Believe DBA might be the year/model code for the truck, and 314910 would be the unit produciton sequence #...the whole thing would be the vehicle serial number...
By any chance, does this correspond to the engine number ("engraved" numbers on the flat boss immediately behind the distributor) ?
And now that I've written the above, the factory serial plate on my '41 Dump is about 4" wide x 5" high (or 3" x 4")...it is aluminum with black anodizing to create a black background around aluminum (silver) lettering/numbers...
The serial number is usually stamped INTO ("engraved") the aluminum plate, usually within a silver rectangular "space" about 1/4" high x 2" long...
The plate is secured to the right side of the cowl by two sheet metal screws with a comination hex and "clutch" (hour-glass recessed) head. (Makes it easy to swipe a plate!).
The factory tag also has blab about Chevrolet Division, General Motors, Flint Mich.; usually also bears a GVW rating...
Lots of OEM plates have lost their black background, and the only thing still legible is the stamped serial number...
It is possible that your truck was assigned a special California serial number...if this is what matches your title, then this IS your truck's serial number as far as any DMV is concerned...
I own a '55 De Soto whose serial plate was stolen while it was in the junkyard. The yard owner furnished the title, as well as an affidavit asserting that the car serial number on the title was legit (and in this case matched the serial number on the engine). When I went to transfer the title into my name, Maryland's MVA (Where I lived at the time) had a state trooper inspect the car to confirm that it was not cobbled together from wrecks and that it was legit, then he assigned a new state number from their system, and punched-out a new plate and riveted that to the door pillar: it reads "Maryland Special Vehicle Number" and their serial #.
The original manufacturer's number has been retired as far as MD is concerned.
I kept a copy of the old title with the De Soto Division number just for provenance, should I ever sell the car...
