♦  Buick never issued a Frame/Car Serial Number 54318747 for obvious reasons.

♦  If they did, 54318747 would not have been a very late 1949 or 1950 Number.

♦  If you transposed the number and are now calling it Frame/Car Serial Number 53418747, Buick never issued that Number either for obvious reasons.

♦  If they did, 53418747 would not have been a 1949 Number.

 

It appears that you don't know what the first digit or the last seven digits of a Frame/Car Serial Number stand for. You’re confusing the OP and many others. I’m sticking with my original comments in Post #3 above that says 54318747 is a 1949 Buick Engine Serial Number.

 

 

Al Malachowski

BCA #8965

“500 Miles West of Flint”

 

 

[50jetback]

G'day Graham,

 

Scans are direct from Buick Master Chassis Parts Book ( effective November 1, 1956 ).

 

Where are you in Aus?

 

Edited December 29, 2017 by 50jetback (see edit history)

[1953mack]

 

Stuart:

Thanks for posting the info that confirms that 54318747 is a 1949 Buick Engine Serial Number and not a 1949 or 1950 Frame/Car Serial Number. For those who are still wondering what the obvious reasons were and why Buick didn’t issue Frame/Car Serial Numbers 54318747 in 1942 or 53418747 in 1939, check out the following two pictures:

 

 

 

The Wilmington Assembly Plant (code 5) wasn’t in operation building Buicks back then.

 

 

Al Malachowski

BCA #8965

“500 Miles West of Flint”

 

Edited December 31, 2017 by 1953mack (see edit history)