early 1955 t-bird odd data plate?

[henro]

i bought a 1955 T-Bird last fall. the data plate has body 40A, color T, trim c. but no transmission or rear end code. it ahs a production code of 6KS-1439. vin is P5FH100231 can anyone tell me the date of build? also why no trans or rear end codes?? thanks,Henry

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[fordrodsteven]

There are no codes on the 55 Thunderbirds telling what trans or rear end . The data plate decoder also has the specifications for what rear / ratio would be installed.
Color T is Thunderbird blue. Trim C is turquoise and white interior. I think you are missing a character between the 6 and the KS for the production code. The 6 is probably the 6th day of the month. The missing character would designate the month of the build. The KS would be the car was sold in the Kansas City sales district. The 1439 would be the the scheduled item for that day which means it would have been the 1,439th car built out of all cars built in Dearborn on that day.

The rear axle would depend on which transmission was original. It was either 3 speed, overdrive or automatic. The rear axle ratios were 3.56 to 1 on the 3 speed, 3.73 to 1 on the overdrive and 3.30 to 1 on the autmatic.

The P (engine) code applied to all 1955 Thunderbirds. The standard shift cars were 292 engine producing 193 horsepower. The overdrive and automatic cars were equipped with 292 engine producing 198 horsepower. They were all four barrel carbs. I don't know how they arrived at different horsepower between the two different engines.

 

[Tater Salad]

i bought a 1955 T-Bird last fall. the data plate has body 40A, color T, trim c. but no transmission or rear end code. it ahs a production code of 6KS-1439. vin is P5FH100231 can anyone tell me the date of build? also why no trans or rear end codes?? thanks,Henry

Your data plate should look like the top picture

 

[Tater Salad]

Your data plate should look like the top picture

If I could get it to load

 

[henro]

this is the data plate on my 1955 t-bird

 

[fordrodsteven]

Hmmm... Obviously not stamped according to the literature. Maybe you could check out the Thunderbird registry or another Ford registry site to try to find other cars near your consecutive unit number (100281) and you might be able to figure out what month you car was built. I'll also keep looking around to see if I can find any helpful information.
Remember it's a consecutive unit number so full size Fords are also in that number. That's why I said other Ford sites might be helpful.

Based on what I can see at the Thunderbird registry it looks to me like it was built in October of 1954. The sales codes don't seem to match up correctly. There is a car there (100280) that says it was bought brand new at Palm Srings Ford in California in late 1954. Then 100283 says it was sold new in Memphis Tenn.
Those cars in the registry show the dash between the "K" & the "S". Your tag shows the dash after the "S" But everything I see points to yours being built in late 1954. A very early bird indeed!

Unfortunately I therefore have no Idea where your car was originally shipped / sold.
Sorry. When I looked at your tag I mistakenly took the "3" for an "8" in the consecutive number but when I went back to the earlier numbers at the registry of the cars that have been documented they all say they were built around the beginning on October.

Does anyone here know anything about the SALES AREA CODE "HO" FMC Transportation and Equipment Department?
How were these cars used? Who drove them?

I have a 1955 that looks like a factory repaint in red that was originally black. There is not even a trace of black anywhere.
If it was repainted where would I look to confirm this?

Thanks, Jeff

-----------------------------------------
Vehicle Serial number: P5FH149683
Production Code: 40A A A 31AHO336

Does anyone here know anything about the SALES AREA CODE "HO" FMC Transportation and Equipment Department?
How were these cars used? Who drove them?

I have a 1955 that looks like a factory repaint in red that was originally black. There is not even a trace of black anywhere.
If it was repainted where would I look to confirm this?

Thanks, Jeff

-----------------------------------------
Vehicle Serial number: P5FH149683
Production Code: 40A A A 31AHO336

P5FH149683
40A A A 31AHO336

P = Engine Code - 292 Cubic Inch Displacement
5 = Model Year - 1955
F = Assembly Plant - Dearborn
H = Body Style - Thunderbird
149683 = Consecutive Unit Number of All Ford Cars Assembled

40A = Body Type (All 1955 & 1956 Ford Cars Were Coded 40A)
A = Body Color – Raven Black (If A Second Letter Shows, It Indicates A Different Color for the Hardtop
A = Trim Color - Black/White
31 = Day of the Month
A = Month - January
HO = Sales Area District – Ford Motor Company Transportation and Equipment Department
336 = The 336th Thunderbird used in the Ford Motor Company Transportation and Equipment Department

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

Thanks for the decoding... What was HO and where did these cars go? Executives? Sales managers?

 

[fordrodsteven]

FYI.... The earliest data plate I could find (at the Thunderbird registry) that showed information as per the literature was P5FH102047. That one showed as built on November first, 1954. It was sold/shipped to Charlotte and it was the 2nd car built that day. (40A A A 1L CE 2)

 

[Dale Leonard]

My serial number is P5FH232230 and my production code on my 55 is 8J1058 with no dashes. Just curious about it.

 

[fordrodsteven]

My serial number is P5FH232230 and my production code on my 55 is 8J1058 with no dashes. Just curious about it.

The 8J means it was built on the eighth of September. With your high number I would say it was in 1955. I don't know why it doesn't have the sales area code. I found a few others in the registry with high consecutive unit numbers (like yours) and they also did not have the sales area code number. The 1058 means it was the 1,058th car scheduled to be built that day.

 

[doug7740]

According to Dave, RI was the code for the District Sales Office in Richmond, California. Dave said that this code was later replaced by SK (San Jose). Dave also told me that the item number 116, after the District Sales Office code, represented the 116th Thunderbird shipped to the RI district for the 1955 model year. Dave said that he discovered that the item number is the number shipped to the district after gathering information on nearly 8.000 Thunderbirds for the three years. Dave wrote an example of this in an article he wrote for the Early Bird magazine in the January/February 2003 issue.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[Tater Salad]

Interesting Dave, my data plate shows BU for the sales district. I've wondered if that was for buffalo possibly before the BF. The whole production code is. 6MBU52 without any dash or spaces.

 

[cokefirst]

The only cars that had a sales district code were those cars that were ordered by the dealer. The factory also made cars for general inventory, and those card did not have a district code. I have a March 55 production Thunderbird and it does not have a district code. Most Thunderbirds were built to order, so most will have a district code.

 

[henro]

my '55 came with P/S, P/B, P/W, automatic, radio, heater, no back-up lights, no soft top, full wheel covers, thunderbird blue. I painted it red with red and white interior. No engine or trans when I bought it, so used a 351c and a c4 transmission.

 

[doug7740]

The only cars that had a sales district code were those cars that were ordered by the dealer. The factory also made cars for general inventory, and those card did not have a district code. I have a March 55 production Thunderbird and it does not have a district code. Most Thunderbirds were built to order, so most will have a district code.

There were 7 Sales Zones within the continental United States, with individual Sales Districts within each zone. Thunderbirds that were not sent to one of the 7 Sales Zones were either exports or home office sales. If the car was built for export, the District Code would be 82 or EX. If the car was built for the Ford Motor Company transportation and equipment department, the District Code would be 84 or HO.

One of my club members has a car that was built for the Ford Motor Company transportation and equipment department; here is the data plate information:

P5FH164025
40A R B 1CHO460​

P = Engine Code - 292 Cubic Inch Displacement
5 = Model Year - 1955
F = Assembly Plant - Dearborn
H = Body Style - Thunderbird
164025 = Consecutive Unit Number of All Ford Cars Assembled

40A = Body Type (All 1955 & 1956 Ford Cars Were Coded 40A)
R = Body Color - Torch Red (If A Second Letter Shows, It Indicates A Different Color for the Hardtop)
B = Trim Color - Red/White (Early cars were “B” only)
1 = Day of the Month
C = Month - March
HO = Sales Area District - Home Office Sale (FMC Transportation and Equipment Department)
460 = The 460th Thunderbird built for Home Office Sale in the 1955 Model Year

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[tbirdbill]

I would interpret your data plate to say:
T: exterior code Thunderbird Blue
C: Interior code Turquoise and white
6K: built the 6th day of October
S-1439: the 1439th vehicle sent to the same location - not identified: (Ref: Page #49 of The Early Bird; July-August, 2002 )

 

[CUERVO]

There are no codes on the 55 Thunderbirds telling what trans or rear end . The data plate decoder also has the specifications for what rear / ratio would be installed.
Color T is Thunderbird blue. Trim C is turquoise and white interior. I think you are missing a character between the 6 and the KS for the production code. The 6 is probably the 6th day of the month. The missing character would designate the month of the build. The KS would be the car was sold in the Kansas City sales district. The 1439 would be the the scheduled item for that day which means it would have been the 1,439th car built out of all cars built in Dearborn on that day.

The rear axle would depend on which transmission was original. It was either 3 speed, overdrive or automatic. The rear axle ratios were 3.56 to 1 on the 3 speed, 3.73 to 1 on the overdrive and 3.30 to 1 on the autmatic.

The P (engine) code applied to all 1955 Thunderbirds. The standard shift cars were 292 engine producing 193 horsepower. The overdrive and automatic cars were equipped with 292 engine producing 198 horsepower. They were all four barrel carbs. I don't know how they arrived at different horsepower between the two different engines.

i need help any one this production code is odd

 

[doug7740]

P5FH132895
40A A A 6MDP39​

P = Engine Code - 292 Cubic Inch Displacement
5 = Model Year - 1955
F = Assembly Plant - Dearborn
H = Body Style - Thunderbird
132895 = Consecutive Unit Number of All Ford Cars Assembled

40A = Body Type (All 1955 & 1956 Ford Cars Were Coded 40A)
A = Body Color – Raven Black (If A Second Letter Shows, It Indicates A Different Color for the Hardtop)
A = Trim Color - Black/White
6 = Day of the Month
M = Month - December
DP = Sales Area District - Dallas
39 = The 39th Thunderbird shipped to the Dallas, Texas district in the 1955 Model Year

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[TBR]

i bought a 1955 T-Bird last fall. the data plate has body 40A, color T, trim c. but no transmission or rear end code. it ahs a production code of 6KS-1439. vin is P5FH100231 can anyone tell me the date of build? also why no trans or rear end codes?? thanks,Henry

6K = scheduled for production on October 6, 1954. The rest is the order number, S1439. The trans and axle codes did not come about until the second half of the 1957 model year.