California DMV

[64 wagoneer]

I recently purchased a 1964 wagoneer without a title. The vehicle has not been registered in over 20 years. I took the vehicle to a california department of motor vehicles to verify the vin#. I was told by DMV that they are not able to verify the year by the vin# due to the age of the vehicle and no manufacturing date. Does anyone know of a location for a date stamp or build sheet that would confirm the year? I would appreciate any information.

[billyrb]

I've found the date / info stamped into the chassis in two places: top of frame on passenger side in front of wheel, and back driver side frame behind the rear wheel. Sometimes it's covered by undercoating / paint, etc.

[GWDriver]

I would think that a 1964 tech manual should be able to break the VIN# down and give you the year and place of manufacture. If not, perhaps a search on the net can yield results.

Good luck. It would be interesting to know what you find out.

[1cdccop]

If the factory vin plate is unaltered ( on the foward drivers side door pillar) those numbers should give DMV everything they need. Because it has not been registered in ten years, the state has no record of it anymore. I think after seven years they drop all fees and info out of their data base. I've regestered old yard arks in California like this before without any problem. If the P.O lost the title, have him fill out a bill of sale. But like I stated above, after that much time sitting all they need to do is verify that it has a factory vin# and they will issue you a new title and plates anyway. I would try a different DMV office or go to http:// www.dmv.ca.gov (http://www.dmv.ca.gov) and you can look up all the rules that apply in your case. If all else fails the state can issue a new vin# at very little cost. The vin# is also stamped on the frame somewhere. I can look at my Kaiser Jeep service manual and PM you if you want, but I think your DMV officer is full of hogwash. If you have an unaltered vin# and its been sitting for that long, you should be good to go.:cool:

[manimal]

you can also have a police officer or highway patrol verify the vin. Thye only need TWO places with the vin stamped or sticker/plate unaltered.
-Lance

[Cecil14]

A '64 won't have a "VIN" number probably. It's more likely just a serial number, but yes, it will still give the date. I had a '62 J200 (I think) and I was able to verify the model year by decoding serial number online somewhere. This was several years ago, but I don't recall it being very hard to find.


aa

[Tornado230]

Back in those days the serial number was just that.
The date of manufacture may be on the frame, according to a prior posting, but the vehicle may have been a '63 and was sold in '64. In my state the title shows date or original title issue in the state.
I have old NADA books that list the year based on serial numbers. This data was based on sales information of the era. May or may not be deadly accurate.

[babywag]

The CA DMV does not have the proper information to determine the vehicle year from the VIN.

Mainly due to the fact that Kaiser didn't use a model year in the VIN.
IIRC AMC included the model year starting in 1972.

Without a title, or an old registration slip, you won't be able to get them to verify the year.

Go through a vehicle verifier, it's the easiest, but will cost you a few extra bucks.

EDIT: For a couple bucks you can do a search for previous registration records, but it takes FOREVER.

[Cecil14]

The serial number on the Kaiser trucks DOES contain the model year. That's how I verified the year of my '62. As mentioned, though, you'll need to find the decoder. There may even be one in the tech section here.


aa

[babywag]

The serial number on the Kaiser trucks DOES contain the model year. That's how I verified the year of my '62. As mentioned, though, you'll need to find the decoder. There may even be one in the tech section here.


aa

The information is not contained in the VIN/serial number like what the CA DMV is used to.
The model year can be obtained by the serial number, but the DMV does *NOT* have this information.

I have been down this road trying to get a '66 titled out here in CA.
I gave up, and just titled it out of state.
Was just too complicated in CA.

[1cdccop]

I have been down this road trying to get a '66 titled out here in CA.
I gave up, and just titled it out of state.
Was just too complicated in CA.[/quote]
I dont get where "64" is having trouble with this. Unless I'm missing something or Ca. has changed the rules, if it has a serial number, vin, etc. there should be no problem. I've registered numerous old willys flat fenders and a couple of Kaiser Jeeps that were sitting for years. Maybe trailer the thing to DMV and have the inspector look at the serial number tag? I did this with an old 62 Chrysler 300 I bought that had a missing title. I just had the seller give me a bill of sale and I took the car to DMV so the Inspector could see that it had a serial number.

[Cecil14]

The information is not contained in the VIN/serial number like what the CA DMV is used to.
The model year can be obtained by the serial number, but the DMV does *NOT* have this information.

I have been down this road trying to get a '66 titled out here in CA.
I gave up, and just titled it out of state.
Was just too complicated in CA.

Ahh, gotcha. Yah, serial numbers weren't standardized like VINs are. You can't just read the chart and grab character number X to get the year.


aa

[miked]

the VIN tag on my 66

http://www.tworock.com/mjd/jeep/truck3.jpg

[lkmarsh]

This is the door tag for my 69.

http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww267/lkmarsh/th_door_tag.jpg (http://s726.photobucket.com/albums/ww267/lkmarsh/?action=view&current=door_tag.jpg)

This is from my FSM for 69. No production year embedded.

http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww267/lkmarsh/th_pagetop1.jpg (http://s726.photobucket.com/albums/ww267/lkmarsh/?action=view&current=pagetop1.jpg)

http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww267/lkmarsh/th_pagebottom1.jpg (http://s726.photobucket.com/albums/ww267/lkmarsh/?action=view&current=pagebottom1.jpg)

California DMV really has it in for old steel.

[64 wagoneer]

Thank you all so much for the information. I am sure I will be able to get a title with all your suggestions. I had already trailered the Wagoneer to DMV and they confirmed the serial#. The only hold up was that I could not produce anything other than the bill of sale with a year on it.