Any Lincoln fact related question can be posted here. Questions such as how many Contintenal convertibles were produced in MY1965? How much was the Town Car option in 1969? What size of tire was standard on a 1953 Premiere? or Does the Mark II retractible prototype still exist?
On my 49 Cosmopolitan there are TWO data plates one with normal model serial number
The second has the following:
Style 9H-73 Which is for the Cosmopolitan 4 door Town Car or fastback body style
Body No 1901 This is the numbering protocol that I am wondering about is this: The production number/count of that particular body style. If so what number do they start at "0" "100" "1000"
What is promoting my question is in reading service bulletins that I just got there was one of those interesting fact about a change that took place on November 19th, 1948 serial number 116,518 as you can see my serial number is 15879. So this is narrowing down when was my Lincoln actual built. The 1949 Model year was introduced in April of 1948. So another question what number did they start at "0" "100" "1000" or "10,000" the last is my guess.
Now if somebody actually knows where to find the Lincoln production date information I'd be interested. All I have ever found is yearly production by body style.
In '49 the company was still private. Record retension was never real high on the priority list. I am sure there was someone keeping track on a division level. On a company level no one cared as much as long as profits were being made. And a fire which burned a lot of old records didn't help matters either.
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
Total Lincoln Production for 1949 : 73,507
Club Coupes : 7,685
Convertibles : 1,230
Sport Sedans : 18,906
Town Sedans : 7,302
This will probably help eliminate them starting at 100,000 if there are any VINs below 100,000.
If there are VINs below 10,000, you know they didn't start there.
Are you just trying to figure out when you car was built? Is there no date code, scheduling code, etc. somewhere on the car to decode?
action wrote:In '49 the company was still private. Record retension was never real high on the priority list. I am sure there was someone keeping track on a division level.......And a fire which burned a lot of old records didn't help matters either.
Thanks for the reply, the fire seems to be the common explination for lack of Lincoln production figures from early 1948 - 1956.
But there were other contemporary automotive data, I'm trying to remember the name of an automotive trade journal published 50s and 60s. My father subscribed to and it was loaded with production details for all US manufacturers. Any thoughts?
To Dan's point does anybody have a 1949 Lincoln with a serial number under 10,000?
If you are a member of the LCOC you can log in and do a vehicle search. The search is a bit cumbersome however it will yield vehicles with VINS. If a member has posted the VIN for their vehicles. One can narrow to a specific year.
Going to that site and searching 1949 Lincolns, about 20 vehicles are listed. Most have a VIN and a few don't. It appears that the lowest numerical VIN listed is 119xx
>>>>>>>>>>>>Action
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
As a post script member vehicles listed are either 5 digit or 6 digit VINs. Some of the 5 digit VINs may actually be 6 digit with the leading zero omitted.
And the Museum is an owner of a 1959 COSMOPOLITAN. So the link for the Museum I listed above may be worth pursuing.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
From a ad for Cosmopolitan Town Car that showed up on E-Bay today it would appear that my quest to know if my Town Car was a really early production or a late 49 production will not be completely successful. Be I didn't consider that possibility that the serial number is not sequential for Town Cars but as is more logically sequential ALL 9EH or Cosmopolitans they numbers may in be sequential for all 9EH and 9EL or standard Lincolns.
Came to this bit of logic because the car listed today has a VIN of 9EH0355xx mine is 9EH15879 both of these numbers if sequential would exceed the total production of Town Sedans.
Now to figuring out monthly production numbers for the 1949 model year, we know that the car was introduced in April 1948. When was the 1950 model year introduced?
Cheers Phil
PS Wish the guy on ebay had posted more pictures, from the one shot looks pretty good, do they use salt on the roads in Oklahoma?
From my short career at Ford in the 1980s, numbering of vehicles in the plant was sequential for everything that ran through the plant on a line. So Wixom made at one point made Lincolns and T-birds. Those lines had different numbering because of the different sales divisions.
For the era of your ride all Lincolns were produced at the plant on Warren. I assume regardless of the model the numerical series was passed out as the vehicle ran down the line. So you would have serial numbers coming in order on different models as ordered.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
swmddo wrote:Hi, I recently got a '49 9EH fastback. The VIN is 9EH1907.
Steve
LOVE those '49's with their "sad" faces.
What color and what's the condition? Where did you find it?? Inquiring minds want to know.
John Mc - Lake Shore Region Director
‘48 Continental Cabriolet
‘77 Town Coupe Black Diamond
‘77 Town Coupe Glass Top
'06 Mark LT
‘14 MKZ
'15 Lincoln MKC
I have a few pictures now...well before it will look once I finish it. Other than the front floor pan on the driver's side, there is only surface rust and some bubbles. Nothing major. The sides are pretty straight...a few bumps that will need to be pulled out. The chrome is all there, but somewhat pitted; but nothing that a chrome shop couldn't fix. The PO put brand new rocker panels on all four doors. The doors fit even, they close with a resounding thump, and the steering wheel is excellent. The electrical is a mess. The car was undercoated, so that probably helped keep the rust out (it was a Michigan car. The PO had a '51 Lincoln that he was finishing and did not have time to do any more on this one). However, I want it off, so that is the biggest project I have right now to do...heat it up, scrape it off. The gas tank was in excellent shape on the outside, but part of the inside baffle had a hole. I don't think it is a big deal, and the cleaning shop can get it all cleaned and sealed for $250. Thank goodness, since there are NO more of those tanks ANYWHERE.
I restored a '48 Ford coupe about 10 years ago...it took me three years...it was fun. This project may take that long, too, but since I kinda know what to do, I may be able to finish early. Ultimately, I want to convert to 12volts and change the front brakes to disc. I am a purist at heart, but in here in Georgia, you can't drive anywhere for 6 months without A/C, so I might put an aftermarket-under-the-dash A/C unit in. Since it is a stick shift (w/ OD), it may OK with that extra load.
Steve
Attachments
"It's not a problem, it's a project"
Steve
Woodstock, GA
1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Town Sedan
From the position of the shift lever, I'm guessing automatic, or is it the 3 speed with overdrive. Great looking project. As to the AC I'm planning on doing the same thing there look to be some units that would not be that much different from the original heater box, and its not like there is not room under the hood. I used to drive my mine back and forth from New England to Washington, DC which can be a long hot trip. One of the funny things though of cars of this period is they were actually designed aerodynamically to be driven with the windows down. Wind noise wasn't bad.
What color was yours originally? Think you can tell from the Body Data Tag.
Looking forward to seeing more photos as your restoration progresses.
Hi Phil, the body code is 165, the trim code is 46. I believe it was blue of some sort, but not sure which: Alberta Blue, Blue Teal, or Biscay Blue. Jim Ayers is checking and getting back to me with more detail.
Steve
"It's not a problem, it's a project"
Steve
Woodstock, GA
1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Town Sedan
