Assembly Plants

Assembly Plants and Body Numbers
Researched and developed by Dave Sturges

14505 MacClintock Drive, Glenwood, MD 21738-9626
(410) 442-2724

I have undertaken a research project, trying to identify the Model A Ford Assembly Plants and the codes that were stamped into the frames on the bodies of some Model A’s. I know this project has been addressed in the past, but to date I am not aware of either a solution or a good technical article having been published.

Location of the Assembly Plant ID Number

The body assembly plant number was stamped into the top of the 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 had a brass tag affixed to either the wooden body cross member or firewall. I am not collecting these tag numbers.

Most, but not all, of these numbers contain one, two, three or four 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 all of the assembly plants, regardless of its particular capability (i.e., major, standard or minor assembly plant), stamped these numbers into the cross member or side rails. For some unknown reason, not all Model "A" cars have an assembly plant number, but 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.

To download the latest version of the Model A Assembly Plants (US) List, CLICK HERE
You will need the free Adobe Reader program to open this PDF file. [Image]