1953 hood number help

[Gerry]

My 53 had a hood number of 30100852 but was told that doesnt appear to be a correct number.my vin # is 80051867. Does anyone here have a truck that is close that could share there hood number. I want to order my stencils but need this info.
Thanks,

[m37paul]

Long time lurker, first time poster. After I got my build card from Chrysler, I went to the registry, sorted the registry by frame numbers and started looking back and forth until I found something close.

[Gerry]

Chrysler couldnt find my truck for some reason. No one with a close serial # has hood #s listed .
Thnx

[w30bob]

Hi Gerry,

The 2 trucks in the registry with SNs lower than yours are both Air Force trucks. Are you sure your truck wasn't Strata Blue at one time? Other than finding the original numbers under the current paint......or finding trucks with SNs that bracket yours........there's no way to find out what the original hood numbers were. Although that sucks, it also means you can make them whatever you want. Sort of a clean slate, so to speak.

regards,
bob

[m37paul]

Possibly changing the initial 3 to a 2 might put your number in line. As Bob suggests, finding numbers with sanding is doable. And as my daughter would suggest, paint it pink and bring it to Indiana. Really, a two for a three should be the easiest. Enjoy, Paul

[Gerry]

Bob,
I completely disassembled the truck and not a stitch of blue to be found. The person I bought the truck from claimed the 301 number to be correct. I did sand down and look for numbers but only found that number. But I admit I didnt go very deep since I was told the number was correct. I have no idea what I would want to put for a number if I cant figure this out. Want it to look original
Thanks,

[just me]

Near as I can tell, the VIN is NOT the gov't serial number. And the hood number IS the gov't serial number. I'll assume you don't have the plate on the glove box door that would have the numbers. (The one on my truck is from a different truck. Both its VIN and serial belong to other trucks that are in the registry. It doesn't match the frame VIN.)



{And sanding my truck revealed several colors of OD, then blue, then highway yellow then white.}

[milstencil]

I have a truck that I did a set of hood numbers for that had a frame number of 80054698 and the
hood number was 201008320. Please note there are 9 digits in the hood number, yours has 8.
If you did a little subtraction you would get a frame number that is 2831 lower than the above.
Possibly yielding a hood number of 201005489. If they numbered consecutively?????
But then again, you are dealing with numerous build contracts.
I have 802 frame numbers with 244, 243, 242 and 20101 hood number starts.
Good luck! I don't think anybody has real good data base for hood numbers on these trucks.
Rick

[w30bob]

Hi Gerry,

That sucks that Chrysler couldn't find the build card for your truck........that would have probably had your hood number penciled in on it. Did you sand down the tailgate and find the same numbers as on the hood? Did you find the hood numbers on both sides of the hood? I looked thru all the in country pics I've got of M37s and Jeeps and didn't find any that had hood numbers starting with 301 with 8 digits. That doesn't prove anything.........but it would be nice to find another Army vehicle with a similar number.

The only other thing I can think of would be to write Chrysler Historical a letter explaining what you're looking for and ask them to check truck serial numbers one higher and one lower than yours for build cards. Tell them you don't want to see the actual cards (they won't show them to you if you don't have a title for them) but that you'd just like know what the hood numbers are so you can determine yours. If you need an example of the hood number penciled in on the build car I can send you a copy of mine. Kill them with kindness and offer to pay them the fee (I forget what it is now) to do the search. I certainly wouldn't suggest you lie, but it probably wouldn't hurt to embellish it a bit........tell them you were told your M has real historic value, seen combat, bla-bla-bla, and that you're doing a proper restoration and really need the hood numbers for your resto to be authentic. It can't hurt. Also tell them you're not in a hurry, because if they're busy and sense you need it like now they may just blow you off. The worst they could say is no, and it will only cost you a postage stamp. I did check your SN and it was made in May of 1953. I'll keep looking for pics of trucks with hood numbers close to yours. And if I think of anything else I'll post.

regards,
bob

[Cal_Gary]

David Doyle's new 2-volume Dodge history books have tons of serial vs hood numbers, contract numbers, etc. I might be able to offer some added context; however I won't have any time to do any research in the material for a couple of days.
Gary

[Carter]

The 9 digit series USA numbered trucks beginning with 201 were purpose built in the early 1950s as command radio trucks from the factory not field modified with 100 amp. generators and all the rest of the command trucks gear. Later some 8 digit trucks were depot rebuilt, modified and renumbered with USA's beginning with 201. I was told this info. by a US Army officer that was part of the inspection team accepting the trucks as they came off the assembly line. I knew the man for years and he was also my Boy Scout Master and like my second Father so I do believe what he told me. I had just traded for my 1st. M37 and those facts came up in a conversation about M37 history.
Another fact is that during a fording test in the Chesapeake Bay off shore from Ft. Story Va. one got stuck while running and had to be left running in place for 3 hours while a suitable method of recovery was brought to the site. Once on shore it was found that other than a small amount of water in the gear cases the water proof system for the engine worked as designed and it suffered no damage from the prolonged soaking.

[52 M-42]

Thank you Carter! That is some very helpful information.

My truck has evolved into a M42 Command Radio Truck. When I run of out of things to fiddle with on the truck and trailer, I may apply new registration numbers on the hood.

I don't want to hijack this thread, so if you have any additional information on these Command trucks, could you please PM me?

Thanks, Carter!

[Carter]

I will check my files or if I can remember anything else about them I will contact you.

[Gerry]

Thanks to all of you for trying to help. My truck looked like it was set up for radios so it may have been a command truck. Looks like 201 instead of 301 is the way to go. The old owner maybe misread the numbers if he did a sand down job to find them.
Thanks again,

[Carter]

The orig. owner must have misread the number and feel 201 is the way to go Gerry.