Numbers / Paint Question

[m35a2cowner]

Inspired by what I recently read in the Forum I set out to see if I could find the hood numbers on my truck. I started (drives side hood) sanding through the sand color and saw forest green and then dark OD and them back to forest green then primer then metal. I didn't see even the hint of a number. The hood looks original and had another number on it (inside) that matched the data plate. I started hand sanding but later switched to sander. Is it uncommon to find no numbers? What is the best technique to remove paint when looking for numbers? I also have a needle scaler I could use on the heavier pieces of metal. Thanks for your help.

 

[red devils dude]

There's never been any numbers on my hood so could be your's never had any too, if it was
I'd sand by hand looking for numbers.

 

[Polverone]

m35a2cowner use a sanding block so as to remove paint in a more orderly fashion (for lack of a better description) to help reveal numbers.
The numbers would be painted on top of an existing color which would cause them be raised above the underlying paint causing the smooth plane of the sanding block to remove the top of the number overpaint first revealing the numbers.

 

[m35a2cowner]

Question / Numbers

Good evening, I tried sanding the bumper tonight. There was a raised section (paint of some type) and I did see a couple of numbers (3771) but I think they were painted on a lot later than the raised section of paint. As I sanded through the raised section of paint I saw a bit of yellow but it was small and did not appear to be a symbol or letter. I saw a bit of white but same thing. Nothing else down to the metal. I will try the other side after this weekend's truck show. Does anyone know if one side is more likely to have numbers than the other? Thanks.

 

[Armada]

I'll be sanding my hood soon too. Here's what I found when I sanded the bumper to the original layer, a yellow signal corp insignia.

 

[67Beast]

Here was my bumper as i sanded it down.

I tried to sand down even further to try nd find what other units the truck had served with, but couldn't get any numbers to show through the seven layers of paint on there.

As for the hood numbers, what year is your truck? In the early 70's with the start of the camo patterns, they didn't put the hood#'s on the them. So it could be likely that yours never had any on it. Hood, or registration #s were then put on inner door panels and under the hood from that point on. It could also mean that your hood was replaced at a later time when the registation #s were no longer placed on the hoods.

 

[emmado22]

Your truck was part of the Ohio NG's 2/107 CAV, 38th ID Some trucks serve their entire lives in the same units, while some get transfered frequently

 

[Low-Tech-Redneck]

Fortunately, the rear bumper unit identifiers weren't painted over on our truck, the front bumper was heavily dented and scarred, sanding revealed the tan patch of paint the numbers were on, but the digits themselves were unreadable.

The trucks hood number should still be on the dataplate in the cab, but like someone said upthread, you aren't likeley to find any numbers on the hoods considering that went out of style after the 60's. As for unit numbers? A lot of them require a little detective work to figure out since they are painted out and changed all the time.

 

[67Beast]

Your truck was part of the Ohio NG's 2/107 CAV, 38th ID Some trucks serve their entire lives in the same units, while some get transfered frequently

Yep that was the last unit it served with. I have a feeling that mines been everywhere. Lot's of field applied paint jobs over it's life. It was rebuilt in 89' at Kaiserslautern Depot in Germany, and had a layer of desert tan paint sugjesting that it was a desert storm truck before rotating back stateside to a NG unit.

 

[ojsdna744]

Hey!!

Your truck was part of the Ohio NG's 2/107 CAV, 38th ID Some trucks serve their entire lives in the same units, while some get transfered frequently

Cool, that's the same unit my 105 trailer came from! (I know, useless trivia)

 

[m35a2cowner]

Hood number

This is the only number I have been able to find. The truck is sand color with green underneath I haven't seen any camo on it so far. Its a 1970 AMG. By the way what is this number? Judging from the wear on the hood hinges it is the original hood

 

[67Beast]

Hood number

This is the only number I have been able to find. The truck is sand color with green underneath I haven't seen any camo on it so far. Its a 1970 AMG. By the way what is this number? Judging from the wear on the hood hinges it is the original hood

NK06R8 is the vehicles registration # and would be the numbers that were placed on the the sides of the hood. He is the good news. Your truck is newwer than a 1970 because the style of the registration # dictates so. Also once the registration # is assigned to a truck it stays with that truck it's entire life in the military no mater which units it was transfered around too. Now to the style of registration numbers, in the mid 60's until 67' registration #s were 6 didgits, like my 67's of 4K 8941, 4 being the class of vehicle, K a place holder representing the 11th time (K 11th letter in alphabet) and 8941 the sequental number of the truck. The next class 4 truck issued a registration # after mine would have been 4K 8942. In 1968 the numbering system changed to an 8 didgit number. It would have been something like 04A12368, 04 is the vehicle class, A the placeholder, 123 the sequental number, and the 68 the year it entered service. This system of numbering went until the early mid 70's when it was changed to what is known as the "NB" system, in which your NK is the class of vehicle and the rest is the sequental numbering of it. This "NB" system is still in use now and is how all new military vehicles are marked, such as the humvee, and 900 series trucks. When the "NB" system was put in it was decieded that it was no longer necessary to display the registration numbers on the sides of the hoods for inventory purposes. Instead the numbers were to be placed under the hoods, and on the inside door panels, so that maintance personel knew what vehicle they were servicing.

 

[red devils dude]

my 72 deuce's MIL registration # is NK01FD

 

[67Beast]

I believe 72' was the first year of the "NB" system, but I was trying to look through some of my reference papers to find an exact year.

 

[m35a2cowner]

Thanks for the information guys. Huuummm, something to think about. I'll sand the inside of the door next. Any other areas where the unit number might be? I repainted the hood and bumper tonight What you said explains why no hood number. Any other info would be appreciated. Thanks again.