Thread: VIN number

Tweet

I bought a street rod about 12 years ago. After buying it I took the title to get it registered and got a new title. Now 12 years later I came across a vin number on the car that dose not match the one on the title. The vin tag looks about the age of when the car was restored 15 years ago. Is this common on rods to have different numbers? What should I make of this? Any input would be appreciated.

Better call the man and see if it comes back stolen.

has to be a vin tag on the vehicle that matches the title, if not somthings fishy.

it could have been registared w/ a diffrent title, like what is done lots of times for reproduction cars.

check both vins and see if ither 1 matches for the make model and year of the car. if the 1 that does ( assuming 1 does

) is the 1 that you don't have a title for, it's registared illegally anyway.

Originally Posted by Corvette64

Better call the man and see if it comes back stolen.

If he did that right away w/o further research he could loose the vehicle w/o getting any money back on it, would have to sue owner, assuming owner hasn't fled off the radar... best to verify things yourself. if it comes up stolen w/ your own research then find the owner if you can, turn them into the police w/ evidence. a person I knew had to do this with a 4 wheeler, uncle was an officer, ran the vin for him ( after purchase but... ) and it came back hot. 4 wheeler ended up in the right hands, and he got his money back.

What kind of car and what year is it? The reason I ask is because early Fords did not use a VIN on the body, it was stamped on the frame. Although there may be a tag on the body with a number on it, it is not necessarily a VIN number.

Had a similar situation with my 34 Plymouth. Could not find a VIN on the car at the time of registration, so PA issued a new registration and VIN. A little while later found the original VIN plate, but not where it should have been. Although it would have nice to correct the title I decided not to. Another problem was that the title I got from the previous owner which had recorded in Ohio from a Louisiana title used a VIN on the title that did not match the VIN type of that model year, so PA rejected both the Ohio title and the Louisiana title. Seemed that when the car was built and registered in Louisiana, the builder used the S/N from the original 6 cyl engine and not the frame. PA would not accept this number.

Strange things happen to original VINs when cars get built. In many cases they are removed, some of which are lost, and new numbers created. If the new creation doesn't match the type of code used for that type of car, many states might reject. Obviously, La and Ohio did not in my case.

If you were given a new title and VIN for your car from your state, you might want to stay with that one cause that is how the car is registered. If you have not gotten a new VIN plate, then it is up to you which way you choose to go. In any case, expect delays and plenty of scrutiny.

hmmmm. Have you ever heard the old expression, "let sleeping dogs lie"? Might be an innocent mistake, might be a can of worms best left unopened.....

Here's an update. I went to talk to the Po Po. I brought all the info I have on the rod. From what little I have on it being built to shows that it has been to in the last 15 years. Also the title with the date I registered it and showing the date of the previous registration. I explained to the officer the whole situation from then all the way to now. Then he checked the two VIN's. The one that is on the title shows that I own the car and the one that is on the car nothing comes up. One thing the cop said was to remove the one on the car and replace with the right VIN. I not sure if that's a good idea or not. I guess my next step is to contact The Department Of Motor Vehicles to see about replacing the VIN plate. I'll keep you up to date.

Originally Posted by stinggray

Here's an update. I went to talk to the Po Po. I brought all the info I have on the rod. From what little I have on it being built to shows that it has been to in the last 15 years. Also the title with the date I registered it and showing the date of the previous registration. I explained to the officer the whole situation from then all the way to now. Then he checked the two VIN's. The one that is on the title shows that I own the car and the one that is on the car nothing comes up. One thing the cop said was to remove the one on the car and replace with the right VIN. I not sure if that's a good idea or not. I guess my next step is to contact The Department Of Motor Vehicles to see about replacing the VIN plate. I'll keep you up to date.

Good for you stingray. You're a good man and you did the RIGHT thing. I'd buy a car from you any day. You can sleep soundly tonight knowing you are not harboring a stolen vehicle or worrying in the future about selling a stolen vehicle to another rodder.

Well Corvette64 it's 29 Ford and it's for sale. Let me know if you want more info. This is why I'm going thought all this so I have clear conscious when it sells.

Sounds like you got your situation clarified which is fine.

For the sake of future accuracy for anyone who reads these things, Fords of this era did not EVER have a VIN tag on the body. The correct/original vin is stamped on the left frame rail, and sometimes on the bell housing. Often, if they have a "legitimate" vin on a body tag, that matches a legal title it's because at some time in it's history a state has assigned a vin number which is most often attached with rivets or, more recently, adhesive backing.

Well I got to the button of the newly found VIN. I call the Kansas highway patrol and they ran the VIN. It turns out that when the car was built it needed an inspection from the state. To get that it needed a new VIN. That's the only history on the that number. THANK GOD.

Good it all came out OK. I was goinng to say that before true matching VINs, cars even got registered with engine numbers when any body numbers could not be found. The problem with that was that if you changed blocks your registration number now didn't tally and problems occurred.