sold a '77 c10. can someone answer a question???

[idrgbdy]

ok so i bought a '77 c10 back in december. got an out of state inspection, titled in ohio, and registered with plates. had it for a few months and decided to sell it. put it on a few forums and a dude contacted me. he sent me a check then came and picked the truck up a couple weeks later (bout 3 weeks ago). before he came to get the truck, i wrote his info on the back of the title and got it notarized. so he took the truck and the clear title. all was good and he drove it back to Missouri.

then i get a call on friday. he is trying to get an out of state inspection but it will not pass because there is no vin# on the dash, just one inside the driver's door. when i got it titled, the girl that did the out of state inspection didn't care and just looked at the door. apparently she wasn't supposed to do that. well i guess there is also a serial number on the frame that has the last half of it is scratched out. but the first part does not match the first part of the vin# on the door.

i guess it's possible the truck could have been stolen but what i think happened is the dude i got the truck from or someone before him got a cab a frame and maybe a motor and put all of that together and that's why vin #'s don't match. if it was stolen, wouldn't the vin# have came up at the DMV by my house saying it was stolen?

the title place i went to here in Ohio said i should contact the state trooper here in ohio and maybe the one in missouri to see what they say. worst case scenario i could think is that the truck will have to come back here for an inspection, at least i hope that is the worst. but i would think he could get a salvage title or a kit car title or some kind of title since the vin# is missing on the dash. i have no idea. i'll be calling the state troopers today. but does anyone here have any idea how this dude can get this titled and registered? thanks for reading my novel. i'm sure this has had to have happened to someone on here.

[JohnC]

The real issue is in the state where he is getting it titled. It doesn't matter what your state laws are since you were able to get it titled. Each state is different. It doesn't seem that it was a stolen vehicle since it didn't pop up at either place stating so. I would think that it was just possibly a rebuilt truck. They used mismatched parts, and put it back together, which is common. They just didn't take the effort to make sure the vin on the dash was done correctly. The new buyer really needs to see what he needs to do in his state. That is the most critical. Sounds like quite a pickle. Good luck, and keep us updated.

[Damien]

What year did they switch from the door jam vin tag to the dash mounted vin tag? If '77 was the last year of the door tags, the guy needs to point that out to the inspector.
If he needs to get a reconstruction title, he might have a problem. In MN, you need to have recipts and sometimes vin numbers for major parts.

[bigblock73]

All 73-78's VIN's were on the door jamb, 79-80 were on the dash.

Sounds like the inspection place doesn't know what the hell they are doing.

[idrgbdy]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

All 73-78's VIN's were on the door jamb, 79-80 were on the dash.

Sounds like the inspection place doesn't know what the hell they are doing.

wow this is music to my ears. thanks!

[bigblock73]

I should clarify, 79-present are on the dash...not just 79-80

[SBTork]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

All 73-78's VIN's were on the door jamb, 79-80 were on the dash.

Sounds like the inspection place doesn't know what the hell they are doing.

all to common of a problem

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

All 73-78's VIN's were on the door jamb, 79-80 were on the dash...

Learn something new everyday. I wasn't sure when they started the dash numbers, but I thought it was earlier than that! Your an info guru man!!!

[idrgbdy]

well i called the dude and told him this info and he said, well it must have a different dash in it cuz it has a spot for the vin plate. i guess he hasn't taken it to a place to get inspected fearing they will impound it on the spot. i said to go to the license bureau and/or title place and have them do an out of state inspection and explain the vin plate is only in the door because of the year. just confused how to help this guy out.

[JohnC]

It sounds you have done all you can. It's really up to the license agency now. If he goes to one that knows what they are doing he should be fine. Most of them just aren't used to having to do any detective work. Anything out of the norm throws them for a loop, and they just play dumb from there. Sounds like you have exhausted all your helpful efforts for him, besides sending him a link to an actual printed info on where the vins are located, and not located for the year of vehicle, however this should be something the tag office should already know.

[bigblock73]

If there is a spot for the VIN on the dash as well, it could simply be that someone put a 79+ dash pad in the truck...and not the correct 73-78 pad.

[flamingbig10]

the vin tag was also moved to the left on 81 and up, in my 80 I have a 81 and up dash and I can only see part of the vin

[73chevyman]

look when i got my 73 I was scared to no end cause the vin number was missing. but after further research trying to figure were it is was i found out that 73 thru 78 was vined on the door jam driver side. Just because the dash pad has a cut out for one don't mean a thing just means theres a updated pad in it. tell the guy to call the chevy dealer and get a letter for them stating where the vin number is located and then take that info your old title to the inspection place. but that guy sounds like a moron anyways why put everyday tags on a 77 anyways go with street rod or historic tags any this problem would simply go away.