I am considering buying a 1941 Ford Super Deluxe. The vin number on the frame does not fit inside the Van Pelt 1941 vin numbers 18-5,896,295 to 18-6,769,035. The number starts 18-6,785,... which is in the 1942 vin numbers. Does anyone have any information on why this clearly original 1941 Ford has a vin outside the 1941 series?
Are you saying the Van Pelt numbers are incorrect? I do not understand why the Van Pelt 1942 Ford numbers include this 1941 Ford number. Thank you
He is saying that it is not a VIN. A VIN is a 17-digit alphanumeric identifier that was not standardized until 1982. What you have is a SERIAL NUMBER. All that indicates is the position on the ***embly line. No civilian vehicles were made in the US between February 1942 to October 1945. No civilian vehicles were delivered after January 1, 1942, until October 1945. Your car was either made in late 1941, intended to be delivered as a 1942 model, and then delivered to the US military, your frame was replaced, or your serial number is fake.
It has been a long-standing, totally illegal (like felony-cl*** illegal, on top of how you manage to have the car in your possession) practice of stamping an early car with a fake serial number, generated by looking at production numbers, and then inventing one with a higher number than would ever been found in any records, from any state, or on a stolen vehicle list. I cannot say if that is what happened here, but I strongly suggest you familiarize yourself with the exact typeface and spacing of what a correct serial number looks like. If it does not match that, RUN!
Question answered - 1941 car has a typo in sn. *** I got a picture of the frame rail it shows one digit hard to read 7 is really a partial seen 3!! The ***le matches it. So there is a typo cause by this 7 should be 3 digit. The ***le is 18-6785639 (1942) should be 186385639 (1941). Wonder if I could talk the owner to fix this? I guess I could ask the owner to review with his state ***le agency.
I would have the owner fix that, as a condition of sale. The regulatory authority (DMV/RMV, etc.) should have a book that shows what was made when. You can alert the seller that the number has to be an error, as if it were correct, it would have to have been made deep into WWII, after automobile production was ceased, by Federal law, in favor of the war effort. There is literally no way that the existing number can be correct, and yes, the top of a 1st and 2nd generation stamping of a 3, looks the same as a 7.
I would definitely want the paperwork to match the car BEFORE I bought it, and the Great State of Ohio will want it to match too.
Thank you to everyone for your impute. I have asked the seller if he would go to his ***le bureau with picture he sent me of the frame and ask for the ***le to be corrected. He said he would do this..
Perfect. That's the best way to handle it. That way you are protected, no matter the outcome, and with great hope, get a cool car out of the deal!
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