Hi, all, long time lurker, first time poster. Sorry in advance for the long message but I wanted to give as many details as possible to aid resolution of my problem.
I have a ’68 FJ40 that I picked up off the original owner when I was stationed in SoCal many years ago. Immediately after purchase I transferred the title into my name and registered it with no problems (though it was not road worthy at the time). Like many owners, I know a lot more now than I knew then, particularly regarding VIN plates.
Every resource I find states that ’68 was the first year of the door post VIN plate, but mine doesn’t have one and I’m quite sure it never did as the tub is currently sitting bare-metal in my garage with no plate and no holes where rivets, screws or otherwise would have held one in place. That leaves the frame stamp and engine compartment data plate, which are identical matches, which leads to my quandary: The VIN on the title doesn’t match the frame stamp/engine compartment data plate (not exactly, at least).
The frame stamp and data plate are both in the following format: FJ40-12345, whereas the VIN on the title appears as T68FJ40012345. In other words, with the exception of the “T68” and the “0” in place of the “-“, the remaining numbers match. Interestingly, every example of '68 or "69 door post VIN plate I've seen is in the same format as the frame stamp/data plate, so I'm even more perplexed as to why the CA title's VIN is in the format it is.
I’m usually very vigilant about such things and if I'd noticed I would have at least asked the PO or the DMV about the difference, but it slipped past me. Now I’m in NV and am preparing to finish the restoration I started over a decade ago, but am leery about putting a lot of time and money into it if I won’t be able to pass VIN verification due to lack of a VIN plate on the door post, mismatch between the title’s VIN and the data plate, or both. Of course I can continue to register it in CA (and keep the black plates to boot), but would feel more comfortable going into it knowing I can register it legitimately in NV with little or no hassles.
Does anyone have any similar experience with addition of characters on a title’s VIN versus what is reflected on the data plate? Is there an exception to the rule that ALL ’68 FJ40’s had VIN plates on the door post? I welcome and appreciate any helpful comments. If all goes well, I’ll post pics of the resto when (if) it recommences. Cheers.
-Rich
I have a ’68 FJ40 that I picked up off the original owner when I was stationed in SoCal many years ago. Immediately after purchase I transferred the title into my name and registered it with no problems (though it was not road worthy at the time). Like many owners, I know a lot more now than I knew then, particularly regarding VIN plates.
Every resource I find states that ’68 was the first year of the door post VIN plate, but mine doesn’t have one and I’m quite sure it never did as the tub is currently sitting bare-metal in my garage with no plate and no holes where rivets, screws or otherwise would have held one in place. That leaves the frame stamp and engine compartment data plate, which are identical matches, which leads to my quandary: The VIN on the title doesn’t match the frame stamp/engine compartment data plate (not exactly, at least).
The frame stamp and data plate are both in the following format: FJ40-12345, whereas the VIN on the title appears as T68FJ40012345. In other words, with the exception of the “T68” and the “0” in place of the “-“, the remaining numbers match. Interestingly, every example of '68 or "69 door post VIN plate I've seen is in the same format as the frame stamp/data plate, so I'm even more perplexed as to why the CA title's VIN is in the format it is.
I’m usually very vigilant about such things and if I'd noticed I would have at least asked the PO or the DMV about the difference, but it slipped past me. Now I’m in NV and am preparing to finish the restoration I started over a decade ago, but am leery about putting a lot of time and money into it if I won’t be able to pass VIN verification due to lack of a VIN plate on the door post, mismatch between the title’s VIN and the data plate, or both. Of course I can continue to register it in CA (and keep the black plates to boot), but would feel more comfortable going into it knowing I can register it legitimately in NV with little or no hassles.
Does anyone have any similar experience with addition of characters on a title’s VIN versus what is reflected on the data plate? Is there an exception to the rule that ALL ’68 FJ40’s had VIN plates on the door post? I welcome and appreciate any helpful comments. If all goes well, I’ll post pics of the resto when (if) it recommences. Cheers.
-Rich
