Found a '66 Gladiator, but have a question...

[Snakegriffin]

Howdy everyone,

Happy to have found this site and like I said in my intro, I'm hoping to get my project Gladiator here soon.

Been combing through local craigslist ads and happened upon a '66 Gladiator with 327 and it actually still has the Dana 300 transfer case (for some reason all the ones I've found are missing this piece). The issue I'm facing is that the guy said the VIN plate is missing, the person said they have all this documentation and what not and that they were told they could acquire a bonded title for registering the vehicle.

I'm not hopeful of that process, and was wondering if anyone knew of a possible place that the Serial # could be stamped on the frame. Pretty sure I ain't going to buy it without having this big detail.

My inner voice hopes that maybe this person does not know that serial # is synonymous with the VIN.

Either way I hope I get to see it sometime today.

[XJ2CJ]

Should be a Dana 20 not 300.

[SJTD]

I would tell the guy meet me at the DMV and we'll do the paperwork there. Or maybe at the Highway Patrol. Whichever would verify the VIN.

[airman]

If he has a title but no vin plate.
This is what I would do.
Is get a replacement vin plate from this guy

http://rdrnl.home.xs4all.nl/4UWPJSeries.html

His web site is www.dataplates4u.com

You will need a vin plate no matter what you do

Andrew

[joe]

For a ser# stamping I would look at the front frame horns between the body and bumper. I would look there first cause it's easier. 2nd and more likely place would be on top of the rear frame loops behind the wheels. Not a fun place to look but it's a common spot on US trucks. Mind you, if you do find a number it will NOT be the entire VIN, just the ser# portion of the VIN(last 5 or 6 digits).
As mentioned before. if there really is a D300 tcase in there(doubt it), it's been swapped in. The D300 wasn't even invented till around 1980 or so.
If your state doesn't require a physical VIN verification/inspection, the missing VIN plate isn't an immediate issue.
Seller sounds like a clueless wannabe car flipper. "The only thing I really know about this truck is how much I want for it".

[Snakegriffin]

Thanks for the replies guys! Ya, the listing does say the D300 though I doubt the guy swapped it at some point.

Still waiting on getting to see it, but I will post back with an update either way it falls.

Thanks again.

[KaiserMan]

Thanks for the replies guys! Ya, the listing does say the D300 though I doubt the guy swapped it at some point.

No Jeep Gladiator (or any US made Jeep J-Series pickup for that matter) ever came with a Dana 300. Should be a Dana 20.

[Snakegriffin]

Got to see it first hand and luckily it is the D20, the 327 started up easy and sounded awesome.

As I suspected the person did not know that the plate on the driver side with 'Serial Number' is actually his VIN and still claimed someone must have taken it off.

Guy had no paperwork whatsoever, so I figure I might just give him the heads up on the VIN location and just let him know I'll buy it once he can produce a title. I don't know if I want to jump through all the hoops to title it just to find out it's stolen or junked for some reason.

Thanks!

[mokurt]

No paper work or Vin number can be a headache.

Check with your DMV first or buy the truck for "parts" only,well if it's not stolen!

[TexasJ10]

Good move letting him deal with the paperwork first. I bought a trailer a few years back that had been used on a ranch for about ten years and no one could find a title when they wanted to sell it. I bought it and then ran into the headache of a bonded title. I had to go to the county sheriffs office and have the vin number checked to see if it had ever been reported stolen. Then I had to have it inspected and weighed and appraised. Lastly, I had to get a bond in an amount of the appraised amount. I think the bond cost me $100 bucks or so for a $4,000 trailer. After all that, they finally issued me a bonded title. Supposedly, the bonded title can be replaced with a regular title after 5 years.

I don't know if your state handles it the same way, but it would be better for the current owner to take on the hassle before you buy it. It will always be his bond that backs ownership. It isn't clear to me what happens if an ownership dispute ever occurs in the future. I think title continues to pass free and clear on the trailer, and if someone else can prove the trailer is actually theirs in the future they get paid the bond proceeds.

[joe]

If he had a title in his name it's easy "for him" to get another title. If he never bothered to register/title it in his name when he bought it to beat the tax man then he can't get a duplicate cause he legally doesn't own it till the title is transfered and sales tax has been paid. They only issue a duplicate to the legal owner. I did this with an old 40 chev 1.5 ton I had for 20 years. Neighbor wanted to buy it but I couldn't find the title. DMV said if it's legally registered in my name bring in the plate number, filled out a lost title application, paid $40 and 2 weeks later got duplicate title in the mail. Pretty easy really and this was in WA which is a stickler for correct paperwork. But again this only works if the seller is the legal registered owner. If everything is on the up and up it's no problem for "him" to get a new title.

[Snakegriffin]

Well the guy had someone show up with 800 bucks and a tow truck, so I avoided the headaches.

I called our DMV (called MVD cause AZ is dumb like that) and the first lady talked in circles till she hanged up on me. The second person I called did a search through their system and could find nothing on the vehicle, my next step was going to be to call a Police Station and have them check for any stolen records.

Though as stated above someone was more brazen than I, and the search continues.

There is a J4000 with a 327 just a couple blocks away from me and it looks like it has not moved in what seems like forever, walked the dog past there this morning and will have to try to strike up a conversation with the guy if I happen to see him. :-)

[worldoftone]

My '63 had zilch for paperwork either. Fortunately it hadn't been registered in CA since 1986 and wasn't in the system. The seller arranged for a bonded title service person to meet us in the field where I pulled this from. She verified the Serial Number, went to the DMV for me and sorted the whole lot. In 2-weeks I had plates and paperwork in my hands.

But, this was a truck with the Serial Number on it.

I rolled the dice but it all worked out OK. Seller was real helpful and eased my suspicions a bit.

- WOT

[tgreese]

Why are you attracted to the 327 trucks? You take on some extra burdens with that engine and an older chassis. The 327 is a great motor, but parts are expensive and there are no other engines with the same bell pattern, so no easy transmission swapping. You have your choice of the TH400 automatic, the T-85 3-speed or the T-98 or T-18 truck 4-speed. The front axle is the very dated closed-knuckle type, and only drum brakes were offered. The heavier GVWR trucks used the 12"x2" brakes, with drums which are totally unobtainable.

If it were for me, I would look for something from 1974 or newer. This will give you the more modern open knuckle front axle with disk brakes, and much better parts availability. If you want the Gladiator appearance, swap the grille - that's practically a bolt-on deal.

[FSJunkie]

If you have the time, money, and effort to take on a 327 truck then more power to you and you have every bit of my encouragement.

You can get parts for a 327 cheaper and easier than you can a lot of other engines out there. They're not Chevy 350 easy, but compared to other 50 year old engines they're not all that hard. People just give up too easily and take the easy way out. The easy way out didn't build this country and put man on the moon.

I've rebuilt two 327's. All parts you need are out there. Go through the AMC Rambler suppliers, not Jeep. It's a Rambler engine.