When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I bought a 40's Flathead (I think) with a rusty frame and no engine serial number. More on the frame later.
Maybe the engine serial number was removed, but if so, it was done well, as the area still has a normal appearance (In my humble opinion).
To make things worse, the belly numbers are corroded, and the FIRST digit, which should be the first number of the year of manufacture, is very faint.
I think that first number is a 4. Any ideas?
Note that there is still some olive drab on the case, which would be normal for a WLA engine.
It was rumored that this was a bike that never made it to WWII and might have been a parts bike.
To make things worse, the belly numbers are corroded, and the FIRST digit, which should be the first number of the year of manufacture, is very faint. I think that first number is a 4. Any ideas?
It may indeed be 4 and the second number may be 5. Below is an example for comparison and you'll notice the 4 has an open back (as opposed to an open top). Also notice the 4 is sans serif. This type of sans serif, open-back 4 was used in the BN decade position for 194146.
On the left case you may find casting number 112-392 and a casting date code consisting of a letter and a number. Hard to be certain when the left case was cast but I suspect around April 1945 and if so then the code would be D and 5 (spaced). What have you got?
D equals April. And on this occasion, because the characters are spaced, 5 indicates 1945.
NB: if those two characters were unspaced (D5) then the code would usually indicate casting in April 1950. However, date code character spacing is something that needs to be examined piece by piece because the rules are not always the same and sometimes there are exceptions to what at first seem like rules.
Re the serial number boss, it appears to have some marks but its hard to say what happened. Maybe clean it and post another picture? Also as John said, many WLA engines made without the rest of the machine were not stamped with a serial number.
Eric
As stated, many motors were assembled for surplus, not uncommon to have a WLA motor with no VIN at all. Also common that they have weird looking VIN's from Military issue or even local State DMV's. Overall, I would rather have it with no numbers then some weird *** numbers. But it is hard to say for sure with current pics.
There is some kind of acid test that the Police use to see if an older VIN # has been removed, all I know about it. Maybe some of the fellas here can tell you how to do it. It was used to find the original numbers on a pad, under a new set. Good luck.
Eric,
Here is the picture of the left side of the case. C 5
Looks like it would be March 1945?
I guess we have a birthday this month. Only 75 years old! Got me by 4 years!
Architect,
I looked around for acid tests on serial numbers.
I saw two options for aluminum:
- heat the area around the number
- apply sodium hydroxide to the area. This happens to be the main ingredient in Draino.
I'm going to give it a try today.
It would be nice to have a number to make it easier to register the bike in Georgia.
I have a different thread here for the frame identification to see if it is the same vintage. I will attach pics of numbers I have found.
I tried acid and heat to find a serial number on the 'pad' between the cylinders with no luck.
With help from Architect and Speeding Big Twin:
The belly numbers look like it was a 1945 production engine
I will accept the likely fact that the engine may have never been married to this, or any frame.
For the frame identification, I have posted a separate thread: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/flath...-navy-wla.html
I have attached pictures of all the numbers I could find to that thread.
Any help dating the frame would be appreciated.
Eric,
Here is the picture of the left side of the case. C 5
Looks like it would be March 1945?
I guess we have a birthday this month. Only 75 years old! Got me by 4 years!
Yes. In this instance C 5 (spaced) indicates the case was cast in March 1945 and the BNs are consistent with that.
Below is another example of C 5 (spaced) and youll also notice what appears to be the number 4. I think your case has 4 stamped on it too but I dont know exactly what it indicates and my best guess is that it was done by an inspector. Another possible inspector marking in my photo is 2X which your case may or may not have.
Eric
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
Another serial number problem
