The cowl tag mounted to the pass. side of the cowl under the hood on '39-'46 trucks is not riveted on. It's screwed on with (2) small clutch heads screws. It can be removed in about 8 seconds with a screwdriver. It was not used as a VIN number as the VIN system hadn't even been invented yet. It was a serial number plate stamped with a number by the factory that identified the trucks they were building by location of assembly plant, wheelbase, weight, month of assembly, and production sequence from that specific plant. Most states titled vehicles by engine number, but some used the number from the cowl plate. There is no "secret" number stamped on the frame of '30's or '40's trucks. This frame stamping started in the late '50's or early '60's after a federal VIN system had been implemented and was being used. I believe somewhere in the middle of the AD run (1949 maybe?) was when Chevrolet started to rivet the ID plate on, on these trucks the plate had moved to the driver's side door jamb area. The '39-'46 Chev. truck cowl ID plates are commonly available as reproductions to replace the typically damaged originals which were made of very thin aluminum. No, this reproduction tag shouldn't be used in a fraudulant manner. Yes, it can be used for restoration purposes. Don't feel like a criminal if your old plate was lost or damaged beyond repair.
