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I have recently purchased a 56 F250 and after locating the VIN i discovered there are 2 digits missing. After figuring out how to decode the 2 digits missing are the year which would be a 6 due to it being a 56 and the plant code to where it was manufactured. I reached out to a few places I discovered online and they said they have never heard of such a thing and could not help me. Does anyone on here have any expert advise or information on how to figure out what plant my truck was assembled at to have a complete VIN to obtain a title?
Last edited by Ryan56f250; Jun 11, 2024 at 10:54 AM.
The original VIN/Serial Number should be present in a few locations on the truck such as the data plate, patent plate, and frame. Surely that should be sufficient to recover the missing pieces.
Sometimes the firewall has plant specific stampings. If so, take a good legible picture and post here for one of us knowledgeable folks to research and share.
By 1956, the Patent Plate and firewall stampings had been omitted from production. Those went away in late '51. There have been reports of a second frame stamping found hidden under the cab area, so you might look for that, but even if you found one it probably wouldn't be any different than the one you found.
Lacking the door jamb or glove box rating plate, it's unlikely you'll find any other indication of a specific build plant. If you know the location history of the truck, area of the country where it came from, you could make an educated guess of the most local assembly plant and call it good. If you just bought the truck you could always search inside for an old registration or insurance card that may have the complete number on it. You never know what you'll find when you clean out the hidden areas. When cleaning my truck I found old insurance cards with the original owners name and address on them.
It actually has an old license plate from AR expired in 1967. I called AR DMV and they told me to contact my local county accessors office which makes no since at all 😂🤦
Often states want to physically inspect a truck to verify the serial number to make sure it's not stolen. Your frame number as stamped is your serial number. I doubt your DMV would accept a "doctored" serial number for the title even if you manage to figure out the missing characters.
From a practical angle, your truck was located close to Dallas, Memphis and Louisville assembly plants..
On a lighter note, you could always make up a story of how your truck was built on a Monday when the stamper was so hung-over that he didn't know where he was or even what year it was....
You have no info on your post or in your bio indicating where you are which makes it hard to give you any help with your local licensing/title procedure. As far as the Arkansas DMV info goes, that is very good info as several states use the local county offices for issuing plates and titles. You would obviously be better off if you could figure out the county that issued the last plates. Good Luck.
It actually has an old license plate from AR expired in 1967. I called AR DMV and they told me to contact my local county accessors office which makes no since at all 😂🤦
Are you in Arkansas? What makes you think that contacting the county assessors office makes "no sense at all"? Here in Tennessee the county in which you reside controls the registration and licensing of all vehicles...that may be the case as well in Arkansas. I am assuming that you did not receive a title with this truck, if so, perhaps a bill of sale with the numbers you have from the frame would suffice to get it registered. Good luck.
I live in missouri it doesn't work that way at all. The department of revenue runs all the licensing here not the county. A complete vin would be sufficient enough to get a title through a declaratory judgement which is why I only need to know what plant it was made to complete the VIN.
