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MG MGA - Car Number Question

I know this is going to sound like a very odd question!

I recently acquired a very rusty 57 roadster through a trade. After looking at the title, I noticed the car was titled with the engine Number as the "VIN" rather than using the Car Number. I found the alternate location for the Car Number on the right-side chassis member. The problem is that it's very rusty. The middle digit of the Car Number from the bulkhead plate is "3". Depending upon which direction I look at the middle digit on the chassis member (which is barely readable), it could be a "2" or a "3".

Can anyone remember the orientation of the Car Number on the chassis member? Is it right-side up when viewed from the passenger compartment or right-side up when viewed from the engine compartment? Also, does anyone remember whether the top of the "3" is rounded or flat?

In order to get the title corrected, an official from the highway department has to inspect the numbers to ensure they match. Knowing the orientation of the numbers will help me plead my case.

Thanx in advance for any help!

Lindsey
Lindsey McGraw

Lindsey,
The chassis numbers that I've seen are "right side up" when viewed from the passenger compartment. The "3" is rounded. However, I can't swear that different stamps were used at different times. Sevens can sometimes be mistaken for 2's and 8's for threes although, usually, the upper part of the eight is smaller than the lower part. Did you car not have a serial number plate on the heater shelf?

Good luck,
Gerry
G T Foster

Yes, I do have the plate, but it had separated from its mounting point (rust at each of the four corners). The PO provided it in an envelope with the title. I'm concerned the plate may not match the car since the Engine Number doesn't match the engine that's currently installed (obviously, the engine could have been changed at some point).

I don't know if I'm opening a can of worms here - particularly if it turns out that the number on the chassis member doesn't match the plate. It's REALLY hard to read - in fact, I didn't even recognize them as numbers when I first cleared the rust away. I've tried everything from different colors of paint and primer to chalk dust to make them readable. I read somewhere about using a type of acid that makes numbers stand out (such as used on guns with filed serial numbers). I haven't had much luck identifying the particular acid or technique.

Everything else on the car appears to be correct. It looks like a '57, and the car appears to have been originally painted in Orient Red (which also matches the paint code on the plate I have).

Since I may never be able to read the number from the chassis member because of corrosion, I had thought about getting a repro plate and have it engraved with the numbers from my original plate. I'd then keep the original plate with the title.

I'm wondering if anyone has had any luck in correcting an existing title so that it reflects the car number rather than the engine number.

Thanx

Lindsey
Lindsey McGraw

Most HP headquarters have an acid that they can apply to the cross member to lift the number.
Randy Myers

Lindsey,
I don't know what the motor vehicle laws are in South Carolina. Was the car previously registered there?
Last year I bought a 59 roadster that a guy had owned (and had registered) for 26 years. The VIN number on the registration was incorrect, missing the inital letters. Turns out, there was NO engine SN plate and the car has a 1600 body (with correct body number) but a 1500 chassis. I was able to use some acid to get the chassis number.The SN plate on the heater shelf did not match any of that. I went to the DMV, they just wanted a rubbing or photo of the SN plate and really weren't concerned about the other stuff. I got the registration changed to match what was on the SN plate. End of story. Since you have the SN plate you should be able to do the same.
Good luck!
Gerry
G T Foster

Gerry - I'm not sure the car was ever registered here (non-runner), although it's been titled here for more than 15 years.

I've all but given up on deciphering what remains of the car number on the chassis member. I'm going with your suggestion and using the ID plate I've got to get the title changed. I e-mailed our Highway Dept and they wanted a copy of the current title and the ID plate. I scanned them both and sent them as PDFs (they originally wanted me to fax them copies). The PDFs show the numbers very well, so hopefully I'll hear good news in the next couple of days.

If all goes well, my next purchase will be a repro ID plate (among other things) and then I'll begin the long (very long) restoration process. Since this is my first "A", I'm quite sure I'll be back often with lots of questions.

Thanx

Lindsey
Lindsey McGraw

This thread was discussed between 20/08/2008 and 22/08/2008

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