VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Vehicle ID No. Question

A question has come up regarding the vehicle ID number on a 1940 Chev 1/2 ton pickup I recently sold. The ID number on the title is 21KC11 36831, while the ID number on the body tag is 21KC11 3683. The additional "1" at the end of the ID number appears to have gotten on to the title at some point in the past as the result of a small scratch on the cowl tag that looked something like a "1", but when cleaned up, is clearly not a stamped digit.

I know the 21 means the truck was assembled at the Janesville, WI assembly plant, KC means 1940 1/2 ton truck, 11 means it was assembled in November 1939. The remaining four digits are the vehicle sequence number, beginning at 1001. Does the sequence number represent the number of all vehicles assembled at that plant for the model year up to and including that vehicle, or does it represent the number of KC vehicles assembled at that plant up to and including that vehicle? In other words, was my truck the 2683rd 1940 Chevrolet assembled at Janesville, or was it the 2683rd 1940 1/2 ton truck assembled at Janesville?

Mark Yeamans
VCCA #35724

The sequence number would include all models assembled at that plant.

Mark,
I think you have it right. Also, Gene answered your question about the sequence.

I was wondering if a "rubbing" of the plate would show the proper sequence without the additional 1 (that is on the title) and thus satisfy all concerned parties (DMV Included). As a kicker you could throw in your knowledge as expressed in your post. The DMV folks don't know that stuff.

Best,
Charlie

Charlie,

I guess it's a moot point. The buyer of the truck didn't seem too concerned about it. It seems like it always comes down to who happens to be on duty at the DMV when you present them with the problem. Here in Reno, the DMV people told me it would not be a problem to correct the title. However, about 20 years ago, when I tried to title and register a 33 Chev sport coupe in Durango, Colorado, the VIN inspector discovered an extra digit at the end of the vehicle sequence number on the car's ID plate that had been left off the previous state's title and registration. The number on the car's ID plate was 3CA02 15338, while the number on the title was 3CA02 1533. No one in the entire Colorado DMV bureaucracy was willing to make the judgement call that a clerical error had been made long ago and that the car was very likely the car represented by the title. In order to get the car titled in Colorado, I had to get the car appraised by a certified appraiser, then post a bond for 10% of the appraised value. So it cost me over $200 just to get the title. I thought by explaining the Chevrolet car ID numbering system that I could make the case that by February of 1933, when my car was assembled, the St. Louis assembly plant would have been more likely to have assembled 14338 vehicles than 533 vehicles, and therefore the 1533 sequence number on the previous title was an invalid number. But they would hear none of it.

In the case of my 40 pickup, with the extra "1" at the end of the sequence number. the number of vehicles assembled would have been 35,831, and without the extra "1", the number of vehicles would have been 2683. If the 1940 model year production started in September 1939, and my truck was assembled in November, the truck was assembled in the third month of production. Is it more likely that by the third month, the Janesville plant would have assembled 2683 vehicles or 35,831 vehicles? Without specific production data from the Janesville plant, it'd be hard for me to guess. So it would be a little more difficult to use that line of logic to convince a "by-the-book" DMV employee that the sequence number with the extra "1" is not a legitimate number.

It's somebody else's problem now. I'm secure in the knowledge that my current truck has no phantom digits on the ID tag and that the VIN on the title matches the ID tag.

Mark