Hot Rods Vin tags for Model T

I understand selling ***les or historical docs are tabu. . but I'm hearing these old cars mostly didn't have ***les, is this true? thanks for any info. I'm hearing what I'm looking for is a vin tag so it can be traced back to a T registry? Is this also true?

Sorry if this is the wrong forum. . Also posted at the Ford Barn, Thank you for any direction you can offer

 

Of course old cars had ***les! Model T Fords were ***led by the engine number and then in late 1926 they stamped that same number on the frame as well. Model A's used the engine nmber too along with the same number stamped on the frame.
Dodge Brothers stamped the SERIAL number on the frame from the very beginning starting in November 1914 and the engine number was approx 50,000 higher than frame serial number.

VIN's did not come into being until much later and are a 17 digit numer if I remember correctly. Early cars only have a serial number and vary in length.

Dave

 

Thank you for clearing this up for me dwollan I'm gettin stories for people and this isn't a topic I'm familiar with. .

 

A ***le is proof of ownership of the vehicle. This is a state level thing, not federal. Some states didn't issue ***les even into the 70s.
The early numbers were as @dwollam said, engine or serial numbers and of course when dealing with different laws in different states with humans doing the paperwork, there were variables and mistakes.

What was not a big deal 80 years ago or even 20 years ago can be a bigger deal now and in the future.Then others fixed or started over time. I won't go into each of the 50 state's laws over the past century. Do your own research.

You will get lots of opinions on this stuff, but it is not legal to mess with identifying numbers, either stamping or swapping a tag. This was done a lot when these were just minor value cars, but when theft and fraud got into making stolen or low value cars high value, it has been cracked down on.
How this is handled is still state by state, unless insurance or the feds catch wind of something.

Please do a search on this here, at Ford Barn and online. Educate yourself. If you just buy a br*** tag and stamp numbers on it, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

 

1981 was the year for the federally standardized 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_identification_number

 

Even states that didn't have ***les still had registrations/license.

Dave

 

Exactly! Again, different states, different laws and the ability to move from one state to another and what would be accepted to transfer varied between states and over time.