Texas apparently does allow the door frame VIN tag numbers to be used, but I don't know the specific history/process/sequence of events that allowed my '53 Bel Air to be titled that way.
I have a clear TX title that uses the door frame VIN tag number. The title I received from the seller when the car was transferred to me already had that VIN tag number, so transfer/titling in my name was no issue. But, someone took care of the number change in the distant past, since the engine isn't original, and based on several other clues, was probably swapped in the '60's.
I only know a bit of the history of the car. It was displayed by a Sherman, TX local tire store for more than 20 years, and sold once more before I purchased it in 2017. I don't know where it was before that, and it could have been titled in a different state for all I know.
The car has PG transmission so would have originally had an early full-pressure 235 with hydraulic valve lifters. The '54 235 currently in the vehicle is a "standard" engine with solid lifters, SN ending in F54Z, stamped clearly on the machined pad near the distributor, and not recorded on the title.
One amusing fact: the first 4 digits of the VIN tag decode to the car model, year, and assembly plant, and the VIN is C53Oxxxxxx (O for Oakland, CA assembly plant). The title shows the fourth digit as a zero, since DMV "knows" that "O" is not an allowed digit in VINs. Close enough!
