47-55.1 VIN for 1949 truck?

[68GMCCamperSpecial]

I just bought a 1949 pickup. Where would I find the VIN? I am sure this is an original truck and I think there should be a tag or a number on the cab and the frame, but I have no idea where to look.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Jim

[lazypineapple]

on my 52 it is in drivers door jam, front
on a plate, riveted

[Root2812]

There were no "VIN" numbers in those days. Depending on the state they were either titled by the engine block number (passenger side of the engine block) or the body number (on a plate in the drivers door jam).

[68GMCCamperSpecial]

Thank you. This one doesn't have a plate on the driver's door, but it was licensed in 1995.
Maybe they used the motor number.
Thanks again.

Jim

[50-MO]

There is a plate on the drivers side hinge pillar on my '49 with the vehicle id number, but her in MO it is just like Root2812 said, the generally used the engine block number on the title.

[mr48chev]

Most states used the engine number up into the early 50's. I've never found anything to back it but I believe that the theory was that in the early days the value of the vehicle was all in the engine and not the body/chassis.

The door tag number served more for info on what equipment was on the truck rather than being a vin number.

If you got a title with the truck the vin should match the stamped number on the pad on the engine by the distributor if it has the original engine. Even if you plan an engine swap I would keep that block if it has the correct vin number that matches the title. I'd get the title in my name and then after an engine swap check on getting an "engine change" designation on the title. That way you won't run into trouble if the truck gets checked for the vin matching the registration somewhere down the road.

[68GMCCamperSpecial]

Thanks for the info.
Here in Georgia, you don't need a title on anything over 14 years old, just a bill of sale.
I will check the motor number and also see if I can track down the tag number from 1995 to see what number was used to buy the tag.
Thanks again.

Jim

[mr48chev]

Check the usual hiding places for an old registration slip. I even found the title to one "no title" vehicle in the glove box in a stack of papers. An old registration slip with the registered name matching the sellers name on the bill of sale would be hitting the jackpot.

[RootBeer 6117]

This should be were the ID tag is this is the one on my 49 on the drivers door jam. There is a number stamped in it. I was able to decode mine on the LMC web site.

[68GMCCamperSpecial]

I haven't brought it home yet. I will check it out again next Saturday and see if I can find a plate or anything.
Thanks, Guys, for all the info.

Jim

[duwem]

Mine has a stainless or aluminum palate screwed to the door jam. Number decodes to a 50 chevy 1/2 ton, but the number on the title is an engine number (engine has been replaced now).

Just transfered the title over with no problems.

[1949gmcpanel]

Originally Posted by RootBeer 6117

This should be were the ID tag is this is the one on my 49 on the drivers door jam. There is a number stamped in it. I was able to decode mine on the LMC web site.

Im looking to decode my vin# for my 1949 GMC PANEL..where did you find a search engine where i can input the info?

[Matt_50]

You can decode the body serial number. Tells where it was made and which one and the year made. Your tag may have been just screwed on being a 49. Maybe taken off for a fresh paint job st some point? Maybe you'll get lucky any find it in the truck somewhere.

Not sure if panels decode the same but this is the site I used.

http://www.sanjosechevys.org/Tech/te...chevtrucks.htm

[MiraclePieCo]

Stovebolt VIN Buster:

https://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/vin/vinbuster.html

[1949gmcpanel]

Originally Posted by MiraclePieCo

Stovebolt VIN Buster:

https://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/vin/vinbuster.html

The link doesn't work
This is my vin# for my 1949gmc panel
A228225981

[jbarron]

The vin is on the motor.
The door tag is just a serial number.

[mr48chev]

No Chevy truck had an actual "VIN" number until 1954 the first year the feds required actual vin numbers.

The states either used the door post number or the engine number

The one Matt 50 gave decodes the body serial number while this page decodes the engine block serial number.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/models/engine.htm

It should be noted that the engine serial number on AD trucks never matches the body serial number There are no "numbers matching" AD trucks. the feds didn't start requiring vin or partial vin on the engine blocks until 1968.

From a Chevelle page:
Beginning January 1, 1968 the federal government requested voluntary compliance of identifying major parts of a motor vehicle by inscribing or affixing an identifying number or symbol on major parts. As far as research has shown, Chevrolet did comply. by stamping a partial VIN on all engine blocks(1). Again, the location on the block may vary between the plants and years but one change was made in 1968. The GM division number ('1' for Chevrolet) was added to the partial VIN. A 1968 version of an Atlanta partial VIN stamping would 18A174373.

[e015475]

Digging up an old post and looking for some advice.

I bought my '49 GMC in Quartzite Arizona in 2011 or so

It didn't have an engine or id plate on the A pilar - it was a stalled project and mostly in boxes.

A week or so after I got it home I went and transferred the title to my name and told the DMV it was inop and I'd be back for registration- no problem

In 2018 it was running again and I went to DMV and registered it and got a licence plate - again, no problem.

i'm getting to an age where I'd like to consider selling the truck and started watching some of the online auctions to get some idea of how they worked and I saw a couple of auctions halted when there was some sort of cloud on the title (usually the wrong cab or bed for the year claimed in the writeup)

Out of curiosity, I plugged the VIN on the title into a decoder - it didn't resemble anything like an appropriate number format for the truck.

Puzzled, I googled the VIN on the title, and it said the number searched was the engine casting number for quite a few model years of GMC trucks so it isn't unique to my truck. I'm speculating that at some point the raised casting number was mistaken for the engine number stamped near the distributor boss and put it on the title.

I took the title to my local third party DMV. They said no problem if there's no ID plate and told me it was an interesting story about the casting number on the title, but as far as they were concerned if there wasn't another AZ title with that casting number on it for a VIN it wasn't a problem for them to transfer the title in a future sale.

I can only imagine the problems if I tried to put the truck on BAT with a VIN that's a casting number.

After I'd found my trucks sordid history I went to a state DMV and was able to talk to the supervisor. He suggested that I bring the truck in for a 'level 2' inspection with all my receipts and they'll verify that the truck doesn't have a VIN anywhere and if they're convinced I didn't steal all the parts to put it together , they'll issue a Arizona assigned VIN number and a revised title to go with it. I didn't keep any receipts lest my wife find out how much I've spent on this truck - I never anticipated this problem.

Nearest Level 2 DMV is about 180 miles away through the reservation and the mountains. Before I hire a transport and present the truck hat-in-hand to the DMV for inspection, I'd like to make sure I've exhausted all the options

Any ideas?

[nvrdone]

do an internet search. there are companies out there that provide reproduction vin tags with no numbers stamped in. Then get it stamped to match the title you have. Should work.

[dsraven]

not sure how it works where you are but in Canada things would get ugly quick if you were caught stamping your own vin plate and attaching it. heck, even if your old vin plate simply fell off and you screwed or rivetted it back on they could seize the truck and audit the crap outta you.
I suggest to casually chat with a local builder, the local authority (police) or the dept motor vehicles. get it right the first time so there is no issues after you spend a whack of time and money on it.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

do an internet search. there are companies out there that provide reproduction vin tags with no numbers stamped in. Then get it stamped to match the title you have. Should work.

That wouldn't get pass the inspection station in Union Gap and s dsraven said these days may get the truck impounded for an improper or altered vin. Guys are having trouble in some states simply because some fool removed the plate in the name of paint prep and now it doesn't pass because it has been removed.

Eo15475, the first thing you need to do is figure out if the "vin" is the engine serial number or the door post number.

GMC engine serial numbers in those years Usually started with the displacement of the engine be it 228, 248, 270 or 302. Per this 20 something year old Stove bolt thread in front of the engine serial number a letter meant that it either was over bored or the crank was undersize. https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads...1832#Post11832

If the vin on your title starts with either 228 or 248 and several numbers to follow with or with out the letter in front it is the engine block serial number that was stamped on the block on a machined pad to the rear of the distributor.

47/55.1 Chevy AD trucks don't have the chassis number stamped on the frame but some years of GMC trucks had the seraial number stamped on the side of the frame rail above the right hand front spring. I don't know if there is one on the side of my 51/53 GMC frame but I'll try to look tomorrow if the weather isn't horribly nasty.

Most of the info that I have found on GMC Serial numbers and what I have posted in the two photos comes from here.

That is the GMC folks go to site.

If there is a serial number on the side of the frame rail that matches the vin you are good but If not I'd get someone to write me out back dated bills of sale for the engine, the transmission and the rear axle for the truck.

The Last image is the simplest GMC Chassis serial number decoder that I have found. You can check the vin on your title and see if it jives with that.

If you bought a crate motor from a vendor they may have the info on file that they can get to you to show you bought and paid for it. Same with anything you had done at a local shop as most keep a file on their customers rigs they worked on in the customer's name with the work order.

States don't usually care about anything except the body, frame, engine, transmission and rear axle. interior, gauges, wheels and tires don't usually mean anything until it comes time to place a value on it for taxes.

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

do an internet search. there are companies out there that provide reproduction vin tags with no numbers stamped in. Then get it stamped to match the title you have. Should work.

Yes, and those are ILLEGAL! So, let's not bring that back up again, or this thread WILL BE LOCKED!

[e015475]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Yes, and those are ILLEGAL!

You'd think so.

In Arizona where I'm at, Barrett-Jackson lobbied the legislature a couple of years ago to change the Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) to allow vehicles older than 1985 to have the ID/VIN plate removed/restored in the course of a restoration. I imagine they had so many problems at their auctions in Scottsdale that it was worth working to get the law changed (the auctions pump a lot of money into the Arizona economy)

I printed the ARS and took it to the DMV in my podunk little town in northern Arizona, and they were ok with a 'restored' ID plate (of course, these were the same folks that I should just stamp the number on the title somewhere on the frame and call it a day)

Even if I did this, it would likely blow-up an auction when a bidder ran the VIN through a decoder and nothing lined up and a simple google search showed it was the engine's casting number

Quite a few years ago, I drug a car out of somebody's back yard in Apache Junction and restored it. Had a good title. In the process of restoration I took an aluminum VIN tag off the firewall and had it reproduced at an engraving shop and riveted back on - big mistake. When the DMV inspector saw that he went back in the building and returned with a claw-hammer and an old screwdriver and informed me that I'd committed a felony and he was confiscating my VIN tag, and if I gave him any crap he'd have my car confiscated as evidence. After some lengthy conversation, the DMV said if they could verify the VIN on the firewall matched the number stamped in the frame and were convinced I wasn't committing fraud, they'd issue a new state VIN. Surprisingly, they let me keep my homemade engraved VIN tag on the firewall, saying the VIN was now state issued and supersedes anything else on the car.

[e015475]

Eo15475, the first thing you need to do is figure out if the "vin" is the engine serial number or the door post number.

It is neither of those. The number on the title is the engine block casting number in raised letters applied when the block was cast

47/55.1 Chevy AD trucks don't have the chassis number stamped on the frame but some years of GMC trucks had the serial number stamped on the side of the frame rail above the right hand front spring. I don't know if there is one on the side of my 51/53 GMC frame but I'll try to look tomorrow if the weather isn't horribly nasty.

I'd appreciate that

My truck is resting in the garage and I''ll go look, but I can't remember ever seeing anything. If I found something, I doubt it would match the title and will open another bag of worms

If you bought a crate motor from a vendor they may have the info on file that they can get to you to show you bought and paid for it. Same with anything you had done at a local shop as most keep a file on their customers rigs they worked on in the customer's name with the work order.

States don't usually care about anything except the body, frame, engine, transmission and rear axle. interior, gauges, wheels and tires don't usually mean anything until it comes time to place a value on it for taxes.

I figure I can produce receipts for about 40-50% of what I have into the truck, mostly for paint, interior and AC - all the rest was built from junkyard and CL parts. I have a 10 year long build log on this site and that may prove useful

[dsraven]

I have restored a few insurance write off cars, trucks, motorhomes and motocycles. the inspection facility needs to see the vehicle before it is worked on (detailed pics and video worked here, on a disc or thumb drive).
my project truck is built from a couple of old trucks and one newer truck (frame donor) and when the vin was issued for the new unit the inspector needed to see the pics and bill of sale for all the vehicles. then the old vin tags were taken and a new vin tag was rivetted on the truck cab door jamb. he was also very interested to see the reciepts for parts used. there are quite a few vehicles built with stolen parts apparently.
anyway, it is good to see that due diligence is done for making sure stolen parts are not re-tagged as a legal vehicle. sometimes it gets ridiculous but it makes it harder to sell stolen parts so I am good with that.