1940 Ford Vin question

[hog1340]

Hey Guys
New to this site and new to the classic Ford world.
We just acquired a 1940 Ford, from my Father-in-Law. It was titled, registered and insured in NJ. We moved to NC and we had to have the State Police come and inspect it. I didn't know where the vin number so they couldn't title it. I have now found the vin, BUT the vin on the frame and the title don't match. The vin on the frame is 1854***47 and the title is the same but has the letter
"Z" after the 47. So after the 18 there are 7 numbers. With the z it would be to many characters, correct? Because i thought maybe it could be a"2".Does the Z mean anything? It is on the NJ title, reg and ins. I'm afraid I'm going to have a problem with the police inspector. Any ideas?
Thanks Ed

[4dFord/SC]

A star was stamped at the beginning and end of Ford serial numbers. Could the "Z" actually be a star, or part of one? For more information on Ford serial numbers, see http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/f...ialnumbers.htm

[hog1340]

There is no star to the front or back on the frame, just the number. I guess there could have been a star at some point that someone thought was a z. I checked out that sore and there are no letters in the Vin, except Canada.
Thanks for the input.

[okiedokie]

www.vanpeltsales.com has a list of serial numbers that you can show the inspector to validate the number. I'll bet he will be ok with it. He will see that a Z was never part of the serial number.

[Terry,OH]

For 1940, 85 HP, the VIN starts with a *18- followed by seven numbers, then * Sometimes the BMV will forget the 18, most times the stars are not on the title, and mistakes in the seven digits (missing numbers, mistaken number, typos, etc.) , often the hyphen after the 18 prefix is not on the title. In Ohio it is the responsibility of the applicant to inspect the title before walking out of the registers office. It appears clear that your title has an extra character at the end. The inspector should be able to instruct you how to get this corrected. If not the clerk at the registers office. It is possible the NJ BMV can look back or the vehicles past titles for the mistake, and correct it for you.

[hog1340]

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Excellent, thanks for the info and recommendations.

[George/Maine]

If your car still has the original trans up from inspection tin plate there is the number of car. That # is stamped better.,

[Joe Immler]

I had the same problem with my '41 Ford. I bought it in Ca. and the DMV just wrote a new title using the number on the sellers title. Moved to NH and same thing. Moved to Ohio and they must actually see the VIN. I got a Mototool and wire wheel, took the frame down to bare metal and found the number wasn't even close. Due to this, I had to take the car to a Highway Patrol inspection garage. They put the car on a lift, the whole bit,and also found the VIN on the trans area. They issued a letter of correction and my title now has the correct number. It appears that whomever did the original checking of the VIN thought the star was an 8 and the dash was a 7. It was that way for at least 20 years. I put some clear coat on the frame number then masked off and painted the frame area. Now it will be visible if the need arises again.

[Tudor40]

Pull up the front floor mat and remove the trans center cover--the serial
number for the trans and the original engine would be the # stamped in the upper part of the trans/bell housing area. If it matches the title VIN,
that would mean that it is the original tranny but they often were swapped out.
Roger

[hog1340]

Again thanks for all your suggestions and help. I'll post back once I figured out what our how I'm gonna proceed. Thanks again Ed