Looking at buying a 57 or 59 Ford panel truck if I can get the paerwork straight first. (this will be my fisrt FORD btw). Is the VIN 11 digits on these models? and is there anywhere online I can check to see who it was last registered to?
Thanks todd

 

Welcome to the forum!

There is no place on the internet, that I know of, that is a database of registered owners of vehicles of any kind. There's privacy laws against states sharing that info. It gets even trickier on cars and trucks that haven't been licensed in many years, as most states purge their computers regularly and that data is lost.

My forte' is the earlier trucks, but I believe the 57-60 trucks use the same vin pattern as the 53-6 trucks, and those have 11 digits. The decode breakdown would be; the series code(letter-two numbers), Engine code letter, model year number, assembly plant letter, and consecutive unit number.

It's always best to get a title with your truck, or some kind of documentation showing that the seller is the legal owner and you can get the title transferred into your name. Take the seller with you to the license transfer place, if you can. You also want to verify the numbers on the papers match your stamped frame number. It's worth your time to scrape the dirt and grease to find it. Too many times people will sell trucks (and cars) with bad or incorrect paper, which creates a never ending headache for the buyer(you). In some cases, it can take years to straighten it out. Be careful and good luck with your search.