1970 c10 Vin On Title Error Question

[Chevyswb70]

Hey guys/gals! I recently purchased a 1970 C10 SWB and realized a mistake is on the title. The 6th digit is off. The letter ''Z'' is mistaken for a number 2. Someone made a dyslexic mistake(including myself). The vehicle has a Texas title and I purchased it in Oklahoma. How can I go about fixing this issue? I hope I'm not walking into hell with this, when it comes down to changing the title under my name. Thanks in advance.

[71swb4x4]

Just walk into the DMV and explain the mistake. I am positive this isn't the first time your DMV has made a mistake.

[Chevyswb70]

Well the mistake is coming from the DMV in Texas, not Oklahoma. I'd hate for them to start pointing fingers and have me make a trip down there for that.

[GOPAPA]

I had a number wrong on the 76 Vette I bought and when I went to license it at the dmv .they said no problem looked at the door pillar number and changed it on the title ,, this was Oregon ,,so I think like our friend on here from Brookings, SD up above is right on about it too..

[71swb4x4]

I still think you are fine. If the person you talk to at the DMV tries to make a big deal about it either leave and come back some other time, go to a different DMV office, or move up the supervisor chain.
In the grand scheme of things this isn't a huge deal. It's an obvious mistake that any reasonable person can see. The only real question you have to try to get answered is whether or not your DMV office has a reasonable person working at it.

[Keith Seymore]

They are usually pretty receptive to making a verifiable correction.

That 6th character is the assembly plant designation which is, by definition, an alpha character (not a number, except for Oshawa).

Z = Fremont, so that seems like a pretty obvious typo/transcription error.

VIN decoder shown below courtesy of bruceman1968; decoder thread located here: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=570059

K

[Overdriven]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

They are usually pretty receptive to making a verifiable correction.

That 6th character is the assembly plant designation which is, by definition, an alpha character (not a number, except for Oshawa).

Z = Fremont, so that seems like a pretty obvious typo/transcription error.

VIN decoder shown below courtesy of bruceman1968; decoder thread located here: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=570059

K

If you want to make sure the person behind the counter is receptive and reasonable, bring some documentation like this with you. I'd try and find a couple of websites with this info, print them out and have the links with you so they can look it up on their computer. A VIN decoder website or two would be perfect. Just in case the person behind the counter or even the supervisor isn't aware of what the 6th number represents and what it should be. Being able to prove that it should be a letter should make your life easier if they don't believe it's a simple mistake by the previous dmv.

I'm kind of surprised they used "Z" in a vin number as it kind of looks like a 2 depending on the type face. They don't use "I" or "O" because they look too much like "1" and "0" (zero).

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Overdriven

If you want to make sure the person behind the counter is receptive and reasonable, bring some documentation like this with you. I'd try and find a couple of websites with this info, print them out and have the links with you so they can look it up on their computer. A VIN decoder website or two would be perfect. Just in case the person behind the counter or even the supervisor isn't aware of what the 6th number represents and what it should be. Being able to prove that it should be a letter should make your life easier if they don't believe it's a simple mistake by the previous dmv.

That was my intent by including it here.

By the way - they usually don't know this level of detail. I often have to educate the DMV (or Secretary of State, as it is known in Michigan) of these kinds of details regarding VINs, registrations and special license plate rules.

Originally Posted by Overdriven

I'm kind of surprised they used "Z" in a vin as it kind of looks like a 2 depending on the type face

"Z" started as the designation for Fremont in 1965. Prior to that it was an "F"; I suspect they elected to change it when the Framingham plant came on board or became more prominent, to avoid confusion.

My vote would be to get rid of "C" and "G" in VIN designations. Those cause me more issues than anything else.

K

[OregonNed]

I had the same mistake on my truck - Oregon title, and it was retitled in Washington. They just verified the VIN and all was good... the old 2 for a Z mistake.

[old Chevy guy]

I know I hate when a G comes up in a vin too. There's lots of official things you would think they would avoid these kinds of things but they don't. Whenever I have to fill out insurance info at the dmv or just making payment my policy number has O's letter O and 0 number zero right next to each other in a row. I always wonder if I'm the only one that thinks that's stupid.

[davepl]

I spent a long time on the phone last week with an unnamed company who insisted the last 6 digits of my VIN absolutely could not have letters in it. But mine has two Zs.

[engineer_gregh]

It happened to me when I bought a truck in AL and titled it in TN. TN issued the title and tag and a couple of months later sent me a letter stating the title was void and I would not be able to tag the truck the next year without getting the title corrected. I had to go back to the person I bought the truck from in AL and have them get a corrected tag receipt and send it to me. Once I had that I went into the DMV here in TN and got a corrected title. The error in mine was that the S (St Louis Plant) was turned into a 5 by the DMV in AL.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by engineer_gregh

It happened to me when I bought a truck in AL and titled it in TN. TN issued the title and tag and a couple of months later sent me a letter stating the title was void and I would not be able to tag the truck the next year without getting the title corrected. I had to go back to the person I bought the truck from in AL and have them get a corrected tag receipt and send it to me. Once I had that I went into the DMV here in TN and got a corrected title. The error in mine was that the S (St Louis Plant) was turned into a 5 by the DMV in AL.

Sounds like a legitimate mistake.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by davepl

I spent a long time on the phone last week with an unnamed company who insisted the last 6 digits of my VIN absolutely could not have letters in it. But mine has two Zs.

Well - it shouldn't. In fact I'm not sure it is physically possible to stamp that VIN into the frame or tag since the stamping machines in the plant wouldn't have alpha characters in those positions (by definition the sequential portion of the VIN).

Have you compared the typewritten title to the VIN on the cab or frame? (I'm sure you have).

K

[davepl]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Well - it shouldn't. In fact I'm not sure it is physically possible to stamp that VIN into the frame or tag since the stamping machines in the plant wouldn't have alpha characters in those positions (by definition the sequential portion of the VIN).

Have you compared the typewritten title to the VIN on the cab or frame? (I'm sure you have).

K

SPID and door tag both have ZZ in it. All Fremont trucks have a Z I thought, and all 1970 GMCs have a Z in the next position. Why do you say it shouldn't? The sequence number is numeric, but that's only the last 5 digits. Title and insurance cards both have the ZZ.

One of us is wrong or my truck is stolen :-)

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Be glad that you do not live here in South Carolina. The Department of Motor Vehicles here takes no prisoners.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by davepl

SPID and door tag both have ZZ in it. All Fremont trucks have a Z I thought, and all 1970 GMCs have a Z in the next position. Why do you say it shouldn't? The sequence number is numeric, but that's only the last 5 digits. Title and insurance cards both have the ZZ.

One of us is wrong or my truck is stolen :-)

I'm wrong; your VIN is perfect.

The first Z = Fremont
The second Z = 1970 model year
Last 5 digits are sequential

I thought you were saying it was something like "AB12322" was turned into "AB123ZZ" which, in my opinion, would not be possible, because of the pre-determined characters in the hydraulic stamp machine. The five digit sequential portion (rather than six, like today) is what makes your VIN legit and what confused your phone representative.

Originally Posted by davepl

...the last 6 digits of my VIN absolutely could not have letters in it. But mine has two Zs.

I interpreted this as "...the last six digits of my VIN has two Zs in it" = not possible

Actual: the last seven digits of your VIN have two Zs in it = entirely possible, as shown



K