I have 2 trucks I am mucking around with, a '73 F250, and a '77 F250 4x4. If I put the cab of the '73 on the frame of the '77 do I have a '73 or a '77? Who is the deciding factor of this?? Any way around this, aside from keeping my mouth shut and calling it a '73? Is there any kind of penalty for having a truck licensed as a 2WD when it is actually a 4wd? (assuming you "converted" it) any help here would be helpfull. any ideas guys? (questionable ideas please contact me off list). BTW I have clear title to both trucks.

Thanks

Tony

'74 F250
'73 F250
'77 F250

 

Tony, The truck will remain a 77 regardless of which 73-79 cab that you run on the chassis. The truck gets it's ID from it's vin, not it's body parts. You can put a cab and bed from a 63 on the chassis and you can call it what you want, but the records will still be for a 77.
Hope this helps.
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John

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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 15-Jan-02 AT 09:02 AM (EST)]>Tony, The truck will remain a 77 regardless of which 73-79
>cab that you run on the chassis. The truck gets it's ID from
>it's vin, not it's body parts. You can put a cab and bed
>from a 63 on the chassis and you can call it what you want,
>but the records will still be for a 77.
>Hope this helps.

John and Tony it does not alway stay the same, like here in utah if you change the body the year of the truck changes to the year of the body. Tony what I recomend is that you check with your local dmv and get a final word from them.

 

I disagree. The primary reference for the VIN would come from the cab. If you were to be involved in an accident or a state inspection etc. they would PRIMARILY look for the VIN on the body. The numbers on the frame may be looked at in a more in depth investigation of the VIN. But why would they need to? I would say it would be a rare circumstance for the VIN on the frame to be verified. I have brought many cars and trucks to Ohio from South Carolina. To get an Ohio title they have to go through a state inspection to verify the VIN on the vehicle and the title. I have never had them look for a VIN anywhere but the body. If I wrecked my truck and bent the frame, got another frame for the truck, and only changed the frame, would I use my truck title or the title from the frame I used? I would use my original title. I'm sure the laws may vary from state to state. You may technically have a "self assembled vehicle" that your state would issue a VIN for. My Dad had the drivers door on his '66 replaced a few years ago and the dumb dumb body shop threw the old door that had the VIN on it away. The state of Ohio issued him a new VIN. They didn't look on the frame. Trust me, unless you want your truck to end up in the impound lot use the title from the cab.

Mike/Ohio

 

I also disagree. My truck was stolen and the thieves were able to title and register my truck with their paperwork. One day I saw my truck parked at a convenience store and confronted the person driving my truck. He showed all his paperwork but because the VIN on the registration did not match what was on the frame I was able to recover my truck. If the frame VIN was not the deciding factor then car theives would have a field day mixing and matching their own parts and paperwork. I do agree however, that most DMV will not check for frame VINs but will accept the first they see. On most old Ford trucks all one has to do is change the VIN plate on the driver's side door....TOO EASY!!

 

i dont know about the year thing..
but i think you should register it as a 4x4
cause you insure it as a 2wd and if you wreck it
they'll only give you 2wd value for it.

 

where is the frame vin located?

 

The frame rail on the passenger side.
Between the rad surround and the firewall.


Dennis

Oh....Please Don't Ask Me Any Tough Questions As:
"I'm Saving Up MY Memory For When I Develop Alzheimer's"






78 F-150 429CJ C6 ,Silver w/Explorer Pkge
641/2 Mustang,Pre-World's Fair Car #8092
64 Fairlane S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang.Sunlit Gold 80,000 miles

 

I looked checked all 3 trucks I own for the VIN numbers. The 2WD trucks both had the VIN on the frame near the radiator, but the 4WD had a cross member/bumper or leaf spring bracket welded over the area in question. Was this something Ford did, or might this have been some Okie rigged repair of some sort??

Tony

 

OK, take this for what its worth. I'm a police officer in kansas. The vin on the frame is what matters!!!!, But many officers don't know this and will never check. You can, at least in kansas, take all of your paperwork to the Highway patrol and get a new Vin assigned by the patrol applied to the truck, Like a homebuilt. Best advice is to do it legite, you may want to sell the truck at some point and don't want to find yourself in hot water over a matter you could have corrected properly to begin with. Check with your state highway patrol or DMV, but use caution and make sure you deal with someone who knows this matterial. Every State has people who deal with VIN numbers and the opinion of someone in a DMV office who isn't specifically trained in the legal issues related to this could give you bad advice. I deal myself with issues like these from time to time, so if you can't find out what you need to know ask and I'll see what I can get for you. You might try to see if your states DMV has a web site. Questions like this one come up frequently and might be answered in a FAQ.

 

Bill you can't tell these guys that, it will only confuse them.
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John

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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

So would the best response be something like this? The frame VIN is all that matters, legally speaking unless you want to take a trip to the big house and meet Bubba. Truth be known every year people loose vehicles they thought were legal when someone checks the frame VIN and it comes back stolen. But don't think, well I know my frame so it will be ok, because when an Officer finds that the vehicle is improperly registered, tows and impounds it, how do you think you will be able to recover it and prove ownership? DO IT RIGHT, trust me its not worth the shortcut. You will find that most Law-Enforcment agencies will help you get it right in the first place if you just ask. Beats a ton of fines and a lost truck!!!!!!

 

Yeah, don't try to tell us guys nothin'. We don't understnd stuff like you smart guys. Weeze all just pretty stupid.

Mike

 

Mike vehicles get wrecked and door plates and (newer) windsheild plates get changed out. There are two numbers on the chassis, just in case you try to doctor the easy one to find. When they left the factory all numbers matched, but the one on the frame rail is the last go to.
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John

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[link:www.ford-trucks.com/users/jowilker|My Club FTE Page] Member since 01 01

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NCFTO] North Carolina Ford Truck Owners Group

In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

John, I just took a little offense to you saying that me or others on the board might have a comprehension problem. I'm sure you didn't mean it that way. I was just being a little smarty pants. I have done just about everyting possible with vehicle titles in the state of Ohio. From registering out of state cars, rebuilt salvage cars. changing out the frame on a wrecked truck, and my Dad's vin plate on his '66 getting lost. As I said in my earlier post, I'm sure this varies from state to state, but in Ohio Tony would technically have a self assembled vehicle and have a state of Ohio issued VIN.

Mike