I've been putting off the trip to Motor Vehicles Admin...

[Rat'l Trap]

So I bought this 51 Willys panel truck from an old guy in Virginia 3 years ago. His property was in the crosshairs of a new road, so he was getting rid of most of his stuff, then he moved. I got a title, so that was half the battle. Lately I've been thinking I should go to the MVA and see about transferring ownership official-like before I put in a ton of work and cash only to find out I cant get plates. I found the title, and what I had forgotten is that when I bought the truck I had the presence of mind to also get a bill of sale from the guy. Nice! MVA is weird about that for some reason. The title is from 1977, so it looks kinda old school, and I'd love to be able to keep it and frame it or something. Not sure how that'll go...
Well today I went to the MVA and was looking for some advice on how to proceed. You see, there is no VIN plate anywhere. Rust and old repairs have it MIA. The guy at the MVA says I need to take the truck back to Virginia and have them put a new VIN plate on it. UGH. Then he says "off the record, I'd get the title transferred to your name in Maryland, then get it inspected for registration and plates. But be sure you keep EVERY receipt for anything you put into it so the state inspector is OK with everything." UGH again. Well on the way home I swing by the local garage that does inspections to ask what kind of stuff I need to worry about. I'm expecting the worst, but this guy says I dont need to bother with inspections at all. Just get the title transferred, and register it as a Street rod or Hot rod. No inspections needed so no one will know there is no VIN plate. I guess all I have to do is get it driving and let the next guy worry about the VIN plate? Apparently the only time an inspection is done is to register it as a daily driver. No problem there! [cl RatRod gods have smiled down on me today.

 

[earthman]

Information. Just getting the all the facts requires talking to several sources.

 

[maverickmk]

There has to be a VIN tag on all vehicles. What will probably end up happening is you will get a state issued VIN. That is the best way to go about this. If I were looking to buy this and you told me that there wasn't a VIN tag, I would walk away, no matter how good the price was. Just my $.02. I've been thru this too many times. Nothing is worse than dealing with the DMV - in any state.

 

[Willowbilly3]

I was asking the clerk at the DMV some similar questions. I told her I had an old open title and she kinda looked around, winked and said to just bring it in and she would run it through. I told her the car did not have that VIN since it was on the engine block and not anywhere on my car. She suggested another process to get a new vin. Now I could have just tranferred the title and stamped the numbers on..BUT.. if they ever do check you, there is a little law called felonious tampering with motor vehicle numbers, that you may be guilty of.

 

[440shorty]

Maryland

Maryland may be a goofy state politically, and an expensive one tax wise, BUT...

Registering old cars in MD with "Historic" or "Street Rod" tags is super easy, cheap, and waives both safety and emissions inspections.

I would say that if you plan on selling eventually, then addressing the missing VIN would be necessary. Perhaps a well-crafted replacement is in order - as if they could find one to compare it to!

440shorty

P.S. My S-10 project would be unregisterable (is that a word??) in most states.

 

[gassersgarage]

Here in California, you would run into BIG problems if you ever got stopped and there was no vin number.

 

[Rat'l Trap]

Yeah, I think I can get a replacement VIN plate through the State Police somehow. I dont want to do this on the sly. I have nothing to hide, and the truck is rare enough so that there should be no problem getting it done legitimately. I mean, it's not as if I'm trying to register a Honda Accord or a Camry which are stolen every day. Just need to have the converstion and start the wheels in motion now before I get too far along. I still feel lucky having the title. Having to have that made from scratch would have been a huge battle I think.

 

[jnichols]

The factory vin plate should have been on the back of the "footwell" at the base of the drivers b pillar, just rearward of the storage compartment door.

the vin is also stamped it the frame as well, on 4wd's it is usually on top of the frame just under the grill on the right side. On 2wd's it is suposededly on the right side rear above the rear axle area.
A call to the folks at willys america would be helpful in locating it.
http://www.willysamerica.com/
If it is registered with the engine number and it still has the matching engine the state police may want to inspect it to change the official vin to the chassis vin.
You can get replacement vin plates on ebay cheap.
I grew up in Md. and was a state vehicle inspector for many years.
And come join the other willys wagon nuts at,
http://oldwillysforum.com

 

[Rat'l Trap]

The factory vin plate should have been on the back of the "footwell" at the base of the drivers b pillar, just rearward of the storage compartment door.

the vin is also stamped it the frame as well, on 4wd's it is usually on top of the frame just under the grill on the right side. On 2wd's it is suposededly on the right side rear above the rear axle area.
A call to the folks at willys america would be helpful in locating it.
http://www.willysamerica.com/
If it is registered with the engine number and it still has the matching engine the state police may want to inspect it to change the official vin to the chassis vin.
You can get replacement vin plates on ebay cheap.
I grew up in Md. and was a state vehicle inspector for many years.
And come join the other willys wagon nuts at,
http://oldwillysforum.com

The bottom of the driver's side B pillar is so bad that the REPAIR is almost gone by now. 10 years in the elements did a number on the sheetmetal. I'll need to look on the frame--didnt realize there was a VIN there too. Regarding the other Willys site-already there for a while now! -Lordy611