That Crazy Dash
The Cub started production in 1947 with what is known as the long ear dash panel and ended its production run many years later with the short ear dash. However, sometime in 1948 Farmall used a dash that was different from the long ear and the short ear. In fact it looked like a “no ear” dash with the sides trimmed.
The 1948 model started out using the standard long ear dash, but for some reason an odd “no ear” dash showed up for a short run. The chart below shows the confirmed serial numbers of the last known standard dash prior to the change and the next known serial number the standard dash reappeared. In between those numbers are confirmed Serial #'s of trimmed dashes. No serial numbers between the high and low have been for the long ear dash.
When the long ear dash reappeared is not known for certain, but it was sometime after serial #40406 and used until some time in 1949 when the short ear dash made it’s appearance. The short ear dash was used in all Farmall Cubs until their production run ended in 1963. This odd dash panel may have been the prototype for the short ear.
Could it have been they were changing the panels for the 49’s to the short ear and was testing these on the 48's and it didn't work out? That is my theory, but who knows! It would be interesting to see if there are more of these out there and what the serial numbers are and what area of the country they are in.
I believe that as we locate more of these we will find serial numbers that are close together or more probably in consecutive order.
What about your dash? Do you have the style shown? Even if you have the long ear but your number is close that will help close the gap. If your number is close to these or you have a "no ear" dash, drop me a line and let me know the year and if it falls near the serial numbers we already have.
Are these dashes valuable? Not really, a lot of sellers think that just because these are less obtainable they are more valuable. They need to keep in mind that just because a 1948 Cub has one, it does not mean they have increased the value of their Cub. Since these were only used during a specific serial number range, a restored Cub that has one of these dashes, but is out of the serial range would not be considered "restored" and therefore could quite possibly lower the value of a Cub. It would be like putting a Corvette steering wheel on a Vega. It does not increase the value of a Cub unless possibly if the serial numbers are in thr range.
I think these would only be valuable to someone who has the correct serial range and needs it. They are frequently found on Ebay and the sellers usually start their bid somewhere around $75.00. In reality they are worth somewhere in the neighbor hood of $30.00.
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