Probably not. VIN is a single row of a combination of letters and numbers. On Canadian trucks, it's a good chance you'll find the correct number stamped on the upper left frame rail, where the steering sector shaft passes through to the outside. It should match the number found on the plate at the upper center of the firewall. It should start with BDA83, then a couple more letters and more numbers.

 

Thanks Wayne as I will check there to as soon as I have the chance.

 

Do you have any paperwork on the truck? NC will issue a new registration number for a vehicle that does not have a serial # stamping. A DMV inspector will come out and inspect the vehicle and paperwork you have and put a sticker on the frame and firewall with the new number. Check with the DMV office in your area or in Raleigh for the details.

 

AXracer what paperwork is the NC inspector looking for? I only have a bill of sale (not notarized). The VIN in the glovebox is good, but the VIN on the frame rail is basically unreadable. Do you think they will accept this?

 

I know Gary went thru this recently so I sent him a link to this thread and asked him to comment.

 

Application of phosphoric acid to the frame rail has brought up 6 letters/numbers of the VIN. Hopefully, the NC State Inspector will buy off on this.

 

In my situation, I purchased the truck out of state and the vin on the title was no where to be found on the truck. The inspector did come out and used some type of acid to check for a vin on the passenger side frame rail near shock mount. We found a partial number but none matched the title. You will know you found it because it will start and end with a *.

I had no choice but to title with a bond. There are lot of steps and paperwork to complete. Have a look at the Requirements on the link below. I had to first have the inspector come to my house to check for vin, complete paperwork to file for a new NC vin, he then came back a few weeks later to attach the VIN on the truck. Then you have to get bond insurance, I got mine though Hagerty. Once you have all this done, and additional paperwork completed and notarized, you can go to DMV to apply for title. The last step is to have the Sheriff come back to verify the truck is road worthy before you can register. The whole process is a real pain in the right one.... but NC is one of those states that take vehicle theft seriously.....

Good luck!





NCDOT: Vehicles Being Bonded

 

The number should start and end with a star symbol. I'm not familiar enough with the various year bonus builts to know how many characters it should have. If it's legible and matches your paperwork that will help. Is your handwritten bill of sale from an in state seller? Are they still available to notarize the state document?
I suggest getting the process started as soon as possible to prevent problems later down the road. It doesn't matter if its just a pile of parts. The process will never get easier, but will get more difficult the more new legislators muck with it and the more the feds push them to do so.

 

Also, it's easier to get to the VIN if it's just a pile of parts -- nothing to move/undo.

That said, I have a '53 but have not found the VIN in any of the locations mentioned. I'll go back with a wire brush tonight. The frame looks like it was re-painted, and they put it on thick. In my search last night, I also found some rust I wasn't told about (and didn't notice when I first looked at the truck) in the lower front passenger corner of the cab.

I'm seeing pictures of people's VIN on the upper center of the cab and on that front crossmember. I didn't notice a VIN in either location when I looked last night. Would the cab VIN be on a plate? What happens if I'm missing this plate? And Fat Fendered Ford circles a spot where I have a "brace" bolted in for the radiator housing or something. Would the VIN be under that?! I can take a wire brush to the frame if I have to, but I'd like to at least have an idea of where to start scrubbing.

And last question: when I'm done, is there an easy product you guys recommend to cover the bare metal back up to prevent rust? Primer, naturally, but is there some that comes in a rattle can and readily available? I've never done any automobile painting, so I've never even looked for the stuff.

 

On most 53-56 the frame # is stamped on the top of the pass side frame rail a couple inches in front of the firewall. On my 56 the frame had been painted obscuring the number, I wiped the area with a rag dipped in acetone which removed enough paint to make the number pop out. the grey primer stayed in the stamp which made it stand out against the dark background. Be careful using anything abrasive, the stamping isn't very deep. I suggest giving the acetone a try first. Put enough acetone on the rag that it's wet but not dripping, wipe it on wet and wait 10-15 sec and wipe again if the paint is soluble in acetone it should start getting dull and sticky with color transferring to the rag. wait a few sec between wipes and repeat until you get to bare metal or the number appears. If the paint is not softened with acetone, sand lightly with 120 grit wet or dry sandpaper (black in color with thin oily looking back available in paint dept of DIY, hardware and auto parts stores) used wet (dip a pad of folded paper in a container of water with a couple drops of dish soap added) keep paper wet and rinsed frequently, it will cut thru the paint quickly but is fine enough to not remove metal. To refinish: if the paint came off with acetone, sand area with wet or dry paper as above, wipe with wet soapy rag then dry clean cloths. Wipe area with rubbing alcohol on rag to remove any oils. Spray with rattle can self etching primer, followed by top coat of black or ? rattle can rustoleum or auto touch up paint. If paint was resistant to acetone it's probably 2 part epoxy or urethane like POR15. It can still be touched up with rattle can paint, just be sure to break the paint surface gloss with the sandpaper first so the new paint adheres.
The serial number was on the firewall or front crossmember only on the 48-52s. A rating plate with the number was attached to the inside of the glove box door on 53, but since it was easy to switch/replace the plate or entire door, that plate is not considered "legal" ID.

 

Thanks a bunch for the detailed steps, racer! Fat Fendered Ford (quoted below) showed the VIN for his '53 on the crossmember, and I was reading a lot of other people on the forums mentioning that, too. I'll have to have a closer look tonight to be sure of anything. Hopefully, I only have to botch the paint in one or two spots before I find it...

 

So a bit of good news, bad news...

The good news: After searching for 3 hours in the locations that other '53 owners reported finding the VIN, I finally found it! It was directly below the firewall, just forward of the tranny mount bolt head on the passenger frame rail.

The bad news: I still can't read it. Acetone did next to nothing, and it's some thick paint (most assuredly re-painted, and not very well). Once I found it, I went with 220 grit wet sanding (wanted to be extra cautious), but that only made it harder to read -- the surface wasn't completely smooth, as it the nature of automotive frame metal, so my sanding just revealed orangey metal underneath black paint (which doesn't bode well, I don't think -- sounds like it had surface rust that was just painted over). Didn't want to keep sanding and risk taking the VIN completely off, but it's not readable as-is (I don't know if it ever will be). I didn't have any luck with pictures either, so I got nothing to show, really.

Is there another chemical besides acetone that'll eat paint better without eating up the metal, too? I'd really like to salvage the VIN...

 

I doubt any DMV is going to check for a number on a frame as they are hidden from the body. You would have to remove the inner fenders to see a number on the front of the frame or the cab to see the one stamped there.

 

Here in NC the DMV officer comes to your home or shop and definitely inspects the frame number stamp, your paper work and photographs the vehicle. On Gary's F1 frame the number was not able to be read clearly, so the inspector applied some sort of acid compound that was supposed to make it more visible. After that he still could not clearly read all the numbers/letters so he issued the truck a new vin # and attached a plate to it.

 

Agree on the potential for MVD wanting to see the frame stampings, but I can't believe that crossmember is the only place it's stamped on a mid-fifty. You'd have to pull the radiator to see that. I thought they were also stamped on the side rail, a little further back than on a 48-52?