First Post - Not What I wanted it to Be.... Need VIN help

[Thompson2]

I just did a 2 day road trip to pick up a '64 (not '63 as previously reported) Kombi (details won't get posted until I get this VIN stuff sorted... sorry!) from the 2nd owner who bought it in 1970.

Do the deal, load it up and take it home. Drop in in the garage and unpack, eat dinner and get ready to go to bed...

"But wait", I thought to myself, "I still need to get a picture of the M-plate for the Samba crowd or I'll never hear the end of it." So out to garage I go. Locate the plate, snap a picture of it and then it hits me... the VIN that's on here doesn't match the title... not even close. So I check the engine bay tag... same VIN there... and still nothing to match the title. Quick text to a local friend... "don't forget to check for the stamp on the frame in the engine bay" Well duh! Of course that must be it... nope... no stamp to be found.

Now, before you start spouting off that the guy is playing me and I'm an idiot for not verifying this stuff first let me just state -
- known the guy for 7+ years.
- retired school teacher who still gets the "Hey Mr. P!" when he's in town and one of his former students sees him
- he has all of his old registration cards. Every. Single. One. Wrapped around the steering column and held on with a spring. I took those off and did a quick check. 1970, 1971, 2017, 2018 all have the exact same info as the registration card

So my first question is... if the title says the VIN is 0243487, where could I possibly find that stamped / tagged to the body / frame so I can prove the the DMV here that yes, this is in fact the right car?

Second question - if I can't find that number anywhere (and it doesn't looks like an actual VIN, now that I've dug around some), how can I (or the PO) convince the CA DMV that they screwed something up 50 years ago?

I really, really, really don't want to have to take this back to the guy for a lot of reasons. I like him and they've come upon some hard times which is the ONLY reason they sold it (his wife broke down crying and he was close to it when I pulled off with it). And it's a really cool bus. Needs some love but from what I can tell lurking around here, it's not very common at all.

So I'll thank you in advance for whatever help you can give. This is not my first VW but it is my first air cooled... and I'm dying to start work on it. But I don't want to put money into it if I have to haul it back to the seller....

Oh - and some pics to help with visualization and the title to show what I'm dealing with. I did realize that you will likely be able to glean some details from the pics despite my best efforts to redact the juicy bits... lol

M-Plate

Engine Bay Tag

Area around the Engine Bay Tag

Title

[Wade]

Hi. Is there a chance it was registered using the engine number instead of the VIN. I know that used to happen back in the day. Not sure what the proper solution to that is, but it's the case, I'm sure someone here will tell you how to rectify it.

Good luck with the new bus.
-Greg

[EverettB]

The "real" VIN/Chassis # is the stamped-in VIN by the battery tray.

0243487 looks like the original engine number to me.
This is a 1500cc engine number from June, 1963.

This M-code plate says July 3rd but ignore for now that as the charts say your VIN is late June, 1963 too so they must be off a little for that month.

Does it have the engine in it and does the engine # match 0243487?

CA used to register cars by the engine # for YEARS.
This should be something that is easy to correct at the DMV but may require a police inspection.
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[Thompson2]

Thanks Greg. I was wondering the same thing. Even took a picture of the number stamped on the current (3rd or 4th) motor since it looked like a similar format but it's OH5538551 and I know they built a lot of motors, but 5 million seemed a bit high... lol

[Thompson2]

[hitest]

I think an affidavit signed by the PO may be of help in OR. Perhaps one that spells out the engine swap- and that his title was based on that old number and not the bus itself? Obviously a condensed version of the info the letter should contain... A call to your DMV should help.

In Idaho title background checks delay the issuing of a new, bonafide title, but if it is a project, it's worth the delay to me. I went though this in ID- but it was a vehicle I'll have for life (just like all the others).
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[Clara]

[Thompson2]

[Thompson2]

[Skim]

Old school Cali 'pink slip' that was registered to the engine number. Common now lets see some pics of the bus.
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Samba since before the towers collapsed. Still here.
1953 Kabriolet
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[Major Woody]

You guys are gonna shit a brick when you see what he has.

[BulliBill]

Ohhh! The suspense!

Bill
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I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[crofty]

Im leaning Westy...
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[62DoKaGuy]

[turkis-deluxe]

California will only require a VIN inspection done by CHP/PD/DMV and fill out a statement of facts. No need to involve the seller at all as this is a simple fix.

Easy enough and you'll have a clean title with the correct vin.

Good luck and now post pics! As Crofty says i'm leaning Westy also!

[campingbox]

[srfndoc]

That's the CA designation given to RV's and campers by the DMV that allows you to drink in the back. My Westy is registered this way.

No port code, German delivered Westy is my guess.

BTW, here is the CA DMV vehicle code that covers this. I keep a copy of this in my Westy as documentation just in case.

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=23225.
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[Z]

'Housecar' was a pretty common name for really early camper/RV type vehicles. Think of the 'tiny homes' trend but with old-school craftsmanship on truck chassis, etc. Funny to see it used in the 60s. Google it... some were nuts.

I'm hoping for a Dormobile, personally, but good luck either way with the DMV stuff.

[Thompson2]

[Malokin Martin]

If this is the Washington one that lived on the peninsula in the trees for many years with a lot of other volkswagens, it’s totally fraudulent. Like legit tampering.