vin number quest??

[jplawman]

have a 1941 ford pickup from arizona. there is a sticker on the lower part of the drivers side door pillar with a number stamped through it into the pillar metal. has anyone read history on arizona registrations with such a sticker. claims are this truck has been in arizona its whole life. PLEASE tell me your thoughts.

[1931 flamingo]

Should be 3 places: left front frame rail, tranny, and if I remember correctly, rear crossmember. Someone may correct me on the last location.
Paul in CT

[51504bat]

Thinking maybe it could be an AZ DMV assigned VIN but the stamped numbers thru the plate seems to say otherwise. A photo would help.

[corvette8n]

Does the number on the plate match the frame?. Someone in time past put a plate on the firewall of my '41, it's a simple plate with the frame number engraved on it.

[rotorwrench]

Is it one character or is it multiple characters? Most states had a registration card. Some required them to be fixed to the steering column. There were different aftermarket registration document holders sold to the public to hold the documents for display purposes. I remember some were held with springs that could be wrapped around the column and hooked at the ends and a little holder made from vinyl and cellulose acetate film so the document would be protected but still viewed. Maybe there is an older Arizona based person that frequents here that can tell you more.

I'm not sure if Ford still had outside contractors building bodies for them in 1941 or not but that was a busy year for sales so it may be a contractor number if it was built outside of Ford Motor Co.

State issued VIN number tags are generally made of metal and are afixed per individual state requirements.

[blucar]

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jplawman did not make mention if the number stamped onto/into the door was a correct Ford serial number starting with *180000 or *1GA-10000..
I'll bet that the number plate is a company number and/or military/government contract ID.
The Ford serial number will be stamped into the left front frame rail, near the steering gear.. Of course if the truck has not been messed with the serial number will be stamped into the trans bell near the clutch inspection cover.
Without written prove, there is very little likelihood that the '41 is an original Arizona vehicle.

[TJ]

First we need to know if the sticker in the door has any writing on it from the state of Arizona. A sticker or plate in the left front door jamb is a common place for states to place an ID number issued by the state. They do it when original paper work has been lost , a vehicle is special construction, or the state cannot locate the correct ID# on the vehicle. The original poster has not said if this is a bone stock pickup or if it has been modified with an aftermarket frame, etc.(special construction). We are also not told if the paperwork on the vehicle matches the # in the door jamb. Lots of missing information here. The poster needs to give us the info in order to get a correct answer.

[jplawman]

well I did find the number on the frame and it does not match the door sticker it starts with AZ then the number 175 and so on. it may be military issue I don't know . guy claims it has been in AZ its whole life right! maybe AZ did it that way back in the day ?? more thoughts

[rotorwrench]

For it to be in AZ it's whole life, it would have had to be assembled there and Ford never had an assembly plant in AZ.

Ford never used decals or "stickers" for formal vehicle ID. I don't know where the VIN came from beginning AZ but it didn't come from Ford Motor Company that way. The original prefix would depend on what engine was in it at manufacture. There were only two basic prefixes for Ford cars or light commercials. The one for the 221 V8 was "18". The one for the 6-cylinder G series engine was 1GA.

[jplawman]

thank you for all the help fellows. I guess liars are still ruling the world no longer is a MANS WORD HIS BOND what a shame. quote = ARIZONA TRUCK ALL IT,S LIFE humbly john!

[TJ]

If the door sticker starts with AZ it sounds like something the Arizona DMV issued. Why not contact the Arizona DMV and get an answer? Send them a photo of the sticker. Have you transferred the vehicle into your name in the state where you live? I still don't see an answer as to whether or not the door sticker matches the registration/ownership certificate. I also do not see an answer as to whether this is a modified vehicle or a stock vehicle.

[blucar]

If the number stamped into the door jamb begins with AZ, that could indicate that the vehicle was a State owned vehicle, and therefore had an assigned number for record keeping purposes.

In any case, the tag on the door jamb has no bearing on what the original serial number was, or is. The original number is stamped into the frame, the first location being near the steering gears and the second being near the frame hump over the rear end.

[jplawman]

original truck not hot rodded. frame does have original number start with 18 then bb but does not match that door sticker number which it on the AZ title.

[rotorwrench]

With BB added, it indicates it came with a 4-speed T8 type transmission. Many of these also had an 11-inch clutch in later years but I'm not sure about 1941. If it is the same wheel base as a 1941 car then it's a 1/2 ton. If it is longer than it could be a 3/4 ton or even a one ton. If it has a conventional banjo rear axle, it would be a 1/2 ton.

[TJ]

If the title matches the door sticker then you probably have an assigned number from the state of Arizona. Again contact the state of Arizona to verify. Saves everybody here a lot of guess work and gets your original question answered. When a state assigns a number they have a reason and they don't care what is on the frame.

[rotorwrench]

I don't know if the Arizona MVD even verifies the VIN yet. For a lot of years, they wouldn't even look at the car if it was an in state transaction. If the number question comes up then the number on the door frame is the VIN if it matches the title. That may just be the way Arizona assigned a VIN when ever it was done. It's different than other states I've lived in but all states do things however they want to.

[blucar]

From my experience, States only verify Ser/Vin numbers when the vehicle comes in from another state.
My brother has a '37 Ford Fordor which he has owned since the mid seventies. The car had all of the trappings of being an un-molested car, except for the 59AB engine the owner preceding my brother put in it.The car had a known history of owners in California before my brother bought the car.
When my brother moved to Idaho in the early 1980's, much to his surprise he found out the serial number on the frame did not match the title. The number on the frame was correct for a '37, as was the number on the title.
Since my brother had prove that he had owned the car in California for many years, plus a written statement from the prior owner, the State of Idaho corrected the number on the new title to match the frame number.
Actually the whole thing does not mean a thing, because Ford Serial Numbers are only sequential production numbers with no relationship to production date, location, and/or power train...