Your average John Q. Law isn't going to go hunting for a VIN number on an old truck like that during a routine traffic stop.. so long as the truck looks like what the registration says it is.. and not alot of folks know the difference between a '50 and a '52.
Now if, god forbid, you were ever in an accident, they may try and check the VIN against the registration, but if it's covered in muck, they may just take a peek and say to heck with it.
The problem you may have is if you ever try to title the truck in another state, or sell it to somebody who does.. alot of states require you to take your vehicle to a highway patrol office and have 'em check the vin number against the title before they'll issue a new title in that state.
If the numbers don't match, you may try and contact the person you bought it from.. maybe they just handed you the wrong title. Thats been known to happen!
