Purchased at auction a 1946 Chevy 4403 (1 1/2ton with stake bed). It came with 2 serial number plates. The original plate is there and serial number is legible. The new plate - and it looks brand new - has the number that is on the title. When I asked the consignor about it, he said this “…don't know when we lost the second plate. There's a company that makes the plate. Gave them a copy of the registration and they sent me that.” The new plate list the max weight at 4600lbs. The truck is actually rated at 15,000 lbs. He says he contacted the people who made the new plate and they said the weight rating was as high as they could go. I am very confused. He either didn’t want to tell me the whole story or he legitimately doesn’t really know. Or I just don’t understand ….
Is the original ID plate in place and does it match the title? If so, toss the extra one. If it doesn’t match, you may have issues with getting it registered. Check with your State Department of Motor Vehicles.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
The non-original serial number plate could have the original engine serial number stamped on it. Most cars and trucks from the 1940's had the engine serial number on the title.
Does your truck still have the original engine? Does that serial number match the title?
Post pictures of your two plates...
Mike B
Mike Boteler
1956 Chevy 3100 Resto Rod 1952 Willys M38 Army Jeep 1983 Jeep CJ7 Laredo 1984 Jeep CJ7 +++++ Silver Spring, MD
I also thought it might be the engine number but it is 6 digits and no letters. So not the engine number.
The 6 digits on the 2nd plate are what’s on the title. That title was issued in 1990. I also have a copy of the registration from 2001 showing the same 6 digit number.
The consignor did not say why there was a second plate. It could be that when the father passed the original title was missing and so a new title was issued with a new number. I really don’t know. Will ask the consignor at some point ….
Thanks for your suggestions as to what might be going on.
MikeB - yes I have title that matches the non-original plate. It does not have anything to represent the provenance of the truck. The original plate has the serial number that identifies the truck as 1946, 1 1/2 ton heavy duty. The new plate is a plate the consignor ordered based on a copy of the registration.
The new plate says it from GM - Chevrolet. I am comfortable that the truck is what it is supposed to be.
Additional query to the consignor was not helpful re/ why the second plate was needed.
I have not checked the engine number as yet. The engine was swapped but I have the original.
The old data plate indicates it was built in Janesville (21) Model 4400 (PK) in November (-K).
Why they needed a new plate and serial number is a mystery. Unless the original title was lost and reissued along with the new serial number issued by whatever State did it. The number on the new plate, which is for a 1/2 ton truck, is not a standard engine number from 1946. As far as I know, no one reproduces big truck data plates.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Is there a chance that it was re-titled to the lower GVW in order to save money on registration and license plates? Back a couple of years ago I ordered a new 1976 K20 while living in Denver, when I moved back to Michigan I had to transfer title, in doing so I learned that if the weight of the vehicle was over 5000 lbs. I would have to register and pay as a HD/commercial truck. I took the spare tire, tailgate, jack, etc. out of the truck and weighed at a certified scale, under 5000 lbs. and happy.
1957 Chevrolet 5700 LCF 283 SM420 2 speed rear, 1955 IH 300U T/A, 1978 Corvette 350 auto, 1978 Yamaha DT175, 1999 Harley Davidson Softail Fat Boy
The info about registering it as a lighter truck is interesting - the consignor did tell me that when he got this replacement plate he question the 4600 lbs - that leads me to believe that the first ‘new’ plate indicated the appropriate GVW.
I have found some info on Montana dmv pages but haven’t sorted through it closely enough to know if it applies in this case.
You need to look at your original engine and see if the title and new date plate match the engines number.
There are a few red flags here to me, the original data plate has the wrong fasteners attaching it...why? The new data plate is for a 1/2 ton truck and the number stamped on it is not formatted correctly, you can look at the original plate to see how the chassis number should look and the engine number should look something like this, DCA-1234.
If a State issued a new VIN then their plate should be attached with their info on the plate.
Does you title show it's a 1946 1-1/2 ton Model 4400 with a 11,000 pound GVW?
Mike B
Mike Boteler
1956 Chevy 3100 Resto Rod 1952 Willys M38 Army Jeep 1983 Jeep CJ7 Laredo 1984 Jeep CJ7 +++++ Silver Spring, MD
