Projects 1941 Ford Pickup Title, Sort Of... How To Proceed

I finally picked up my basket case '41 Ford pickup yesterday. I had been under the impression that there was not****le since the frame was gone and he hadn't mentioned any paperwork. When I paid him and we made out a bill of sale, he said "Here's the****le and registration." Huh? It says "3 ton" on the****le so I****ume the frame and a bunch of the extra parts were from a bigger truck perhaps? So, I ask what happened to the frame. The owner tells me that "He must've given us the wrong frame because the (1/2 ton) parts didn't fit right". They subsequently scrapped the frame when they were cleaning out the grove. Doh!

So, my question is, is there any point in doing anything with the****le (other than putting it in my file) since it is for a big truck frame that no longer exists?

FYI I am planning to casually search for a 40/41 1/2 ton frame while I work on the other projects I have ahead of this.

 

You can use 35-40 car/PU frame and ‘41 PU frame.
Car frames will have body mounts on the sides you can remove.
I think the only other differences might be the front crossmember.

 

I’d walk into the treasurer’s office and go to the line with the youngest girl working. Tell her you just bought this project, and are going to switch the drivetrain from a 3 ton to half ton. Ask her if she can switch it for you. Also ask her if she can change the color too, cause you want to paint it (whatever). Make it all seem rather simple, and maybe you’ll get lucky and she’ll think it’s simple too.

Those clerks don’t seem to get an attitude until they’ve been there for years.

 

What is the prefix of the serial number on the****le?

On mine, a 41 that came OE with a six cylinder, the front crossmember is considerably deeper to clear the front of the six’s oil pan. Those trucks also had a serial number prefix of GC- ******. Van Pelt’s site shows a GA prefix.
The front of the truck was raised up by the deeper crossmember on the spring. Easy to replace with one from a 40 car or truck, bringing it back to earth. FWIW, the serial number is stamped on the top of the frame up front adjacent to the crossmember

Here’s a shot of mine showing the DEEP drop in the crossmember. The orange tape is the location of the serial number.


With the 40 crossmember installed. Quite the difference

 

There are no letters in the VIN on the****le, just 9 numbers.

 

But, even if I were successful in that endeavor, I still wouldn't have any numbers anywhere on the truck that matched the numbers on the****le.

 

Down here in the Deep South, we have a free procedure for 'corrected****le'. We get a cop to run the serial number to see if it's stolen, then he gives an Affidavit of Physical Inspection. Take that to the license bureau. Done. Free. I found this out when I bought a 1954 Harley in 1975. The****le had 54 O, but the Harley number is 54 G.

 

In Kansas, they had a guy who worked for the state police who went around and****igned a vin. You showed him your bills of sale (body, engine, frame) and he stamped out a tag and affixed to the body of the car. That's how I did my A coupe.

 

What I'd do is find the frame you want to use and use the number stamped on it. Start the****le process there. Forget the big truck****le.
Or the state can****ign you a new number