vin number location

[Flintg]

New member here with a 55 Conestoga. Being a out-of -state purchase I need a vin verification for title transfer. Where do we look for tag or stamp? Your assistance will be appreciated.,

Thanks
Flint

[StudeRich]

Welcome to the SDC and to the SDC Forum Flint!

The Serial Number Plate is welded to the Driver Door Hinge Post.

If there are any 1's in the Sequential Six (Champion) or Eight Cylinder (Commander) Line NUMBER (Serial Number), be aware that all Studebaker Chassis and Body Parts Catalogs specify that all 1's are Stamped into the Plate as "I" 's.

[RadioRoy]

Be aware also that some states used the engine number for the serial number.

If a previous owner changed the engine, the numbers will not match the paperwork.

[studegary]

What is alluded to above is that there were no VINs at that time. The car may be registered/titled (number now used as a VIN) with the Serial Number or the engine number, usually determined by the state of original sale.

What is the number that you are trying to match/find? We can tell you if that is a S/N (on the driver's door jamb between the hinges) or the engine number (stamped on the engine block}.

[bezhawk]

Semantics...Vin stands for...get this...vehicle identification number. Go figure. It can be anything recognized by the state you're titleing it in.

[Skip Lackie]

Bez -- No disagreement, but I have encountered a number of (young) DMV employees in several states who would not accept a serial number as a VIN because it did not match the current 17-character format. It took an appeal to a senior official to straighten it out.

[studegary]

Semantics...Vin stands for...get this...vehicle identification number. Go figure. It can be anything recognized by the state you're titleing it in.

In general, I agree with this statement. That is why I asked him to provide the number that he is looking for so that we may help him.

[Mark L]

Welcome, Flint. To expand on what StudeRich stated in post #2, if your your DMV representative wants to visually inspect the serial number on the body data plate to ensure it matches the number you hand-write or type on your title application, or what is on the out-of-state title, make sure he/she understands before your title documentation is finalized that any characters appearing like an upper case letter I on the data plate are actually a Roman numeral I (one) . If they don't believe you, it may help to present a copy of the attached Studebaker engineering drawing from April 1931 that shows how all numerals 0 through 9 should appear on all serial plates.

Hopefully, all of this will be a moot point if your car's serial number does not contain any numeral I .

The "secret" number stated in the text immediately above the list of numerals refers to a place somewhere on the car's frame where the serial number shown on the serial plate attached to the body was also stamped into the frame, using the same font, including any numeral I if any were present in the serial number. Unfortunately for some of us, the secret number on the frame was sometimes lightly stamped. If that location on the frame has surface rust, it may be difficult to impossible to read. The location of the secret number varies depending upon the model and year. On some models, it may not be present.

I believe Bob Palma provided a copy of this drawing on an earlier Forum thread, and I also believe it appeared in an article in a recent issue of our club magazine, Turning Wheels.

[StudeRich]

Mark, the Document is not the Correct Format for the Forum, so no one can read it.

[Mark L]

I think I got it fixed. I uploaded the same .jpg file using the "upload attachments" button rather than the "image" icon.

[studegary]

It is now three days and I do not see the OP back on here. We do not know if he has read our assistance or not.