Do the T's have vin # or just an engine number? They all have a body number too - is this correct?
The engine number is the VIN. Model T's made in the latter part of 1925 through the end of production also have a VIN stamped in the frame which matched the VIN stamped into the block. Use the search feature above and enter the term VIN for a ton of information.
The body number is not used for registration purposes so it is not a VIN, only a tracking tool used for Ford dealers to be able to order appropriate repair parts when the cars were fairly new.
No that is not correct. First of all, when you ask this kind of question, it really helps to give the year of your car. The early T's had all of the above, whereas the late ones only have the engine number. The '26-7's have the engine number stamped on the frame too.
Technicaly speaking, "T"s have no VIN. VINs are a modern ID system. "T"s have a serial number
If you wish to register your Model T with the proper numbers, it is best to stamp the engine number on to the front left outside surface of the frame. then the car will be registered with the number that actually belongs on that car. If you do not do this, your State Motor Vehicle Department will issue you a "modern" VIN on a foil seal and fasten it to the left front of your frame.
It is best to check to see if that number is already taken so that you do not open a large can of worms. There is a chance that someone has stamped your number in their frame just by accident and then there would be the worms to deal with. Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.
The big issue is that it was a common practice to swap out rebuilt engines at Western Auto and other such places for many years. So the paper trail is not correct.
Now when you go to fix it you are documenting old information. A 1917 T may very well have a 1925 exchange engine in it from a 1932 fix. If you stamp that number in your frame your 1917 T becomes a 1925 T because in the olden days no one changed over the information and corrected the paper work. Today, they look at the engine number chart, and your T is a 1925 T.
Unless you have Grandpa's original title, with engine number, from 1926!! Hee-Hee
Noel