1954 Stude truck VIN plate

[Hoosier31]

Hi All,
First post: I'm going to buy a '54 1/2 ton pickup today that's just been pulled out of a barn along with two other vehicles. The owner had started body work years ago and the VIN plate is no longer on the seat riser. We're probably not going to be able to find the tag. Is the VIN anywhere else on the truck besides the engine? I've gotten titles for several old vehicles in the past here in Indiana with no problem, but that was with the original VIN tag present. Maybe someone out there has a '54 VIN tag that was pulled off a truck that had rotted back into the earth. Any ideas? It's a really cool solid old truck that deserves to be back on the road and not just relegated to being "parts".

[Corvanti]

welcome to the forum!
someone should be along to let you know if there was a "secret" serial/vin # and its location.
i've seen some blank stude tags on ebay, but not sure how legal those would be...

"your state laws may vary"...

[Skip Lackie]

There are no secret serial numbers on Stude trucks. There were two serial numbers originally: the "real" serial number that was screwed onto a plate on the left side step riser, and a different, engine serial number on a machined pad at the top front of the left side of the block. Did you get any old registrations that indicate what serial number was used to register it before?