Posted by Greg on March 16, 1999 at 10:19:21:
Hi All! I thought I'd pass this on. I have a 1953 B4PW that is one
of those "lost title" deals. It has an assigned VIN with a
corresponding tag on the doorframe but it was not a PW number. Also,
it did not have the original engine, but has a D62 out of a 1956 Dodge
Coronet. I was going crazy trying to figure out exactly what truck it was.
I scraped away the junk on the side of the frame right over the drivers
side of the front axle, and found all but one number.Evidently the
fellow that stamped the frame was having an off day. I was missing the
5th digit, which meant the thing could be a B3, a B4, or a C1. So out
comes the parts book. It turns out that a good way to separate some of
the models is the escutcheon under inside door and window handles. The
B1 and B2 are nickel, the B3 is chrome, and the B4 on up are black. So now
I was between a B4 and a C1. It turns out that according to the parts
book, the B4 has a capillary temp guage and the C1 has an electric one.
At least now I have it down to one of four possible trucks!
I hope this helps someone else!