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Location of the frame serial number on a 47 Plymouth


BobT-47P15

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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

 

DSC01388.jpg.  

 

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Edited by BobT-47P15
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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.

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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.)

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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.  

 

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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.    

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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.)

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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.

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