CUCV Title/VIN

[LateOnTheBrakes]

Sorry if this has been covered but I haven't seen an answer to the level of detail I need to proceed. I picked up a CUCV from a friend that has the truck sitting in his yard for years. I didn't spend a lot of time looking at the title/VIN until I had actually bought the truck. The VIN on the dash matches the title and is for a V6, civilian truck. The VIN plates on the door and the partial VIN stamped on the frame are for the Army vehicle. I am not able to find any info on the VIN through the normal Carfax or other reports that charge for the service. A cop friend told me it comes up as "rendered destroyed" but didn't have any further info and wasn't willing to elaborate.

How do I find out if the truck has ever had a legit title with the CUCV VIN? If it hasn't, how would I go about getting it titled with the correct info? Am I opening a can of worms that is best left closed?

 

[TheMod]

Not sure how you looked up the VIN but if it's truly for a v6 blazer I would get my money back. Nothing good can come from this situation and if the full dash VIN and full door vin are different then that is bad news. I don't know how close anyone will look but the dash VIN is the only thing anyone will really look at and yours is not for the vehicle you have in hand


Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

Not sure how you looked up the VIN but if it's truly for a v6 blazer I would get my money back. Nothing good can come from this situation and if the full dash VIN and full door vin are different then that is bad news. I don't know how close anyone will look but the dash VIN is the only thing anyone will really look at and yours is not for the vehicle you have in hand


Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

I looked it up with a VIN decoder. It says it's a 4.3L, SM465 K10. The cab and frame are M1008. Either way there are two VINs on the truck. My cop friend says the only legal one in my state is the one of the dash so he says it's legit. I knew it was a bit of a hodgepodge as a lot of 30+ year old trucks. It had a 350, SM465, NP208, Dana 44 front, and 12 bolt rear. I don't mind finding the right parts to restore it but don't want to go down the route if it's value is way less because of the V6 VIN.

 

[TheMod]

I looked it up with a VIN decoder. It says it's a 4.3L, SM465 K10. The cab and frame are M1008. Either way there are two VINs on the truck. My cop friend says the only legal one in my state is the one of the dash so he says it's legit. I knew it was a bit of a hodgepodge as a lot of 30+ year old trucks. It had a 350, SM465, NP208, Dana 44 front, and 12 bolt rear. I don't mind finding the right parts to restore it but don't want to go down the route if it's value is way less because of the V6 VIN.

The cab cannot be m1008 with a k10 dash vin

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

The placards on the dash are M1008. The whole structure is painted green, it has the dash reinforcement. The dash vin was taken out if a junkyard truck and riveted to the dash if I didn't know better.

 

[TheMod]

The placards on the dash are M1008. The whole structure is painted green, it has the dash reinforcement. The dash vin was taken out if a junkyard truck and riveted to the dash if I didn't know better.

That is the part that is illegal...

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

Oh, I'm sure it's illegal. Which is why I asked about the can of worms. I want to see if I can get a title for the M1008 truck/VIN, leave the doorframe VIN, remove the dash VIN, scrap that title.

 

[TheMod]

Anything's possible. I may or may not have a bought a 88 truck without a title that is now registered as a 91. The same 91 my brother totalled earlier that year.

What you do in your spare time is your business. Just saying as it sits it raises a bunch of red flags.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[98G]

The placards on the dash are M1008. The whole structure is painted green, it has the dash reinforcement. The dash vin was taken out if a junkyard truck and riveted to the dash if I didn't know better.

Sounds like VIN tampering to me...

 

[Rutjes]

VIN is stamped into the chassis. It's on the right side, I believe about 3' from the front suspension.

 

[dependable]

The VIN should also be on the cab on data plate that is just below driver's side door striker.

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

Under the driver's door striker is the M1008 VIN, there is also a partial VIN stamped on the frame below the bed near the gas tank. Both are M1008. The only instance of the V6 truck VIN is the one on the dash under the windshield.

I'm confident that it is an M1008 with a bogus VIN/title. My questions are how folks register them in the first place.
Do CUCVs have a VIN plate under the windshield? Or is the one in the door frame the only identifier?
Do they have a title when they belong to the government?
Is a title generated when they are excessed?
Does a title have to be generated from a bill of sale when the truck is excessed?
What is that process and what forms are involved?

If I cannot figure out a way to track down the history of the M1008 title and get that restored I will remove the placards and other instances of the M1008 VIN until I can go buy an M1008 cab with title from a surplus place.

 

[dependable]

The official VIN is on dash, viewed though windshield.

They did not have title when owned by the govt, hence the Sh-97 form, form to obtain a title for a former govt vehicle. It is usually issued to original buyer from govt.. If one buys a veheicle from govt, one applys for title at your state's RMV with that form.

 

[cucvrus]

You don't get a title with a cab. I bought perfect running CUCV's that were branded Residue for parts reclamation only. Something screwy is going on with that truck and putting all this information about the altered VIN is giving some law enforcement officer a new assignment. Do you have a picture of the door B pillar vin and the dash vin? Are you sure it is not filthy and being misread. A few misread digits make a world of difference in a vin. Good Luck.

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

I left the VIN out on purpose. It's not being misread. My dad is a retired police chief and my best friend is a cop. I'm a federal employee. Hence why I'm trying to figure out how to do it the right way.

So what I'm hearing is when I contact the DMV or state police or run it in VCIN I am looking for the title's history as well as whether there was ever a proper SF97-1 form completed for it? Is there another database to look it up for the federal records of that VIN?

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

You don't get a title with a cab. I bought perfect running CUCV's that were branded Residue for parts reclamation only. Something screwy is going on with that truck and putting all this information about the altered VIN is giving some law enforcement officer a new assignment. Do you have a picture of the door B pillar vin and the dash vin? Are you sure it is not filthy and being misread. A few misread digits make a world of difference in a vin. Good Luck.

There are government surplus places that will sell a cab with a title. This is the confusing part to me. According to Virginia state law and my police folks say is the "passenger compartment" is part of the vehicle with the VIN affixed. They don't care about the partial VIN on the frame or anything else. The cab and the dash VIN seems to be the official way a vehicle is identified. It doesn't seem correct to me either. Which is why I'm trying to look into it further.

 

[chevymike]

Sounds like someone swapped the VIN in the cab that had a title. Likely something with the original M1008 title or VIN was screwed up. It could have been totaled, lost title and unable to get a replacement, etc.

In any case, changing the VIN tag on any vehicle is illegal in all 50 states. That said, it happens and might rarely be caught.

What axles are under it? Corp. 14 bolt rear and D60 front? Is the drivetrain the 6.2L diesel, TH400 and NP208? It is has all of those things and you say the frame shows it was likely a M1008, someone did a VIN swap on the cab. Honestly, trying to sort this out could end up with a lot more issues that it could be worth. Get people looking too closely at things, could backfire and cause it to be impounded. Heard of this happening.

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

Dana 44 and 12-bolt truck axles out of a 73 truck, SM465 manual, NP208 out of the 86 K10 I assume. The engine is a 5.3L LM7 I took out of a junkyard truck.

Honestly, if it's stolen I'll go turn it in. I spent less than $1000 on it and all my money at the moment is in the engine which I would take. I don't want to spent any more time/money/effort if I can't sort out the VIN.

 

[dependable]

Maybe stolen, but just as likely someone bought it for drive train, never bothered to get a title, then someone made a truck out of residue and some old parts, and a VIN plate that matched a title they had kicking around.

Not sure how that gets sorted out. I did a cab swap on a '66 K-20 I fixed up, and there was process that involved a state police officer inspecting truck, my title, & old cab. Was decades ago, so I don't remember the details.