That Crazy Dash 

(Somewhere after Serial # 384xx until somewhere prior to 40406)

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.

 

38400 - Long Ear Dash 38804 - trimmed - New York 39581 - trimmed - location ?
     
38512 - trimmed - Arkansas 38808 - Unknown - New York 39668 - trimmed - location ?
     
38517 - trimmed - Greenville, Ky (ebay) 388*9 - trimmed - Ohio 39700 -trimmed - Illinois
     
38571 - trimmed - location ? 38849 Trimmed - Woodbine, Maryland 39811 - trimmed - Missouri
     
38593 - trimmed - Bryan Ohio 38919 - trimmed - Czech Republic 39864 - trimmed - Bowling Green, Fl
     
38595 - trimmed - Harrison, Ohio 38947 - trimmed - Maryland 39869 - trimmed - Illinois
     
38607 - trimmed - Indiana 38963 - trimmed - Miamitown, Oh 39912 - trimmed - Kentucky 
    39916 - Trimmed (dismantled) - KY
38634 - trimmed - Mentone Georgia 38966 - trimmed - Indiana 39925 - trimmed - location ?
     
38644 - trimmed - Massechusetts 39012 - trimmed - Burlington WI 39939 - trimmed - location ?
     
38683 - trimmed - Dismantled in Tenn 3905x - trimmed - Walker, Louisiana 39968 - trimmed - Ruston, La
     
38707 - trimmed - Ohio 39155 - trimmed - Clay County, Arkansas 40000 (Trencher) - trimmed
    40006 -Trimmed - College Corner, OH
38709 - trimmed -Location ? 39174 - trimmed - Dismantled in Michigan 40132 - Trimmed - Brookville OH - Possibly scrapped
     
38717 - trimmed - Mansfield, Ohio 39259 - trimmed - Harrison, Ohio 40230 - trimmed - Mississippi
     
38725 - trimmed - Kentucky 39,183 - trimmed - Puyallup, WA 40244 Trimmed - Kansas
     
38752 - trimmed - Fairfield, IL 39420 - trimmed - location ? 40265 - trimmed - New Jersey
     
38757 trimmed - Indianapolis 39455 - trimmed - Copan, OK 40362 - trimmed - France
     
38798 - trimmed - location ? 39579 - trimmed - Kinmundy, IL 40406 - Long Ear Dash
Now it is a matter of filling in the blanks.  And yes, this chart could become very large as more of these are located.  If you have a 1948 and the serial number falls between the first standard dash and the last standard dash listed, drop me an email and let me know what you have.  Even if you have a standard dash your numbers will help close the gap.

 

 

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.

Does your Cub dash look like this? If so, let us know by clicking Here.


Another thought:
...this could be an idea that was initially meant to be on the first Cubs but was scrapped. They could have laid in storage for a couple years (steel was still somewhat in short supply after the war). It's possible they needed to use these if their supply of regular panels ran low for some kind of production reason. 
Some believe they were from another Farmall model that was modified to fit the Cub due to a shortage of regular panels.

 

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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