CUCV Title/VIN

[LateOnTheBrakes]

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.

Yeah, it's common for the state police to do an inspection on a found vehicle with no title, a salvage title that was rebuilt, etc. they basically see if it's road worthy and issue a replacement then plaque or a new VIN number if it's something like a kit car.

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

The bed is from a different truck and there are two frame supports near the rear that were caved in. It would not surprise me if they called this totaled and scrapped it for parts. As I mentioned previously the VIN comes up as "rendered destroyed" in VCIN with no other info. No info whether it was bought properly from uncle Sam and titled in my state or anything else.

 

[chevymike]

If it comes up as rendered destroyed, I doubt you will get it registered for the road. Basically that vehicle should not exist and will likely never be road legal again. I do not think you can get that changed/removed. I would likely pull the good parts off it and scrap the rest, IMHO.

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

The only good parts are the rust free, low mileage cab and frame.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

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.

If you can get a new VIN issued, like the kit car suggestion, It's probably not going to affect the value much. Just document everything. You already had the K-10 VIN run by a cop, so it didn't come up stolen. I think he'd have told you if it had, right?

So, maybe somebody committed a crime here in swapping a VIN, but it wasn't you. If the M1008 VIN doesn't come up stolen, I think you are clear.

So maybe it's worth a shot to get a new VIN.

If that's not possible, I'd say it's time to cut your losses and get clear of the thing. No reason you can't strip some usable parts, as long as they don't have a VIN on them.

 

[41cl8m5]

I have talked to different people about vin numbers and titles. With that said some rebuilders or "Hot Rodders" that do customs know the rules set by the government on titling. It is the vin number plate that is attached the the cab that is the official ID for the "vehicle" it is well known that due to some circumstances that parts can be easily replaced like doors and even frames but it is the basic cab that holds the legitimate ID for the vehicle.

I have seen a custom 1952 M37 truck sitting on top of a modern 2009 Ram frame and running gear but guess what, the vehicle is still considered a 1952 truck because the cab is a 1952 vintage and is ID'ed as so. On to the kicker, the newer running gear originally due to the law has been emission equipment but when it was fitted under the 1952 the customizer has the option to delete that stuff because it was not required on the 1952 or if they are "environmentally friendly" keep it all in place.

I had the mis fortune of having someone T- bone me on my drivers side in my daily driver truck. After it was repaired ( both driver doors replaced) I noticed the front driver's door sticker with all the info was missing. I asked the repair people about this and their reply was they are not allowed by the insurance company to transfer that sticker to the new door and that I might be able to go to the dealer and see if I can get a new one printed out for me if I'm lucky.

This was two weeks ago, we will see on that.

 

[panama]

I have talked to different people about vin numbers and titles. With that said some rebuilders or "Hot Rodders" that do customs know the rules set by the government on titling. It is the vin number plate that is attached the the cab that is the official ID for the "vehicle" it is well known that due to some circumstances that parts can be easily replaced like doors and even frames but it is the basic cab that holds the legitimate ID for the vehicle.

I have seen a custom 1952 M37 truck sitting on top of a modern 2009 Ram frame and running gear but guess what, the vehicle is still considered a 1952 truck because the cab is a 1952 vintage and is ID'ed as so. On to the kicker, the newer running gear originally due to the law has been emission equipment but when it was fitted under the 1952 the customizer has the option to delete that stuff because it was not required on the 1952 or if they are "environmentally friendly" keep it all in place.

I had the mis fortune of having someone T- bone me on my drivers side in my daily driver truck. After it was repaired ( both driver doors replaced) I noticed the front driver's door sticker with all the info was missing. I asked the repair people about this and their reply was they are not allowed by the insurance company to transfer that sticker to the new door and that I might be able to go to the dealer and see if I can get a new one printed out for me if I'm lucky.

This was two weeks ago, we will see on that.

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?

Personally, if that blazer title was clean and the CUCV VIN was clear too, I'd register the truck with whatever title it had and march on. Of course if you are adamant about registering it under its original VIN there has got to be a way to do that in your state....even as a rebuild or salvage title. If you were really gung-ho about the dataplate and dash VIN matching as a CUCV (i get there are many other places on the truck that have numbers) I am sure you could find one with a clean title that was being parted out and purchase the matching set. Best of luck to you!

 

[LateOnTheBrakes]

There was never a blazer involved. An M1008 (1.25 ton pickup) and a K10 (1/2 ton pickup). But I get your point. I want to fix whatever issues there is with the VIN so I have a clean/clear conscience in the future when I sell it.

What I am hoping can be done is restoring/creating a title for the VIN. If you find an abandoned vehicle in a barn or on your property you can take it to the state police, pay $125 for them to inspect it to see that it's road legal, and they will create a title for it.

What I hope doesn't happen is they look at it and declare it a victim of VIN tampering. I believe at that point neither VIN can ever be registered again and the truck becomes a farm use or offroad only vehicle.