1944 Ford 1.5 ton VIN/Restoration

[Robertson44]

I purchased a 1944 1.5 ton Ford truck. I am beginning the stages of restoration and I am trying to find where to look and what to do. My goal is to leave it as original as possible and use it as my “going to town” from the farm truck. I do want to make it so that I can run locally on the highway, so I will have to put an overdrive or do something with the rear end. No hot rod here. I found the serial number today which was on the frame. *99T-604417*, I think it was called a 49T, 100hp,V8. 

I have searched for information on the VIN, but given that it is War era, I must not be looking in the right place.

Any help appreciated and thoughts on the restoration accepted.   

[SC38dls]

You may want to check out the Ford Truck Enthusiast Forum they break it up into Year groupings. Bunch of good guys on it that will give you a lot of help. 

Mine place you will want to check out is Chucks Trucks for parts. Good luck. Have fun 

Dave S 

[Frantz]

Cool find. I always like the commercial trucks. Check out your states laws too. I have a '79 truck registered as a farm truck here in PA. Actually.. it's a registration exemption. Depending on the weight changes the miles from the farm I can take it. The '79 is under 10k so it can go 50 miles, and that's plenty for me. Only cost $24 for two years, though it limits the use to farm purposes, but unlike antique tags, i can actually use it like a truck. There is also a state tag for farm use that allows extended miles and some other states acknowledge it. Just some ideas to look into!

As for the VIN, I have no idea. You can probably use the frame number, DMV can vary with what they'll accept on the old things, but often you can pick the wrong thing and with a convincing argument probably make it work. Good luck!

[1939_Buick]

2 hours ago, Robertson44 said:

I purchased a 1944 1.5 ton Ford truck. I am beginning the stages of restoration and I am trying to find where to look and what to do. My goal is to leave it as original as possible and use it as my “going to town” from the farm truck. I do want to make it so that I can run locally on the highway, so I will have to put an overdrive or do something with the rear end. No hot rod here. I found the serial number today which was on the frame. *99T-604417*, I think it was called a 49T, 100hp,V8. 

I have searched for information on the VIN, but given that it is War era, I must not be looking in the right place.

Any help appreciated and thoughts on the restoration accepted.   

 

 

VIN's as we know them today did not exist in 1944. VIN's started in a limited way in the mid 1950's and were not standardised until 1981

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_identification_number

 

Your truck will/may only have a chassis/frame serial number (as you found) and an engine number. Will not have a VIN like used today. The title may use either number. From reports here that does vary by state.

Edited January 4, 2018 by 1939_Buick (see edit history)

[Robertson44]

Thanks for all the comments. Yes, the serial number as I understand is the identification number for the truck. Where do I find the history of this serial number? The war era information does not show up on most serial number or VIN sites.

[DavidAU]

You will find a lot of information on the site below regarding early Fords and you can also get on to the Fordbarn.com  site where there is a lot of knowledgeable Ford folk.

 

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_home.htm

[elcamino72]

From my resources it appears as thought serial number 99T-604417 is a true 1944.  The 1944 production started at 99T-583001 and went up.  The 1945 production started at either 99C-623330 or 99T-623330 so based upon that it would appear that you have a true 1944.  Also in these years the Fords motor/engine number matched the frame number originally.  If your truck has an engine the number will be located back on the top of the bellhousing ... if it matches then you have the original engine!

[Robertson44]

Thanks for the information 

Is there a site to enter this serial number and following the life of the truck? I would be interested to see if it was a WWII truck. My father entered in December of 41 and came home in June of 45. 

 

Also is there a place to find the original build plant, paint color, other patent information.

thanks 

[Restorer32]

More than likely your truck was issued domestically as a platform for a fire truck or other emergency vehicle. We have just such a truck here locally that was issued to a volunteer fire company in 1944.

[WQ59B]

On 1/4/2018 at 6:32 PM, Robertson44 said:

Is there a site to enter this serial number and following the life of the truck?

Also is there a place to find the original build plant, paint color, other patent information.

No and no. Only possible source for past owner info would be the state(s) it was previously registered in, but most don't go back very far in years, and I doubt ANY go back 75 years.
I have a '40 1.5T, and there is no coding in the VIN for plant or color or, really; anything. That sort of stuff was found on auto 'data plates', another addition to vehicles well after your truck was built.

 

If a careful examination shows your truck to originally be red, I'd venture to guess it was never a military vehicle.