Quote:
Originally Posted by Unmrkd
The designation 2-12-320 breaks out as 2 = Highway Dept, 12= Mustang 320 = 320th vehicle that year.
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I don't think that is quite right. I started going to the SC surplus auctions way back about 1987 when they still had them on Shop Rd. in Columbia. When you bought a car back then you had to go in the office, pay for the car, get the title and also sign off on the book where the car was listed in inventory so that they had a record of when and where the car was removed from inventory.
All the various makes of vehicles had a designation and if I remember correctly, Fords were a 2, the 2 door bodystyle was a 12 and the 320 would have been the 320th 2 door sedan they purchased. I remember signing off on one I bought and took the time to flip back through the book and they had records for cars back into the 1950's, showing when they had been purchased and when they were sold.
Everything changed when they broke apart the DHPT (Department of Highways and Public Transportation) about 1996. The sales eventually moved to Boston Ave. and the Highway Patrol cars just became part of the state fleet cars, and many of the old record keeping ways disappeared. Wouldn't it be nice to get your hands on some of those old books today.