mystery number

AA Ford Discussion Group relating to the repair and restoration of your AA Ford.
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AAholic
Posts: 278
Joined: October 27th, 2010, 7:24 pm
Body Type: 82-B
Model Year: 1931
Location: N.E.Illinois

mystery number

Post by AAholic »

Can anyone tell me what this number is stamped on the middle crossmember on the drivers side?
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Chris Haynes
Posts: 2203
Joined: September 7th, 2003, 5:18 pm
Body Type: 82A
Model Year: 1930
Location: Camarillo, CA

Re: mystery number

Post by Chris Haynes »

It is the body number. Tells you where it was made. Sorry I don't know the code.
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rsierk
Posts: 95
Joined: February 23rd, 2005, 7:27 pm
Body Type: 185-B
Model Year: 1931
Location: Christiana PA

Re: mystery number

Post by rsierk »

TC is for Twin City. That is, St. Paul, MN
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AAholic
Posts: 278
Joined: October 27th, 2010, 7:24 pm
Body Type: 82-B
Model Year: 1931
Location: N.E.Illinois

Re: mystery number

Post by AAholic »

It is the body number. Tells you where it was made. Sorry I don't know the code.
TC is for Twin City. That is, St. Paul, MN
How about that, thanks guys,
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AAholic
Posts: 278
Joined: October 27th, 2010, 7:24 pm
Body Type: 82-B
Model Year: 1931
Location: N.E.Illinois

Re: mystery number

Post by AAholic »

From the MARC web sight

MODEL A FORD ASSEMBLY PLANTS AND BODY NUMBERS
by Dave Sturges
Glenwood, Maryland

I have undertaken a research project to identify the Model A Ford Assembly Plants and their corresponding ID number codes that were stamped onto the bodies of some Model A’s.
This Assembly Plant ID number is different from the engine serial number, different from the Ford Body style number, and different from the body company style number. This study specifically concerns the ID number stamped onto the body at the Ford assembly plant by Ford workers.
LOCATION OF THE ASSEMBLY PLANT ID NUMBER
The body assembly plant number was stamped into the top of the horizontal front body cross member, into the body side rails on the floor board level, or into the wooden cross member on certain body styles such as Cabriolets and Fordors.
The number can be located anywhere on the cross member and can be oriented to read from driver to passenger side, from passenger to driver side, or from back to front. Also, the size of the stamp used differs from one assembly plant to another.
Briggs and Murray bodied cars also had a body company number tag affixed to either the wooden body cross member or firewall. I am not collecting these tag numbers. Body company tag number information can also be found on the MAFCA website.
Most, but not all, of these numbers contain from one to five letters that denote the specific assembly plant where the car was assembled. The digital portion of the number could indicate body style production. To date, 31 of the 35 assembly plants have been equated to their letter codes.
It would appear that each of the assembly plants, regardless of its particular capability (i.e., major, standard, or minor assembly plant), stamped these numbers into the body cross member or body side rails.
For some unknown reason, not all Model A cars have an assembly plant ID number, but that could largely be a result of the body cross member or side rails being replaced or the assembly plant number being filled in during restoration.
Model A Ford Assembly Plants – US

Following is a list of the assembly plants with their equated letter codes.
Letter
Symbol Location
1. A Atlanta, Georgia (the star is sometimes stamped at the end) AA also noted
2. BO Buffalo, New York
3. CE Charlotte, North Carolina
4. CR Chester, Pennsylvania
5. CHI Chicago, Illinois
6. CI Cincinnati, Ohio
7. CL Cleveland, Ohio (CLE) also noted
8. G Columbus, Ohio
9. DS Dallas, Texas
10. DR Denver, Colorado
11. DM Des Moines, Iowa
12. E Edgewater, New Jersey – Opened Nov 15, 1930 and replaced Kearny, NJ.
13. H Houston, Texas
14. I Indianapolis, Indiana
15. JE Jacksonville, Florida
16. Kansas City Missouri (possibly used letters ‘AF’)
17. KY Kearny, New Jersey
18. LA Long Beach, California – Opened June 1930 and replaced Los Angeles.
Used LA through at least August 1931
19. LA Los Angeles, California (the month and year appear as part of the number)
20. LE Louisville, Kentucky (the month and year appear at the end of the number)
21. MEM Memphis, Tennessee (Sometimes has ‘AX’ preceding the number)
22. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
23. NO New Orleans, Louisiana (the number ‘2’ precedes the “NO”)
24. NK Norfolk, Virginia
25. OC Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
26. Omaha, Nebraska – Possibly used ‘AU’
27. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
28. PO Portland, Oregon
29. R Richmond, California – Opened in August 1931 and replaced San Francisco
30. F Detroit (Rouge), Michigan
31. SFA San Francisco, California (SFAA) has also been used
32. AS Seattle, Washington
33. S Somerville, Massachusetts (also used letters S-S, SAXC, SAX and SSAX)
34. STL St. Louis, Missouri (has AX preceding the STL)
35. TC Twin City, St. Paul, Minnesota
Note that most of the letter codes are from one to five letters and there is a systematic way most of the letters were derived from the city location of the assembly plant. When assembly plant location cities have a single word, the letter code is generally the first and last letters (i.e. Buffalo – BO, Charlotte – CE, Chester – CR, etc.)
Assembly plant locations having two words generally use the initial letter from each word (i.e. New Orleans – NO, Oklahoma City – OC, Twin City – TC and so forth).
It is difficult to differentiate the stamp used to represent the letter O from the stamp used for the zero, and this presents a problem for some of the body assembly plant letter codes.
Anyone having a Model A with a number containing letter codes listed above can determine the origin of that car body and possibly its final assembly, while others will have to wait for more numbers to be collected.
The following additional letter codes have been noted but are not yet equated to their assembly plant: AEX, AXC, DO, T, W, 3S, and 5S.
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