help understanding VIN/Chassis number.

[41firetruck]

hello new here.
i have read a number of the post about vins for early fords. I have a 1941 Ford Fire Truck. its on a ton chassis (I'm guessing on that). i found the number stamped on the frame of the truck (will post pic) but when i run that number it on a VIN check it doesn't come back to my truck or to any truck for that matter. I tried adding on the 99T and doing it again but still not coming back to a truck. heck that one came back to a GTO.

I'm working on getting a title for the truck but to do that i need to know who it was last titled to. Any suggestions on this would be very helpful. I live in Missouri by the way.

Thanks Geoff


the number on frame
IMG_5492.jpg
The truck
geoffsphone 121.JPG

[petehoovie]

[QUOTE=41firetruck;2388208]hello new here.
i have read a number of the post about vins for early fords. I have a 1941 Ford Fire Truck. its on a ton chassis (I'm guessing on that). i found the number stamped on the frame of the truck (will post pic) but when i run that number it on a VIN check it doesn't come back to my truck or to any truck for that matter. I tried adding on the 99T and doing it again but still not coming back to a truck. heck that one came back to a GTO.

I'm working on getting a title for the truck but to do that i need to know who it was last titled to. Any suggestions on this would be very helpful. I live in Missouri by the way.

Thanks Geoff




....

[Seth Swoboda]

That VIN won't tell you much of anything except for the range in year the frame was built. It's just Ford's numbering sequence. They stamped the transmission to match the frame number.

It will be almost impossible for your DMV to run that frame number and tell who last owned it.


That's a nice looking firetruck and the fire chief goes well with it.

[rockfla]

Have you looked on your top half of the transmission to see IF the number there matches the frame??? I am not sure just how the "Big" trucks were numbered, I would guess differently than the cars because your number you show doesn't jive with the 41 car engine log numbers. Maybe some of the "Big" truck guys NEWC, EXPavr, GB Sission will chime in here and set Us straight? So count me as "Following"

[deuce lover]

Being an ex fireman that Fire Chief is out of uniform !!

[DavidG]

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No, Seth, the frame was stamped with the engine/transmission number, not the other way around.

[Chris Haynes]

Save yourself a lot of time and trouble. Go to a impound yard and ask what company they use to do their Lien Sales. Contact that company, pay them a few bucks and its done. Here in So Cal I use Grant Lien Sales.

Fire trucks, being govt, vehicles may have a license plate on them but are exempt vehicles and likely not in the system.

[41firetruck]

I was told by a older guy that the truck may not have ever been titled as it was always a gov owned truck until i got it.

thanks for the advice. Ill look into the lien sales thing.

[41firetruck]

here are two more pics of the truck.
geoffsphone 114.jpg
geoffsphone 120.jpg

[ford38v8]

Now that is one HOT ... um ... a very nice Firetruck!

[petehoovie]

[QUOTE=41firetruck;2388226]here are two more pics of the truck.

[pbsdaddy]

Serial numbers and VINs are not the same. Yes, titles did carry the vehicle serial number, but the number was never intended to identify the vehicle. That said, law enforcement, today, use the serial number as an ID number, like they would a VIN, because it is the only number tied to the title. Confusing, yes. When the vehicle, no matter what kind of vehicle, was built, it came with a manufacture's certificate of origin. The state in which the vehicle was first registered created the title. I do not know the old laws for all the states, but I would think every state followed the same basic routine. The vehicle, (in this case) was "registered" to the fire department that owned it. The registration (tags) may have been exempt, but the truck was still registered and titled with the state. There has to be a paper trail, somewhere. The real question is, is the state of original, or even subsequent registration, willing to go through their uncomputerized paper files to find it. Running the SN through a VIN check app won't do any good. There should be more numbers stamped on the firewall. Collect all of them, with the SN and contact the last known state where the vehicle resided. You will probably have to do it in person. They will put emails and letters aside, "until a better time". If your lucky, you will only have to pay a small fee for the hand search. It looks like Missouri DMV will work with you, to a degree. https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/tit...%20days%20from

[azratrod]

@DavidG can you send me a message? I can’t message you because I don’t have enough posts. Thanks!

[rich b]

It is possible the truck was never registered or licensed; depending on the municipality that originally operated it.

Get a bonded title or whatever works in your state.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by deuce lover

Being an ex fireman that Fire Chief is out of uniform !!

[GB SISSON]

On the pictured stamped frame number, it appears that there are some Letters missing. Without digging out my titles, I typically see something like a 'BB' on the older 1 1/2 tons, a '79Y' preceeding the serial on the 122" WB one tons etc. Seems odd to me just to have a rather short row of numbers after the star without the prefix letters.

[Model51]

Goeff,

Assuming your truck is a 1941 model, which your pictures confirm, the engine-transmission number should begin with 198T (for a 158" wheelbase 100 HP engine) or 11T (for a 158" wheelbase with a 90 HP engine) followed by a number sequence which appears in your photos to be 358559.

Each state has it's own rules about obtaining a title for an old vehicle. Do some careful research and you will likely find a way to get a legitimate title for your great-looking fire engine.

[41firetruck]

ok sorry for not posting in a bit but works been busy and the wheels of progress move slow. I talked to a person in the DMV in Jefferson City Mo. they are checking to make sure the truck has not been titled in any state. Once they get that check done then they will call me and i will have to have the Highway Patrol inspect the truck and fill out some form for them to issue me a VIN and title for the truck.
this all came about by happenstance when i ran into a old friend that happend to know head of the DOR and put me in touch with them. a case of not what you know but who you know. lol. so looks like im on my way to getting a title for the old girl.
I did remove the floor boards and found the number on the top of transmission and it matched the number on the frame, only diff being 99T be for the 358539 so the number on the old insurance card was correct in it being 99T358539.
Thanks everyone for all your help

[Chris Haynes]

Don't let the lazy jerks at the state issue you a new number. Make them read their books and register by the number already on it. They assign new numbers when they are either too lazy or too stupid to do it correctly.