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Where is it? And what do all these codes mean?
An
often-asked question to me regards trying to find the Vehicle
Identification Number (V.I.N.) for their '67-'72 Ford pickup, or how to
decipher it once it's found. Quite often the question might be about how
to determine if the V.I.N. shown on the driver's door is correct, since it
doesn't match the one listed on the vehicle's title.
 Let's
start from the beginning: Ford riveted a small aluminum warranty tag to the
driver's door on all their pickups which looks like this (but obviously
with different numbers).
The
information contained on the warranty plate includes the V.I.N., wheelbase,
exterior color, model type, body type, transmission type, rear axle,
maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW) in lbs., certified net horsepower,
RPM and D.S.O. (Direct Special Order) numbers.
FYI: The warranty tag is just there for factory warranty
purposes, used by the factory to service the truck. Once the warranty
has expired, this tag serves no further useful function, other than to
inform the owner about details about the truck. However...the VIN
stamped on this warranty tag is NOT legal for title or registration
purposes. The only legal V.I.N. for title and
registration purposes are the ones stamped on the right/front frame
rail. Federal law dictates that the only legal number is the permanent
number, the one that can't be easily transferred to a different
vehicle...and those are the two stamped on the frame, shown below.
Often during
the course of normal life, the driver's door might have been replaced
due to an accident or rust repair, but the warranty tag on the donor door is
sometimes not replaced with the correct tag from the vehicle being
fixed. It might be some time before anyone notices, but as luck would
have it, it's usually a policeman or the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) who catches the error. Because the V.I.N. on the 'new' data tag
doesn't match that listed on the vehicle's title, it creates problems
for the owner trying to prove that he actually DOES own his truck and
that it's not an attempt at deception. Therefore, you need an alternate
source for the vehicle's V.I.N. |
