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Missing vin on dash and lost paperwork, yikes!


poopypants720

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I think the previous owner swapped dash's with another 720 and never replaced the vin tag......

 

I still have the plate inside the engine compartment and in the door jamb but neither seems to have the number ill need and don't even think a combination of numbers will make up a lengthy enough set to be a full vehicle identification number.

 

My haynes manual is worthless sometimes and this is one instance. No information listed on how to even decipher my vin if I had one (or so I can try peicing one together for a dmv search) and only shows where the other plates are....

 

Does anyone else have an 81 that can share their vin with me do I can place my own chasis number and other info into to make up my number? Mine was manufactered 8/80 or 10/80 (there is 2 dates stamped on the door plate?) So if someone else had the same maybe it would be comparable?

 

Anyone have the "key" or "legend"on how to break down our vin number?

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An '81 will have a normal 17-digit VIN; Nissan started using those sometime in the 1980 model year. All My '81s had long VINs. The VIN will start with "JN.., the last 5 or 6 digits will probably match the last 5-6 digits of the chassis number.

 

So you've never had this vehicle in your name ever? That'll make life pretty hard. No paperwork, no license plates, VIN tags all pulled off... I only know one reason for that, and it's not a good reason.

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At the risk of losing it forever, you should take this assemblage of parts to the DMV inspector. They will inspect, find the VIN or a reasonable substitute for it, run it against the registration data base and tell you if you are screwed or if the previous "owner" registered some other vehicle counterfeiting your VIN. If so, they can either revoke the registration of the "sucessor vehicle" and screw him/her or issue you a new VIN and pop rivit it to your dash as though you had registered a kit built vehicle. Good luck, I would not want to be in your shoes!

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Well luckily my manufacture date saved me.<br /><br />

 

Your '81 720s must have been manufactured IN 81, whereas mine was the early released late 1980, '81 model.<br /><br />

 

Anything manufactured pre 1981 isn't regulated by the 17 digit vin rule.... Luckily wiki facts on vin numbers got me thinking mine must just be the shorty number on the inside of the fender well, KMY-720- 0XXXXX.<br /><br />

 

The story behind losing paperwork and vin/plate information is actually a quite legitimate one although long winded. As stated, a situation of events one doesn't want to end up in, but I did....<br /><br />

 

The truck was owned by a guy who worked a tow yard. Sold it in his own auctions, the person it was sold to let it go in tickets or bad parking or whatever, bottom line it was impounded again by my friends company. His brother then bought it in a "closed auction" lien sale but only transferred ownership through holding the paperwork, it was never registered. He just drove it on and around his own property as a desert truck using another for spare parts (thus the dash swap) and then let it sit for about 4 years when he broke an axle. This is where I came in, picked it up from him for only 600 bucks, paper title transfer again, put it back together as it looked like crap the way they pieced it together after some front end damage was done.<br /><br />

 

I had to clean the fuel tank (tons of desert sand/dust) replace the filter/pump and blow out the lines. Tore down and rebuilt the weber carb. Replaced the alternator, starter, dist cap/rotor, plugs, wires and ignition switch. Tore off the ugly front end and replaced with a junk yard donor valance, bumper, brush guard, grill and headlight assembly. Sanded and spray can painted all flat black for an off road, easy to touch up paint job. Added ca smog legal thorley headers and custom routed flowmaster exhaust between the frame and body to avoid offload damage, exit next to license plate holder, replaced entire drivers side hub/knuckle/rotor assembly and front drive shaft and drivers side cv axle..... <br /><br />

 

Finally road worthy and ready to drive I go to pay licensing and registration , (8 months after purchase) and find out that registration was due back to 2005 and through current which was 2009.... So after initial purchase price and another $1000 or so in repairs I was having to pay $495 in back registration.... Had to smog to complete registration, another $60, which it failed miserably and with me at the time being unemployed had bo money to repair.<br /><br />

 

Held in to the truck for the past 2.5 years driving off road occasionally in the nearby desert hills till my freeze plug at the back of the block blew last summer. It then sat through 2 apartment moves and the paperwork I had was misplaced/lost and I found myself in the current situation...<br /><br />

 

Everything ok now... Except the new $363 dollar registration fee that will be due again after I rebuild the motor, lol.

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