VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 VIN number

Again.... I need help. My "project" came to me in pieces and I have been working on it now for a year. I need to title it, and in the state of MN, I have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get a title for the truck as the original cab card is long gone because I think it was used as a farm truck all these years. Anyway, no title card, so I have to do this. I have done this one other time on Model A, and that is not a problem, but it is asking for the "serial number" for the truck and I have no clue about that, other than I suspect they used the engine block number as the serial number. Can anybody tell me otherwise or what I should be looking for and where to get a serial number? If all else fails, I will call my friend over at the license bureau, who has been so helpful over the years, and just ask him what I should do if there is no serial number anywhere to be found.... please advise and as always, thanks.... Dennis

Hi ProfessorDennis,
It will help people here if you supply what year your truck is.

Hi Jack... sorry, I forgot that and thought it might be listed in the profile.... It is a 1928 Chevy. I do have the original motor on the engine stand and will check that for some numbers this afternoon.... Do you suppose the motor number was the serial number? I had a 1945 GMC titled as a 1947.... That title had the engine number as the VIN number for our state. I did find out, through research on the net, that there was also a number stamped on the frame. That number I found, and it turned out to be a 1945 GMC.... and not a '47... but I didn't argue with MN DMV.... rarely, do you win..... and it would have cost so I just left it alone. Thanks for any help.... Dennis

The serial number plate often goes west! The truck may have in fact been registered with the engine number when new. This was reputedly down to Mr H Ford. It applied in mostg states until 1955 when the FBI seem to have stipulated that a serial number be used for anti-theft purposes.

You may have to have the DMV allocate a new number.

The vast majority of states used engine number on the title. You should find it just behind the distributor on the side of the block. How do you know that the truck is indeed a '28? The '28 truck is difficult to tell from the '27 truck by most people. Both have 4 cylinder engines. The '28 engine had side covers while the '27 did not. It was common for the heads to be changed so to rely on the single port as a '27 and double port as a '28 can not be relied upon. The engine serial number, casting number and casting date will be a big help in identifying the year.

The serial number would have started with the letter designation like LM LO LP. If the truck was an LP it will have front brakes and a late 28 type 4 speed trans. The LO could have either a 3 speed trans or the optional 4 speed early type. LM has the same deal as the LO. There may be some parts that are different on the LM and LO but you would need to go through things on the truck with a parts book. That usually "clears the mud" as to what you have exactly. A lot of 27s got 28 engines installed later while on the farm so just because someone says it is the original engine it may not be the case. Engine could have been swapped out even in 1928 if they let it freeze up and bust or there was a manufacturing flaw and changed under warrantee. you never know what happened back then. Parts book checking can really help!

1927 LM series trucks were never offered with the 4 speed transmission as an option.They all had 3 speed transmissions.

Hi... I thought I found the engine number, but after cleaning the area where I saw some numbers stamped, with carb cleaner, I copied down the numbers and thought I was in business... but when I googled 1928 chevy engine decoder, it took me to a site that broke down the numbers on the block and told me what they meant. So: 348532 and below it is a Bowtie 6 and below that is an H128.... Translation, 348532 is the block casting number and is a constant number to identify the kind of block. I have no idea what the Bowtie 6 means... and I even debated if it was a 6 or a letter G..... hard to tell sometimes, and the H138 means it was an engine manufactured on August 13, 1928. So my next question was going to be, where do I find the engine number, but someone has already answered that so I am going back out to the shop with that can of carb cleaner in my hand and look for that engine number, which I am going to try to use as the serial number for the truck when I talk to my friend at the license bureau... Will send another post when I find that engine number... Thanks for your help.... Dennis

I found the engine number on the ledge next to the distributor after removing a layer of dried on oil and will do some research.... T4938621 and the one at the end of the number may be the letter I... it's hard to tell..... Thanks again.

One more question: I went back and re-read the article written by Kaufmann, and I understand most of it, but I went back a couple times to see if I could find out what the Bowtie 6 (or is a G?) meant. It did mention several motors with a Bowtie 10 or something, but then when it was decoded, there was no mention of what it meant. Anybody have an idea what a Bowtie 6 meant? Maybe the manufacturing plant? Thanks Dennis

The bow-tie identified that it was cast in a Chevrolet (or GM) foundry. The 6 is the master number used to make the sand casting. That way they could know which master needed repair when a bad block was being machined. The date code was also used to identify and follow master deterioration.

Thanks Chipper... never would have thought of that in a hundred years.... is there a website or book that gave you this information? I would like to research a little more if I could.... thanks again... Dennis

Don't know of any books on manufacturing processes. There are a few videos like "Master Hands" that show parts of the manufacturing and assembly process. Basically the information comes from experience and asking questions of more knowledgeable people.

You probably came across my site, and read the file that Ken and I wrote..bit out of date now but e mail if you want the latest! The engine number is from a LP truck, built possibly in September 1928.

From 1929 Flint Grey Iron Foundry added 'CONV' and a number, indicating I gather the Conveyor number.