58 Chevy PU VIN # question/help

[Guest 58apache2]

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<!-- google_ad_section_start -->I have a 58 Chevy Apache PU. The VIN # is located on the driver side frame, however the registration form does not quite match the number on the frame. The registration form has a 3A prior to the actual vin number on the frame. I have read that the 3A indicates the truck is a 3100 series. which my truck is. My question is: would the 3A have been stamped on the frame as well - I've been restoring the truck over the last 25-years (sporadically), and I now want to register it to get it back on the road. I forsee an issue with the mismatch of the VIN number when I go to the DMV. Any input would be appreciated.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Is the title issued by the state where you presently reside and in your name? If so, you should have no issues obtaining license plates.

[Guest 58apache2]

No; it has a California registration - I now live in Florida.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Florida is somewhat unusual in that any number of different individuals and/or entities can apparently verify the validity of an out of state title verses the VIN number.

The VIN must be physically inspected by one of the following:

1. A law enforcement officer from any state.
   
2. A licensed Florida or out of state motor vehicle dealer.
   NOTE: If the VIN is verified by an out of state motor vehicle dealer, the verification must be submitted on their letterhead stationery.
   
3. A Florida DMV Compliance Examiner/Inspector, DMV or tax collector employee.
   
4. A notary public commissioned by the state of Florida.
   
5. Provost Marshal (an officer who supervises the military police of a command) or a commissioned officer in active military service, with a rank of 2nd Lieutenant or higher or an LNC, "Legalman, Chief Petty Officer, E-7".

If it were me, I'd run down a notary public at my bank or insurance agency and have them do the necessary document. Chances are they will not challenge the "3A" issue if you explain to them it is the model designation, assuming it is a question that even comes into play. More than likely a notary public won't even want to crawl up under the vehicle to look particularly with a vehicle of that age.

Your big problem will be getting it to any point of inspection without being stopped for not having plates on the vehicle. A bigger problem may exist if the title in your possession does not indicate you as owner and has only been signed over to you. Without a bill of sale or similar state to state transfers of titles can be a bear.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Jim_Edwards (see edit history)

[Guest 58apache2]

Success!! I had a notary come by about a month ago to sign off on the DMV document. Again, my concern had been the discrepancy of the VIN number on the frame and that listed on the title. Didn't matter to the DMV after all..Jim, thanks for your time to read and reply to my query.

[elcamino72]

I'm not sure how the process worked in the 50's, but in the later sixties, the number stamped on the frame or on the engine was a VIN derivative. It did not identify the model, just the year, assembly plant on the sequential production number. I imagine this is what happened with your truck as well.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Success!! I had a notary come by about a month ago to sign off on the DMV document. Again, my concern had been the discrepancy of the VIN number on the frame and that listed on the title. Didn't matter to the DMV after all..Jim, thanks for your time to read and reply to my query.

Great! As Willie Nelson exclaimed "On the Road Again."

[NTX5467]

What WE consider as "VIN" is not necessarily what the manufacturers considered "VIN", back then.

In earlier times, it was highly unusual for the engine to be removed from the frame in which it was originally installed in. Hence, the "engine number" defined the vehicle and was used to registration and titling purposes. Sometime in the middle 1950s, the transition from "engine number" to "VIN" began, but was variable in some respects. I suspect that by 1958, it was all "VIN", designated by a "body plate" attached with rivets in the (sometimes) driver's door jamb.

There is a VIN decode in the front of the Chevy truck parts books of that time. You can probablly find a reproduction of that online somewhere, perhaps in the 1950s Chevy-GMC websites.

As you know, there are ID numbers stamped on many parts of the vehicle, including the frame. But these numbers were not used for anything like registration or titling of the vehicle, but for various identification issues related to what engine numbers went into which batch of frame numbers . . . something the various assembly plants would be concerned with, along with many vehicle restorers.

In other cases, errors in the initial typing of an old title have been know to happen. This can follow the vehicle for the rest of its life. There can also be some issues with the letter "I" and the number "1" in titles, but this can be variable as to which state is being discussed.

As I understand it, a notary public only confirms or witnesses the information being presented as true, and witnessing such, as a designated and impartial 3rd party of sorts. It might be that, someday, you might need to verify, document, and prove-as-fact what was signed-off on. Therefore, you might still have some research to do.

Regards,

NTX5467

[Guest Bob Call]

I don't know but I suspect this also applies to trucks. In the 50's the "serial" number of the car was on the engine block. On V8's it's on the front of the passenger side of the block. On 6's it is on a flat just to the rear of the distributor. Chevy used a letter prefix to identify the engine size. 57 and later the letter A or B is a 235 CI 6. On 58 V8's prefix D, E or G is 283 CI and prefix F, G or H is 348 CI. Can't tell you why G was used on both 283 and 348. I suspect the 3 prefix is the engine plant ID. Somewhere on the cab there should be a tag spot welded or rivited that has the production sequence number which most of us would call the "serial" number.