VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Help locating the vin # on a 1931 two door coupe

Help!

My father passed away in March. Among his collection is a 1931 Chevy coupe. We would like to sell it, but we have absolutely no paperwork for the car. He purchased it 23 years ago. Our local DMV supplied me with the necesesary paperwork to establish ownership, but we need to locate the vin number.

Dad had a 1926 Chevy touring car and I believe the vin was on the frame. I would not be surprised to find it there on this car. But dad has the car almost restored and I don't believe he ever found it.

Any advice is appreciated. Does anyone know if a car can be assigned a historical vin if a number cannot be found? We are in New York State which seems to complicate matters.

The 1931 Chevrolet did not have a "VIN" number. It was actually a "Car Serial Number". The car serial number is located on a metal plate that is attached to the passenger side wood main sill, facing the passenger side front door under the floor mat. The car serial number plate was attached by small nails and it is usually missing if the wood main sill is rotted or if the wood main sill has been replaced.

Chevrolet passenger cars made in the USA did not have a serial number stamped on the frame until several decades later.

Regarding an assigned serial number, that is something that you will have to talk to the New York DMV about since many states have different requirements.

New York used registration on pre 1955 vehicles and did not issue titles. Most states used the engine serial number not the car serial number. Some states had both on the legal paperwork. If you have an old registration slip for the car it should help verify ownership. Otherwise you may have to sell it with a bill of sale which can require more complicated titling process.

Most states have convoluted processes for finding the VIN number... and if you read this page, you'll understand a little more....
http://1931chevrolet.com/specs6.htm

Here in Washington State, you can take the car to the local State Police and they will inspect it to see if it conforms to the appropriate safety needs (eg. taillights, headlights, etc). Then you can "Register" your car and apply for a TPO -- Title Purposes Only. This is a temporary "title" valid for 3 years. If no one claims the car, or protests that it's stolen, then after 3 years, they'll convert the TPO into a full-fledged TITLE for the car.

Now -- as Chip and JY Dog said, the NUMBER that was used previously could have been 1) the engine block number, or 2) the ID Plate number. But these were not good and either of them could have been replaced during the long ownership.

Some states now will rivet a new ID Tag in your frame and that will become the VIN for you. This is probably the best way to go if you get that option.

Good luck. Been there, done that. Advice: Don't be in a hurry.

-Bill B

If my memory serves me correctly - and it has been a long while since the retoration on my 31 - there was a small metal tag with the number on it but also stamped into the wood in about the same location were the same numbers. Numbers as i recall were about 3/4 high. Saved that part of the wood frame rail when I replaced the wood...now where did it put it.
Bill does this sound like a possiblilty?
John Lanning

The metal tag is the car serial number plate described above.

The number that is stamped into the wood near the car serial number plate is actually the body number and not the car serial number. The car serial number appears in only one location and that is on the metal plate that is attached to the passenger side wood main sill. The body number is in two loations; on the Fisher Body cowl tag that is riveted to the engine side of the cowl, and stamped on the wood cross member by the front seat.

I have a question pertaining to this also. Seeing since both my plates were missing I need to make both up. The body plate inside the car is easy as I have 6AE 12659 on the title. The question is the cowl tag. I know it will have the job #: 31569 (4dr special sedan), but it's the body # that I question. I know it should start with "O" for Oakland (matches #6 on body plate) but wouldn't the number on the cowl tag match the body tag (11568, minus the 1001 they started with) or would it be something completely different and I'm way off? Any help would be appreciated as I need to have my cowl plate made and they are expensive. I would like to make it as authentic as I can.

The answer is no. The body number is a sequential number starting at 1 for each body type and each body plant. You could approximate the body number by calculating the approximate assembly date from the car number. Yes there are first car number lists by month and plant for 1931 and 1932. Once you do that you can proportionate the total number of a given body produced and the percentage of total vehicles produced at a given plant. That number should be close. If all that is too confusing ask the Dog to calculate it for you. He has more spare time (just remember he is on dialup so has a bunch of waiting time sitting in front of the computer) that many of us and has the lists too.

Yep, I'm on a dial-up and our everyday telephone has a rotary dial, my table top radio uses vacuum tubes, my email is Netscape, and our refrigerator is a 1934 General Electric Monitor Top (the compressor sits on top of the refrigerator cabinet).

My 1931 4dr sedan has serial number 12AE 56690. I guess that means it was built in Buffalo, and using the formula listed in Bill Barkers production numbers page, it was the 55690th sedan built (start counting at 1000.) But the production numbers for sedans for 1931 shows only 52,465 were built. How can that be? My sedan also has free wheeling, which wasn't offered until 1932, but has all the 1931 body characteristics - not the 1932 hood, etc. Am I reading this right? Does the serial number reflect the production number for only that particular body style? How did they count cars sequentially when cars were manufactured at so many different plants?

Actually, 55690 is the sequential number for ALL of the vehicles built in the Buffalo factory in 1932. The Body Number on the cowl dictates the number of sedans built in the Buffalo factory in 1931.

Regarding the free wheeling on your car, have you checked to see if possibly your chassis is 1932 with a 1931 body?

There's a whole lot of math you've got to do to determine your body number based off the number on the sill plate. JYD helped me with production numbers per month and then I used the percentages of each model made over the course of the year. It's like going back to Algebra class all over again. With my 4dr Special Sedan, 17 1/2% of all 31' Chevys made were that model. Mine came from Oakland CA which by their total production was 10% average of all 31's. With the plant's monthly numbers figured with your model's production percentage average you can figure out an approximate body number. Now, if you have your cowl tag, you can forget all I just said as it will tell you what sedan off the line it was.

My cowl tag is:
Job No. 31559
Body No. B 4709. The 4709 is also stamped into the wood on the sill plate. So, is this the 4709th car off the Buffalo assembly line in 1931, or 1932 (with a 1931 body on a 1932 chassis?)

You need to go back up to my earlier post and read it again.

Your car serial number indicates the sequential number of your car off of the assembly line in Buffalo in 1931. The body number indicates the number of the model (sedan) off of the assembly line in Buffalo in 1931.

Your car serial number is 56690, so, since the car serial numbers started at 1001, your car would be the 55,690th vehicle manufactured in the Buffalo factory in 1931. Your body number is 4709 so your Chevy would be the 4,709th sedan made in the Buffalo factory in 1931.

Your car did not come with a 1932 chassis from the factory. If you have a 1932 transmission and freewheeling it is possible that some previous owner installed a 1931 body on a 1932 chassis. OR, a previous owner installed a 1932 transmission, freewheeling and torque tube (the torque tubes are shorter for 1932 than for 1931 because of the freewheeling unit) in your 1931.

If you post here your engine serial number, engine block casting number and the engine block casting date then we can probably determine which scenario above was done.