1949 to 1953 Ford Passenger Car

Serial Number VIN Plate Information

Ford began to place the vehicle serial number in a new location beginning with the 1949 model year production. According to  the 1956 printing of Motors Auto Repair Manual, the VIN was stamped at these locations. For reference, we have included the Mercury VIN plate locations as well, although the decoding charts are not included here.

• 1949 FORD Model Year: Stamped on dash panel (cowl) under the hood

• 1950 FORD Model Year: Stamped on dash panel (cowl) under the hood

• 1951 FORD Model Year: Stamped on a plate on dash panel (cowl) under the hood

• 1952 FORD Year (early): Stamped on a plate on the right front door pillar post

• 1952 FORD Year (late)  : Stamped on a plate on the left front door pillar post

• 1953 thru 1959 FORD   : Stamped on a plate on the left front door pillar post

• 1949-51 MERCURY Models: Stamped on top side of frame right side near front body bracket

• 1952-54 MERCURY Models: Stamped on a plate on right front door pillar

• 1955-59 MERCURY Models: Stamped on a plate on left front door pillar

The following information was obtained from the 1949-59 Ford chassis parts manual and listed the single reference to the Patent Plate location, which obviously does not include the correct specific location for the 1949 through 1952 model years.

To decode your VIN data plate for 1949 to 1959 cars, go to these pages for the breakdown of codes:
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