VIN PLATE

Rocket
Rocket Senior Contributor
Can someone tell me dose anyone make and sell a blank repo vin plate that I can get my vin number stamped onto the plate that  goes on the fire wall of my 36 Terraplane thanks.
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  • 2manyprojects
    2manyprojects Expert Adviser
    club store 5.00 
  • Rocket
    Rocket Senior Contributor
    Thanks I will try the club store wildrick dose not list one for the 36 cars.
  • bob ward
    bob ward Senior Contributor
    Wildrick have recently stamped a 35 firewall platform me. Buying a blank plate is one thing, stamping it neatly with approximately the right font is another.
  • bob ward said:
    Wildrick have recently stamped a 35 firewall platform me. Buying a blank plate is one thing, stamping it neatly with approximately the right font is another.
    True.  I believe the tags were originally stamped with a Numberall (or similar) machine. Was the tag you had Wildrick stamp done correctly? I ask because I need one stamped too
  • Tread carefully. You need to involve the police to report that you are replacing a missing vin. You will never stamp it as per the manufacturer did. You will create problems when and if you have a car accident and the insurance notes a fake vin attached...  ie.. No insurance no money... A police officer will check your car and provide a certificate to make it legal... Down the track when selling the car... You might either get reported that your car is stolen or dobbed in by a club member who might be overzealous thinking your car is a missing car... How would you prove it if it has a fake vin... You might think stuff it... But what if somebody steals your car and does the vin swap... Chassis numbers and be altered easy as well... A vin plate is there for a reason... A legal reason... Cheers ken 
  • ken1962 said:
    Tread carefully. You need to involve the police to report that you are replacing a missing vin. You will never stamp it as per the manufacturer did. You will create problems when and if you have a car accident and the insurance notes a fake vin attached...  ie.. No insurance no money... A police officer will check your car and provide a certificate to make it legal... Down the track when selling the car... You might either get reported that your car is stolen or dobbed in by a club member who might be overzealous thinking your car is a missing car... How would you prove it if it has a fake vin... You might think stuff it... But what if somebody steals your car and does the vin swap... Chassis numbers and be altered easy as well... A vin plate is there for a reason... A legal reason... Cheers ken 
    Just what makes you think anyone is putting a fake VIN number on their car?  In my case, I have a clear title with matching numbers on the frame, engine and rear axle housing but the tag is destroyed. Calm down. 
  • ski4life65
    ski4life65 Expert Adviser
    ken1962 said:
    Tread carefully. You need to involve the police to report that you are replacing a missing vin. You will never stamp it as per the manufacturer did. You will create problems when and if you have a car accident and the insurance notes a fake vin attached...  ie.. No insurance no money... A police officer will check your car and provide a certificate to make it legal... Down the track when selling the car... You might either get reported that your car is stolen or dobbed in by a club member who might be overzealous thinking your car is a missing car... How would you prove it if it has a fake vin... You might think stuff it... But what if somebody steals your car and does the vin swap... Chassis numbers and be altered easy as well... A vin plate is there for a reason... A legal reason... Cheers ken 

    Ken,

    I am just guessing, but do you live outside of the United States?  I live in the Denver Metro area (Colorado). I was recently hit by another driver, and they took off (hit and run). I called the police, and waited for them to show up, and waited.....never came. Finally I called back and they said nobody was coming. The police took my report over the phone. Never saw my car. They certainly were not checking VIN's. Neither was the insurance company. They just asked me to send an estimate and I was sent a check to get it repaired.
    I buy and sell quite a Hudson's, and if I get one from out of state, it needs a VIN inspection. Police can do them, but don't want to (or have the time), so I take the cars to the emissions testing place to get it done for $25. They have no idea what a factory stamping looks like. Even if I can get a trooper to do one, they barely even look or care about the stamping. Thirty years ago, they probably took a little more care in checking VIN's, but I think they have bigger fish to fry now. I am not condoning the practice of switching VIN's, but I think stamping a new plate for a classic car you legitimately own is a fairly common and accepted occurrence, especially when the serial number is located in more than one place on the car. 
  • After a searching for decades, Martinez found the perfect restored Corvette at a dealership in suburban Chicago. He drove all night to get there, and was at the dealership that day before it even opened for business. He loaded it on a trailer, and took it home to Olathe.

    Martinez had plans for the car.

    “Every day, back out in the driveway, wash it, put it back in, garage,” Martinez said. “and on Saturdays, go down to my favorite hamburger joint, get a hamburger, ride around a while. Come home.”

    But the dream only lasted until Martinez tried to register the car in Kansas. The VIN number, or rather, how the VIN plate was placed, was an issue.

    “What happened is they took it off to restore it, said Martiniz. “When they put it back on, they used modern bit rivets instead of old. You can buy the old rivets to put them back on but they didn't. They just used modern rivets and put it back on.”

    Many states are flexible on how the VIN is reattached after restoration. The car had been licensed and registered in another state. But Kansas is not so flexible. The VIN number on the engine was no help. It wasn’t a match because the original engine in the 62-year-old car had been replaced.

    So even though Martinez has paperwork from the dealership, Kansas considers the car contraband.

    “He came out and told me he was going to impound the car,” remembered Martinez. “I was devastated.”

    The corvette is now in purgatory. It was impounded four years ago, and for some of that time was left outside—not pampered in the garage Martinez had ready for it. It’s now inside, being stored with hundreds of other cars and boats that have been impounded.

    Martinez has tried to resolve the issues, even going to court, but to no avail. Apparently, the Kansas law does not provide for the return of property impounded by authorities.  Even though no crime was committed and the car was never stolen.

    “Sometimes I get angry,” said Martinez. He says not at the authorities, nor the judge or prosecutor—but he’s angry about the law.

    Over the years of neglect, the car has sustained considerable damage. An expert who looked at the car estimates $28,000-$38,000 in damages. Martinez has spent about $30,000 in legal fees. It appears there is no simple solution.

    There was a hearing in July, but the Johnson County judge presiding over the case asked the Kansas State Attorney General to weigh in before he issues his ruling. The Kansas Justice Institute has filed its own brief in the case, arguing the government should not be allowed to destroy Martinez’ car for an act he did not commit.

    But, weeks after the hearing, the Attorney General has decided he will not get involved in the case, leaving Martinez to wait for this nightmare to end.

    Be careful, this is what can happen!

    Ivan L.

  • KEL 39 said:

    After a searching for decades, Martinez found the perfect restored Corvette at a dealership in suburban Chicago. He drove all night to get there, and was at the dealership that day before it even opened for business. He loaded it on a trailer, and took it home to Olathe.

    Martinez had plans for the car.

    “Every day, back out in the driveway, wash it, put it back in, garage,” Martinez said. “and on Saturdays, go down to my favorite hamburger joint, get a hamburger, ride around a while. Come home.”

    But the dream only lasted until Martinez tried to register the car in Kansas. The VIN number, or rather, how the VIN plate was placed, was an issue.

    “What happened is they took it off to restore it, said Martiniz. “When they put it back on, they used modern bit rivets instead of old. You can buy the old rivets to put them back on but they didn't. They just used modern rivets and put it back on.”

    Many states are flexible on how the VIN is reattached after restoration. The car had been licensed and registered in another state. But Kansas is not so flexible. The VIN number on the engine was no help. It wasn’t a match because the original engine in the 62-year-old car had been replaced.

    So even though Martinez has paperwork from the dealership, Kansas considers the car contraband.

    “He came out and told me he was going to impound the car,” remembered Martinez. “I was devastated.”

    The corvette is now in purgatory. It was impounded four years ago, and for some of that time was left outside—not pampered in the garage Martinez had ready for it. It’s now inside, being stored with hundreds of other cars and boats that have been impounded.

    Martinez has tried to resolve the issues, even going to court, but to no avail. Apparently, the Kansas law does not provide for the return of property impounded by authorities.  Even though no crime was committed and the car was never stolen.

    “Sometimes I get angry,” said Martinez. He says not at the authorities, nor the judge or prosecutor—but he’s angry about the law.

    Over the years of neglect, the car has sustained considerable damage. An expert who looked at the car estimates $28,000-$38,000 in damages. Martinez has spent about $30,000 in legal fees. It appears there is no simple solution.

    There was a hearing in July, but the Johnson County judge presiding over the case asked the Kansas State Attorney General to weigh in before he issues his ruling. The Kansas Justice Institute has filed its own brief in the case, arguing the government should not be allowed to destroy Martinez’ car for an act he did not commit.

    But, weeks after the hearing, the Attorney General has decided he will not get involved in the case, leaving Martinez to wait for this nightmare to end.

    Be careful, this is what can happen!

    Ivan L.

    This story is a red herring.  There’s no “secret” VIN location on Hudson’s and the Kansas law in play here is an anomaly compared to the rest of the states.  As Sklforlife65 noted; “ Even if I can get a trooper to do one, they barely even look or care about the stamping. Thirty years ago, they probably took a little more care in checking VIN's, but I think they have bigger fish to fry now. I am not condoning the practice of switching VIN's, but I think stamping a new plate for a classic car you legitimately own is a fairly common and accepted occurrence, especially when the serial number is located in more than one place on the car.”  You all need to kindly calm the heck down ?
  • Rocket
    Rocket Senior Contributor
    I did not think this was going to turn out like this. I do have the vin plate that came with my car but it is in rough shape that is why I was looking for a repo plate I could have stamped with the same numbers so it would look nice when the car is done. I have decided not to put one on my car at all I will just keep mine in a box at home and at some time if I sell my car I will give it to the new owner at that time. Just the same thanks to everyone who posted about this for me.
  • bob ward
    bob ward Senior Contributor
    The first photo is a plate for a 35H that Wildricks stamped for me a while ago. They told me upfront that they don't have the authentic 35 stamps and it would be done in the 40s/50s font. The second photo for comparison is an original 35T plate. 
    Having the Wildrick plate on the car may lose me a place or two at Pebble Beach but I'll just have to live with that.




  • bob ward said:
    The first photo is a plate for a 35H that Wildricks stamped for me a while ago. They told me upfront that they don't have the authentic 35 stamps and it would be done in the 40s/50s font. The second photo for comparison is an original 35T plate. 
    Having the Wildrick plate on the car may lose me a place or two at Pebble Beach but I'll just have to live with that.




    Thanks Bob!?
  • I put new tags on my cars, but I put the old original tag behind it.
  • No problem. I live in Australia and its an offence to tamper, renew or take off the vin without prior approval from the police. Penalty either 2 months prison and or a large fine. Nice to know in the USA you can just change it without any regulation. Here they do check vin, engine and frame numbers and have photo proof on file. Every car requiring registration needs to have a roadworthy certificate and photos are taken when thus happens. Cheers ken 
  • ernie28
    ernie28 Expert Adviser
    Here in NZ I got a new one for the Pacemaker, had the numbers punched and used small self tappers to attach. Same number as the engine and have the old one in a folder for posterity. Never been an issue thankfully. 
  • BigSky
    BigSky Senior Contributor
    I completely agree with Ski4Life65!  

    From what I’ve experienced, the body number is not what’s on the title, but the engine number.  This could be a problem if the engine is replaced but not the body plate.  I’ve tried to get the engine number off the title & the body number put on the title, sometimes successfully. 

    Here is a real life experience I had last summer as I went to re-license my 37 coupe:  Now the coupe was correctly titled & licenced in the state I live in 8 years prior, so all I needed was renewal of the license.  At the DMV when I presented my information & requested I was asked “if I released my title to the car?”  WTF?  Hell no!  She then asked “if I had moved since the last licensing?” NO, the car & I are in the same place & nothing has changed!  Then she left to talk to another person.  I was quite worried about what the heck was going on here!!!   She came back & re-confirmed everything she’d already asked & again I presented all my documents including a copy of my title.  She then said my car’s legally titled vin number was released to another state & that they would have to re-issue my title for the 37!  Nervous as all hell I asked a few questions like who the hell gave them the right to void my title with out my signed consent & how could they ever do such a thing?  There were no answers.  Rattled as you can imagine I left with new titling paperwork & about a month later my new title arrived at my house.  

    That scared the hell out of me & worried the hell out of me too!  What if I had sat on my car & didn’t re-license it for 10-20 years or move to another state!  How thehell they could do such a thing to an active legal title without my consent was & is down right scary.  I thought of calling the attorney general of the state & raising hell but then again I thought it may be best to just shut the hell up & be glad I have a legal title once again on my 37.

  • That's weird. So, you have a new title with all the same info as before??
  • BigSky
    BigSky Senior Contributor
    Yes, all the same information on the title like before & same vin as before.  The only thing that’s different is the state title document number.  It’s beyond weird, it’s scary to think that my title can just be randomly canceled without my knowledge.  

    I could “possibly” see that happen to a car that hadn’t been licensed in 80 years, perhaps…. As they might think the owner died or car junked.  Yet I don’t know even then if what they did could legally be done?  The scary thing is this happened 8 years after titled & licensed, with the cars plate only expired by 7 years…
  • That is really odd... That sounds like the state made a big mistake and didn't follow a procedure or process. My first Hudson was a bill of sale purchase from a salvage yard. Before I bought it, I paid the DMV for a title search to see if any owner still had claim to the car. It came back with no-records found despite being registered in the state in 87. I had no problems getting a title, but if there was record of an owner, the DMV told me they would have to contact the owner of record and there was some other form that would have to be completed, etc, etc before I could get title. I think at that time I would have had to buy a surety bond if there was an owner of record that couldn't be contacted. Each state has different rules, but they seem to have controls in place. 
  • on the later cars, at least from ‘34 up, the body serial, frame and engine numbers l match and that’s what’s used on the title.  There’s even a matching number on the axle (right side near the hub) on my ‘46.  
  • What about a matching number on the transmission? I have plenty of step downs and would like to find those if someone knows the locations, both manual and hydro. 
  • I’ve never seen a car serial number on a transmission.  Casting part numbers and dates, yes
  • BigSky
    BigSky Senior Contributor
    edited September 2021
    Todd’s, I’m not sure I understand your statement on vin but I can tell you on 37 Hudson’s the engine number is different from the body number.  Both of my 37’s have originally engines too. 
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    Corresponding body and engine numbers  came in 1938 I believe.  
  • My ‘34 Terraplane engine and body serial numbers match which is why I made my statement.  I’ll do some research and see what I can turn up. Thanks for the additional information 
  • Rocket
    Rocket Senior Contributor
    Being no one sells the blank vin number plate  I am looking for I have decided to see if I can find someone who can make me one and also find someone who stamp the right type of numbers needed on them would anyone else be interested in one of these if I can get this done.
  • Rocket - I’m having a company Nostalgic Reflections custom making me three 41-47 Hudson distributor tags as no one is offering them.  I’m sure they could help you out.  https://www.nostalgicreflections.com/
  • Also I just found these folks that can create custom font metal stamps.  https://www.infinitystamps.com/pages/design-assistance
  • Rocket
    Rocket Senior Contributor
    Thanks Toddh I will give them a call.