First thing, before you spend another dime, is to get a title. The state of CA has made it incredibly difficult and expensive when I have had vehicles with title issues before. To the point that I absolutely will not buy and untitled vehicle. I wish you luck. Mr.48Chev may be on to something, I've never tried that approach. The state does issue 500 (I think) Custom built titles a year. In any case, it's not many. I would suspect that they are gone by January 3rd. Devin
Talk to @gimpyshotrods , he can set you straight. He was a VIN verifier for several years. If everything is on the up and up, it’s not a bad deal. Time is definitely involved though.
Do not do a single thing with it until you have a title for the vehicle in-hand. Make sure that the tag on the driver's side door hinge post is present, and has visible numbers. Make sure that you have an actual DMV bill-of-sale form filled out by the seller. Go to the CA DMV website and find form REG31. Print out a copy. Find a local law enforcement officer and ask politely if they will verify the numbers on the truck. Cross your fingers that the DMV accepts the form when you go to register it. If they do not, you will need to trailer it there for them to do it. Cross your fingers that they accept what they see. If they don't, you will be referred to CHP, and they will verify it. None of this, contrary to popular unfounded belief is hard to do. You just need to follow the proper procedures, which include being cheerful, polite, open to suggestion, and treating the DMV workers with the utmost dignity and respect.
No. Absolutely not. This is 1000x more difficult than just registering and titling this as what it actually is. I still cannot fathom why I can roll into a CA DMV with my forms already filled out, even with no appointment, and roll back out in an hour, with reg, plates, and a title coming in 5-days, even with the most difficult paperwork situation, while others cannot. It is NOT THE CA DMV! If I can do this, then anyone can! I have lived in several states, and registered cars in all of them. From my experience, the CA DMV is actually the most efficient and easiest do deal with.
Everything on the rear needs to be done over, but you can keep the axle. The design of that suspension is seriously and dangerously flawed.
This is what the tag on the driver's door hinge post should look like. It is in this orientation, on its side, with the serial number line closer to the door. It has unique rivets that at NOT pop rivets or screws. If it goes to the DMV or CHP they know exactly what they are looking at, and if it is wrong, including the typeface and positions. Open your door and make sure that this tag is there. If it is not, then you don't own a truck. You own truck parts.
Gimpyshotrods, would I need both the bill of sale completed by seller & the reg31 form? I made sure the tag is there. It’s weathered with most of the black paint having wore off but the thing is stamped in the same fashion as the one posted(Oakland,1952,3100,October & sequence numbers)& the two rivets one on corners opposite of each other. I Hope to God I don’t need to trailer it there cause I don’t have a trailer. I’ll be finding out this coming week.
I agree & assuming I don’t run into trouble with dmv then I plan to return most if not all of that rear suspension to original well minus lowering a bit. I’m trying to figure out if all the attaching points are still there for the leafs. I believe the fronts are not sure what I’m looking at in the back. I’ll post a few pics in a while.
that does look like the original leaf spring hangers... https://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/parts/1929_54/index.htm https://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/index.htm These might help you figure things out, take some time looking through them...using a computer instead of a phone would make it easier....
REG31 gets filled out by a law enforcement officer, DMV employee, or CHP VIN inspector. Since there is no supporting documents for this (state issued, that is), it cannot be inspected by a private verifier. See if you can figure out where the local PD likes to hang out, and ask nicely if they will look at the serial number plate, sign the form for you. Only the stampings matter. The rest of what is/was on the tag is the same on all of them.
You lucked out in that the spring hangers were not removed. You can put lowered springs back on there, with stock hardware (or stock replacements and some blocks. Just know that the leaf spring perches will need to have the hole for the spring pack bolt forward 1-1/2". Since this originally had a torque tube, and pivoting spring mounts. If you miss this, your tires will be 1-1/2" forward in the wheel openings, and that looks funny. You can make these out of rectangle tubing for pretty cheap. If you are clever, you can by wider rectangle tubing and build in your lowering without blocks!* As for frame repair.you can carefully remove the rectangle tubing, and replace the cut-outs with like thickness steel. On these, I the desire is to go fairly low, I will put in a mini-notch, and box in the top of the factory frame arches. If you are not going low enough to need that, I would still box the peak of the arches. These frames are a bit twisty. *For the front, you can have the front beam dropped. https://droppedaxles.com/chevy-dropped-axles-0 Sid's can drop your steering arms, too! Posies makes aftermarket springs. Like year Chevy passenger car hubs and drums, I believe, get you to 5-lug on the front. I'm not sure because most of my customers move to discs. Someone will chime in. Dual bolt pattern Chevy/Ford aftermarket wheels (common) will make for a set that fits all 4-corners. You only have a couple of choices on lowering the front, so it is best to get that end set before going after the rear. Otherwise you can end up with awkward squat or rake. A good example:
There is nothing whatsoever wrong with a 250 for cruising. A whole mess of my lowrider customers run them. They are rock solid. With the right rear end gear they are fine on the freeway, too. I am finishing up a 1940 Chevy truck with one backed by a T5 now.
Thanks everyone for chiming in, you’ve all supplied a wealth of information. you’re all a very big help & very much appreciated. I’ll post back with more info on the titling process & hopefully some better pics once I’m able to get her into the back yard.
Do yourself a BIG favor and get the Service and Assembly manuals for '49-'53 Chevrolet pickups available from most of the aftermarket suppliers (The Filling Station, LMC Trucks, etc.). The info they contain will help you tremendously, even though you are not doing a 'restoration. Good luck!
I just went into the dmv to inquire on a reg31 form & the person who I talked to told me they don’t do vin verification. That I could call chp & they would schedule an appointment to come out & check it out. after talking with the Chp I was told to email them & they’d get back to me with an appointment. I’m going to email them & see when they’ll come out.
Thanks, I ordered a 47-54 assembly manual from classic parts online the other day. I figure it’ll help quite a bit especially with all the bs that’s been done to it.
AD trucks were either titled by ENGINE NUMBER OR Body Number depending on State. They did not have frame serial numbers. 20KP-L 7713 is the body code only. 20= Los Angeles plant, K=1952 body code P- 1/2 ton, L= December built and the 7713 is just the number of the body off the assembly line.
Measure center to center on the rear leaf spring hangers. I may have a set of rear springs I’ll never use. You’d be welcome to them.
That is good for the OP to know. It varies, I am on the largest AD group on the planet run by a HAMBer and see every option happening depending on location
I reached out to chp & a dmv registration service place to see if either can come out and do a vin verification. The guy I bought the truck from came by yesterday & dropped off a bunch of parts that came with the purchase including the inline 250, rear leafs, radiator, brake parts, extra rear diff, & some miscellaneous parts for the 216. anyway, I’m making a list of stuff I need to get after I get this truck registered& im looking at the rear suspension. The assembly manual shows the rear differential had rounded U bolts but all the U bolts in catalogs & online show squared ones for the 47-54 1/2 ton trucks. I’ve seen some of these trucks have an extra set of springs up top which is kind of weird looking but I’m guessing the squared u bolts would be for those? also does anyone know who sells the bottom plate that goes at the bottom of the differential that the u bolts feed through? No one seems to cary that piece that I’ve seen.
So the Ubolts he brought you are probably for the rearend that’s in the truck. Not an original rear end. So check them out, my guess is they will be okay. You’ll need to find a plate based off the rear you have, not an original rear.
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