The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk New to the Forum, Quick question

Just wanted to say hi to all the other truck lovers out there. Seems like a good forum to be apart of and thought i should join. im the owner of a 1951 chevy 3100 thats been in the family for about 7 years. my dad recently passed it on to me. The truck hasnt been registered and am in the process of doing it myself but had a quick question. i did a search and couldnt really find a thread that could help so thought i should ask. i have the vin plate for the truck but its not on the truck. the guy that owned it before had it in a folder with all the paper work. i want to know is there another place on the truck that might have the vin so i could see if they match up? maybe on the frame somewhere? looked but couldnt find anything. thanks

I have a 61 and the vin is also on the frame front left on the outside frame member. You can actually see it when you stick your head inside the wheel well past the tyre! Dont know if this is applicable to 51 as well.

In most states they used the engine number for a VIN. The number on that plate probably isn't on your title. There aren't any other numbers on that year of truck.

from what i learned on this site as i have a 52 and was wondering the same thing a while ago, some states used the # stamped on the ledge to the side of the distributor (now if the engine thats in the truck isn't the original motor, then you will run into a few problems with getting it titled/registered, most likely you will have to have them reissue you a title, comes with a new vin/serial #) and other states used the # thats stamped on the plate that goes in the driver door post. And thats the only 2 places on these year truck that can be used to identify it.

Adding a bit to the others advise. There may be a build up of gunk on the boss behind the distributor where the engine number is. If you don't see anything on first look, scrape the gunk off & look again. Also if you have a numerical "1" as part of the number it will be represented as the capitol letter "I".

To answer your original question - No, there is not another place on the truck where the number from the VIN plate is stamped.

thanks alot guys for the replys. and unfortunately i dont have the original engine in there. So guess im in for a ride with the dmv. But we'll see how that goes. Again thanks for all the responses.

By saying you have the paperwork, does that include the title?? If so, does the title VIN match the data plate VIN?? If it does, then what's the problem? Mount the data plate on the truck (front inside driver's door piller -- you should see two holes that match the holes in the plate).

If you don't have a title to match the data plate, then check around -- you can probably find a title and matched dataplate off a junked or parted-out truck.

I believe Rusty Rod faced a similar issue there in California -- he, or the other Californians should be able to advise you on the DMV wickets.

Good luck!

John

Im with John, check the number on the plate and title before you do anything. A responsable person would have brought the truck in to the DMV and State Patrol to have the number on the engine switched to the trucks data plate before swapping motors.

Welcome to the bolt! And youll hear this for awhile, We Want Pictures!

Jeff

I always assumed the truck had papers. I had never really asked my dad about the papers till he actually gave it to me last week. Turns out all the guy gave him was a bill of sale and that vin plate. And the bill of sale was blank where it asked for the vin. Dad said the guy was in his 60's and couldnt read the number on the plate so just left it up to him to fill out. And that old guy had never registered it under his name and he owned it for about 12 years and never did anything to it but let it sit. But my dad never registered it. I called and ran the vin with the dmv and told me it must have not been registered in the last 10 years because it wasnt in their system. My uncle recommended me a title service that he's used in the past because he said getting a ca title would be a hassle and a long process. so i already sent in that paper work and am waiting on my title. Thats about the whole story on that truck. And as to Jeff, well the truck isnt in picture condition but i'll take some for you guys thanks alot for the help everyone i'll keep you guys posted on my paper work process just in case someone else is in the same boat and it might help.

I dont care if most of the truck is in boxes! We still want pictures! Ask anybody here and theyll tell you the same.

Jeff

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z58/ez2lovehard2keep/truck.jpg

Theres a picture of my truck in its current stage. sorry it took so long just been kinda busy.