The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk vin on 40 chevy pickup

is the engine the only place where the serial number is stamped?

From the Stovebolt Tech Tips:

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/39_40specs.html

Vehicle serial number and engine serial number are two different numbers in two different places.

thanks, anyone got a picture of the tag on the firewall?

I think we have a semantics problem here. Most states used the engine number as the "VIN" on the title through '55. As noted in the link above the "serial number" was on the data plate. Since VIN stands for "Vehicle Identification Number" you can argue as to which is considered the "VIN". Is it the serial number or the number on the title. To answer your question the "serial number" is on the data plate but in most cases the number on your title would be the engine number. I would disagree with the techtip posted above since the "VIN" on the title in most cases was not the serial number.

I searched through the Tech-Tip linked above and could not find the word "serial", or the term "serial number"" in it.

The term VIN for Vehicle Identification Number is used in the Tech Tip. This is not a term used by GM in reference to older trucks (the term VIN has definitive meaning for all vehicles built after 1980 ).

In 1940, GM used the term Unit Serial Number.

In 1954, the VID plate (Vehicle Identification Plate) contained the Vehicle/Unit Serial Number (GM terminology). In 1954, GM also made reference to engine, transmission, and rear-end serial numbers (displayed at the previous link and in the Shop Manual).

As mentioned above, the term VIN is a more modern term and it has no exact meaning relative to most pre-1955 trucks (at least).

My experience with dealing with only about six 47-55 trucks (GMC and Chevrolet) from four different states is that 50% were titled with the engine serial number (GM terminology) and 50% with the VID code (GM terminology for the plate between the hinges on the driver's side). In addition, in two of the states, I obtained old titles that used the engine serial number for one truck and the VID-plate Vehicle Serial Number for another truck. New York state does not care what you use as the "VIN", as long as you pay the sales tax.

50adrod,

For what year truck do you want a photo of the plate on the firewall (1940 or 1950 or other)? That plate was not on the firewall for Advance-Design trucks (1947-1955 Chevrolet trucks).

Tim

That's technically correct Tim but the techtip says (referring to the serial number on the body plate) "The number on the plate is the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of the truck." which isn't necessarily so. Yes it's the unit serial number but depending on the state it's probably not the VIN. My other point is that while the acronym V I N wasn't used then, whatever number was used to identify the vehicle it is in essence the Vehicle Identification Number.

a 40, I have the one on my 50

I agree, our state title has a provision for the VIN only, so the motor number would go in the VIN location on the title.

Unless your "new" truck's former title (perhaps from another state) has the "Unit serial number" off the door plate as the VIN (for example: H54F005877). Then, your state will get very mixed up if your former title (which often has to be surrendered) has a different number from the engine number (that you will try to use as a VIN on the application).

In Louisiana, for example, the DMV site states that you would have to provide "The Certificate of Title or manufacturer's certificate of origin, for antique or custom vehicles that have already been titled"; and, (among other things) you would also have to provide "A physical inspection report by the Louisiana State Police Troop".

If your original title used the door-plate Unit serial number (as I have shown above) and your Vehicle Application Form has the Engine serial number as the VIN, the State Trooper would would most likely get a little confused.

this truck was previously titled with motor number, there is no tag on the firewall with the unit number, thats why I asked if it was anywhere else on the truck. some older vehicles have it stamped on the frame somewhere. this is a friend of mines truck and we are swaping the motor for a V 8, I guess he will just have to hold on to the old motor.

I have uploaded a couple of photos showing VIN tags on 1940 trucks. One is a Canadian 1940 with the VIN plate on the firewall and the other is of a US 1940 truck with the VIN on the side of the cowl.

http://community.webshots.com/album/569629796aRBVLh