BobT-47P15 Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 (edited) I was looking thru some pictures in my online photo album and ran onto some pics I took when locating my serial number.....also used as a VIN in some places.......on my frame. It is on the left rear side, outside, about six inches in front of the gas tank filler neck. You will usually need to get out the wire brush to knock off paint, rust and whatever. On a Plymouth, that number begins with "P15" followed by additional numbers. These will be the same numbers that were stamped on the side of your original engine. If they don't match.....the engine has been changed/replaced with something.....be it from another car or a factory rebuilt. Since those numbers appeared on the original title as a serial number (they had not yet invented the VIN) many states used them on the paperwork. However some states have not used a title, so I don't know what numbers they used to ID a car. Nowadays with motor changes and such, some are using the little metal plate on the front door frame since it will not change with motor swaps. I don't know if this tidbit of information will be helpful to anyone, but thought I would post it anyway . Edited August 7, 2018 by BobT-47P15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpollo Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 knowledge of that "hidden " number has been of great value to many people over the years. Thank you for posting this. It also applies to other Chrysler products of the era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eneto-55 Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 As I understand, the 'real' serial number is the one on the plate on the left hand A pillar (I have seen a P15 with it on the right A pillar as well.) The engine number on my frame is not legible, but maybe I made it that way when I cleaned up the frame for painting. But I already know I don't have the original engine anyway, because it's from a 55 Plymouth. (I don't really want to try to scrape the paint off, either, because I don't think you can get zinc chromate anymore.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted August 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 And........I just remembered I found a date on a Plymouth block......on the driver's side below the distributor......which probably is a casting date of the block, and may not coincide exactly with when a specific car was actually built. The number shown is 6-2-53.......so it probably is not too far from when your car was built. Don't know how far ahead they stockpiled engine blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted August 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 I think these days the deal is............use any number you can find that the state licensing bureau will accept......such as the number tag on the door frame. It is pretty permanent and should identify the car OK.....even though not how it was done in years gone by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eneto-55 Posted August 7, 2018 Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 8 hours ago, BobT-47P15 said: I think these days the deal is............use any number you can find that the state licensing bureau will accept......such as the number tag on the door frame. It is pretty permanent and should identify the car OK.....even though not how it was done in years gone by. Didn't this vary from state to state? (I know that my home state, Oklahoma, used the number from the A pillar. I had purchased my 46 w/o a title, and it was through a title search on that number that they found the original title listing.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Knowles Posted August 7, 2018 Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 I do not know about the era we are usually most interested in regarding the hidden serial number but for later years, from about 1960 this number matched the visible number on the door post or maybe the firewall. I was a police officer for years and we often found vehicles that were suspected as stolen as the visible plate may appear to be "doctored" but matched the paper documentation. Checking the hidden number on the frame which, depending on the manufacturer, was hard to find and see but when checked would usually indicate a stolen vehicle or a previous insurance fraud. I often had to use a small mirror to read the hidden number on top of the frame with only about an inch of space between it and the body of the vehicle. I never did have to do this on a vehicle prior to about 1965 if my memory is accurate. Just for your info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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