The V5C for my Dexta declares the chassis number as Annnnn/nnn. No other ID - apart from the registration - are on the V5.
The V5 year of first reg is 1960. So a "957E" number should be expected. And this is, indeed, present on the vehicle. And, at least according to tractordata.com, it is a 1960 number.
Any clues what number (engine, gearbox, casting...) may have been mistakenly entered onto the log-book, so I can get a clue whether this V5 really is for my vehicle? Or did someone make that number up just so they had something to write on the form at the Haverfordwest registration office when they were there in 1960 on... (wait for it...) 1st April ?
Look at the bell housing flange just in front of the timing inspection cover for the serial number, under the exhaust manifold on the block for the engine number and for casting codes scattered on many parts.
Sandy
I shall find some enthusiasm to scrape off the oily sludge and see what I can find. Certainly the serial number is there. The others are going to be a problem to find, what with all the oily gunk and a stacking great MIL front-loader in the way too.
But I don't think there are likely to be *any* numbers in the format "Annnnnn/nnn" anywhere on the tractor. So where this mysterious "VIN" on the V5 came from I may never know. Possibly some kind of temporary dealership or delivery tag that was on the tractor when it was despatched from the factory, perhaps.
This strange VIN is certainly not like a serial number of any Fordson, Do you have flow control by the way? If not there's a strong chance it's a 957E number, if it has it could be later. The 1960 indication in the V5 might well be totally wrong.
Sandy
The 957E number (on the tractor) matches the 1960 date.
But with a duff VIN on the V5, there's no real way to confirm the identity, even if all the date-marks turn out to match.
On the plus side... I do at least have a V5!
What is likely to have happened with your Dexta will be down to issues at the time of the "conversion" from the old RF60 or VE60 buff or green logbook onto the new V5 when centralised registration was set up at Swansea. "Conversion" started around 1975/76, when you sent in your logbook to the County or local registration authority or presented it at the post office to re-tax your vehicle the log book was retained and a new V5 eventually sent out to you. There was a section that asked you if you wanted the old logbook returned to you, some people ticked this but many did not and so a part of the vehicle's early history was lost. Also when a V5 was first issued the earlier keepers in the old logbook were not recorded, the current keeper was recorded as the first keeper and person to who the vehicle was first registered to when in many cases there had been a number of previous owners! In the case of your Dexta, what might have happened is either a system error arose on conversion resulting in the jumble of letters shown as the serial number and this has stayed on the system ever since and on each subsequent V5 or V5c, OR there was no serial number recorded on the old logbook, however the vehicle was obviously registered as it had a RF60 or VE60 with that registration number so a jumble of letters was plucked out of the air to enable the vehicle to be recorded on the DVLA computer. If you do not have the original logbook you will never know! It has nothing to do, however, with weird Dexta serial numbers. You could look on the Kithead Trust website and find out from the last two letters of the registration mark who was the original registration authority. If that authority has retained their vehicle registration records in their archives there is a chance you could get a copy of the archive showing the registration number AND serial number, Essex archives are particularly good for this. That evidence might also allow you to correct the DVLA record and the V5c.
1946 E27N, 1952 Major Diesel, 1959 Power Major, 1962 Dexta, 1962 Super Dexta, 1963 Super Dexta NP, 1964 Super Major NP, 1965 Super Dexta 3000, 1966 Major 4000, 1967 3000 PF, 1994 5640,plus Basildon built NH.
What is likely to have happened with your Dexta will be down to issues at the time of the "conversion" from the old RF60 or VE60 buff or green logbook onto the new V5 when centralised registration was set up at Swansea. "Conversion" started around 1975/76, when you sent in your logbook to the County or local registration authority or presented it at the post office to re-tax your vehicle the log book was retained and a new V5 eventually sent out to you. There was a section that asked you if you wanted the old logbook returned to you, some people ticked this but many did not and so a part of the vehicle's early history was lost. Also when a V5 was first issued the earlier keepers in the old logbook were not recorded, the current keeper was recorded as the first keeper and person to who the vehicle was first registered to when in many cases there had been a number of previous owners! In the case of your Dexta, what might have happened is either a system error arose on conversion resulting in the jumble of letters shown as the serial number and this has stayed on the system ever since and on each subsequent V5 or V5c, OR there was no serial number recorded on the old logbook, however the vehicle was obviously registered as it had a RF60 or VE60 with that registration number so a jumble of letters was plucked out of the air to enable the vehicle to be recorded on the DVLA computer. If you do not have the original logbook you will never know! It has nothing to do, however, with weird Dexta serial numbers. You could look on the Kithead Trust website and find out from the last two letters of the registration mark who was the original registration authority. If that authority has retained their vehicle registration records in their archives there is a chance you could get a copy of the archive showing the registration number AND serial number, Essex archives are particularly good for this. That evidence might also allow you to correct the DVLA record and the V5c.
Thank you. The original registration was Haverfordwest (local to me and local to the previous owner, so it hasn't travelled far.) The V5 date closely matches all the castings on the tractor (they're all a few weeks to a couple of months earlier than the reg date) so it's all consistent. Doubt H'west kept much... they've moved locations since then and that's when stuff like this gets binned. On the plus side, I do at least *have* a V5
Pembroke archives at Haverfordwest have complete registers of numbers DE 1 to TDE 202N so you may be in luck!
1946 E27N, 1952 Major Diesel, 1959 Power Major, 1962 Dexta, 1962 Super Dexta, 1963 Super Dexta NP, 1964 Super Major NP, 1965 Super Dexta 3000, 1966 Major 4000, 1967 3000 PF, 1994 5640,plus Basildon built NH.
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