Topic: Ford 6-digit Dealer Codes For Shelbys

[Brian Styles]

One of our efforts at the 1967 Shelby Research Group (SRG) is to catalog the top-selling Shelby dealers by their 6-digit Ford dealer code. Dealer codes include the region/district, and these details allow us to geo-plot maps of where the cars were sold, as well as visually define region and district boundaries.

Marti Deluxe Reports are one such source for the codes. So far, we've cataloged nearly 500 Ford dealers.

If you have a 1967-1970 Ford vehicle (Mustang or any model) that was sold by one of these dealers, we'd very much appreciate it if you'd share the 6-digit Ford dealer code with us.

Here are the top dealer codes we're still looking for:

G&T Ford                                              Seneca Falls   NY
Van Steen Motors                                      Appleton       WI

City Motors                   1401 National Ave.      National City  CA  92101
Universal Motors               391 South Main St.     Akron          OH  44311
University Ford Sales, Inc.    315 S. Neil St.        Champaign      IL  61820
Duthler Ford Sales Inc         555 28th Street SE     Grand Rapids   MI  49507
Lynch-Davidson Motors, Inc.    724 Hogan St.          Jacksonville   FL  32202
Ramp Motor Sales                                      Port Jefferson NY
Woody Anderson Ford, Inc.     5616 Washington St.     Huntsville     AL  35801
Jack Beasley Ford                                     State College  PA
Drew Motors                   8970 La Mesa Blvd       La Mesa        CA  92041

Foreign Car Center             421 21st Street South  Birmingham     AL  35211  ..... (n/a - not a Ford dealer)



Update: 12/5/2020 - With everyone's help we've found nine codes so far. The remaining two, now at the top of the list, each sold three '67 Shelby units.



For those interested in more information on dealers and volumes, SRG's topic is can be found at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/shelbyresearch/hQpBJ5mlwYw

[CharlesTurner]

Have you checked with Kevin Marti to see if he would help with the info?

[Brian Styles]

Have you checked with Kevin Marti to see if he would help with the info?

I have checked with Kevin. That was the first thing I did.
Kevin quoted a price, which worked out to close to $100 per dealer code.
His time and data are worth money. If the research provided anything close to a direct benefit to me, I'd be glad to pay.
However, this is general research that benefits all '67 Shelby owners, so unfortunately we'll have to continue to crowd-source the answers....

-Brian

[CharlesTurner]

I have checked with Kevin. That was the first thing I did.
Kevin quoted a price, which worked out to close to $100 per dealer code.
His time and data are worth money. If the research provided anything close to a direct benefit to me, I'd be glad to pay.
However, this is general research that benefits all '67 Shelby owners, so unfortunately we'll have to continue to crowd-source the answers....

Seems quite steep, but understand it would take time.  I'll try to look through some reports later today to see if I have any on the list.

[J_Speegle]

Went through the electronic copies I have (not the paper ones) - about 700 and only found one match but unfortunately Kevin didn't include the dealer number on that example

1967 Shelby example though I did check all years and plants. Zip code is different for some reason that the one you listed Brian

[Brian Styles]

Thanks Jeff,

Thank you for the reply.

Based on what I can extract from the portion of the report you provided is that it's from a 1967 Shelby and was printed (copyright) in 2010. The report date and the model year vehicle are two factors which can influence the information on the report.

I believe that in 1968, Foreign Car Center relocated to 407 South 22nd Street. So if Kevin ran a report for a 1968 model, it should reflect the proper address in 1968... in theory.

This can be complex. In another couple examples, we've found a couple Marti reports that incorrectly listed the selling dealer as Berry Motors in NJ, when the actual selling dealer was Dockery Ford in NJ. 1967 G.T. cars #0254 and #1411 to be precise. Berry Motors may have taken over Dockery's dealer number of 15A099 and this could have led to the confusion on these older Mart reports that were generated over a decade ago back in 2007 & 2008.

The older the copyright date of the report, the more likely it is to contain errors. Kevin does his best to try to make sure that the dealer data matches the year of the vehicle, however, dealers move, ownership changes hands, Ford re-draws district boundaries, the post office chances zip codes, etc. He has a difficult job and has done extremely well given the intricacies of the undertaking. In the above examples, I am certain that if Kevin ran the reports again, they'd reflect the proper dealer for 1967 as Dockery Ford.

I have a notes field for each dealer in my data file. I a do track alternate address, so I'll update and make the appropriate notes while we continue to search for the actual dealer number.

Speaking of actual Ford dealer numbers .... was it possible to be a Shelby dealer and NOT be a Ford dealer? I mean "Foreign Car Center" doesn't sound like a typical Ford dealer -- if they weren't a Ford dealer, might that explain why the Ford dealer number is blank on a report generated from Ford records? Not a Ford dealer = no Ford dealer number....?

Foreign Car Center did sell Shelby CSX Cobras prior to the '65 Shelby Mustang....

Charles,
Thanks in advance for taking a look through your files.

[67_1183]

Here are the dealers whose codes we're looking for:


Jack Beasley Ford                                     State College  PA

I found a Marti cr 2018 for a Jack Beasley Ford, but it is in Altoona, PA, about 40 miles away from State College, PA.

14F555
JACK BEASLEY FORD SLS
1901 MARGARET AVE
ALTOONA PA 16603

7T02S195xxx, scheduled build date 30A.

[Brian Styles]

I found a Marti cr 2018 for a Jack Beasley Ford, but it is in Altoona, PA, about 40 miles away from State College, PA.

14F555
JACK BEASLEY FORD SLS
1901 MARGARET AVE
ALTOONA PA 16603

7T02S195xxx, scheduled build date 30A.

Excellent. Thank you.

We also had "State College" as the city though I believe this was gleaned from the registry.
We'll change to Altoona, as Marti's Ford records are usually more accurate (and it's now the only document we have to go on).

FYI -

We do track three (3) '67 Shelby G.T. units sold by that Ford dealership, this first of which was shipped to them on July 17, 1967. This late date and low volume leads me to conclude this was a non-franchised dealer. We'd need to review a Production Order or Invoice for #2979, #3003 or #3225 for 100% certainty. 'Detecting' non-franchised dealers using SAI paperwork is covered in this post: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/shelbyresearch/vvHdD9CG4d0/8QpRSFSBDwAJ

Thanks again for the dealer code!
-Brian

[Coralsnake]

Dockery Ford became Morristown Auto Sales, the Dockery's started using their name at the Berry Ford location in Paramus.

[Brian Styles]

For those wanting to learn more about District codes, dealer codes, etc., we've published a comprehensive topic on this at the SRG, covering the years 1967-1973.

Here's a link to the topic:

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/shelbyresearch/-dJE_tHM_nM/LR_R1jA4DgAJ

In summary, it is critical to know the model year of the vehicle and to double check your Marti report's decoding of the dealer number against the dealer number stored in the 80-column computer record. We have found many decode 'errors' on reports.

[Brian Styles]

I found a Marti cr 2018 for a Jack Beasley Ford, but it is in Altoona, PA, about 40 miles away from State College, PA.

14F555
JACK BEASLEY FORD SLS
1901 MARGARET AVE
ALTOONA PA 16603

7T02S195xxx, scheduled build date 30A.

This could make a good example to demonstrate what is likely a Marti decode error. Allow me to explain:
District 14 did NOT exist in 1967. The car of the report you found is a 1967 model year.
There's no way the car could have been ordered/sold through a dealer in a district that didn't exist.
I believe Altoona should fall under the Pittsburg District.
In 1967, Pittsburg was District 38 (and stayed that way up until sometime during 1971 model year production).

If you still have this Marti report, take a look at columns 70-75 of the 80-column computer record up near the top.
Do you see "38F555" in those columns? I believe this should be their actual dealer number in 1967 (District 38).

Here's the SRG's updated District Code charts (by City and by Number):
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/shelbyresearch/-dJE_tHM_nM/cdo5tZMOAQAJ

[67_1183]

This could make a good example to demonstrate what is likely a Marti decode error. Allow me to explain:
FoMoCo hadn't created District 14 until 1971.
The car of the report you found is a 1967 model year.
There's no way it could have been sold through a dealer in a district that didn't exist yet.
I believe Altoona should fall under the Pittsburg District.
In 1967, Pittsburg was District 38 (and stayed that way up until sometime during 1971 model year production).

If you still have this Marti report, take a look at columns 70-75 of the 80-column computer record up near the top.
Do you see "38F555" in those columns? I believe this should be their actual dealer number in 1967.

You are correct.

[Coralsnake]

Doesnt the basic report have the dealer code?

Those are like $25 each?

You can cross reference that with Registry info regarding selling dealer. Much cheaper than $100 a pop.

[Brian Styles]

Doesn't the basic report have the dealer code?

Those are like $25 each?

You can coordinate that with Registry info regarding selling dealer. Much cheaper than $100 a pop.

'Standard' Marti reports include ONLY a dealer code (not the name and address), and no computer record to validate it against...  (and we all now know should realize how important that is).

99% of the people buying Marti reports, don't care if the dealer 6-digit code is correctly decoded or not. ... We're just 'special.' LOL.

A Deluxe report is only $46, and as it relates to '67 Shelbys at least, I'd only recommend one if you have a car that you question the trim (5A vs 6A), the battery (Group 22 vs 24) or want to know the dealer code. Otherwise, the most authoritative document you can obtain is a SAI Production Order, followed by a SAI Vehicle invoice, followed by a SAI Continuation Invoice.

[bwrrn0]

Wasn’t Mel Burns Ford in Long Beach CA one of Shelby’s biggest sellers.
Thought I heard that Carrol Shelby sanctioned many of the original dealers
to be authorized Shelby dealers back in the days.
Just a thought.
Maybe it will help.
Rick