Fixing a Title issue

My 59 cj5 is titled as a 63, i would like to go and get it changed but im not sure what i should bring as proof. i know many places online have a chart that says if your vin is this then you have a this. but im unsure if those will be good enough for proof since they are not official. does anyone know if there is something official to bring as proof they will accept?
I live in Washington state and i know my title has been lost many times in the past ( at least 2 times that ive been told) so im thinking when it was lost they just guessed at the year and put it on the title. also im thinking that my 59 having 10 digit vin, would be an 11 digit if it were a 63. and whenever i go somewhere to buy parts if i order for a 63 the parts never fit. but when i order them as a 59 they fit everytime.

to get this changed im guessing i will have to go to the DMV and they will order an inspection by the State Patrol, but i havent asked them yet because i want to be ready before i bring up this problem.

 

I'd discreetly ask the DMV in Washington. I know in the past Washington State would assign a vin and sticker that was nowhere near original. My '59-'5 has a Washington State assigned vin sticker, no plate.


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First question is whether or not your title matches the numbers on you id plate and the frame numbers. Unless everything matches, don't even think about alerting DMV to this problem! If all the numbers match, then someone probably read the VIN wrong and typed in the wrong year model and they should fix it without any problems. Wrong years on the title seems to be relatively common problem with jeeps.

In Virginia, if the descripition was wrong you could take the vehicle and title to the DMV and show them the error and they'd correct it with no fuss as long as the numbers matched. At least that's how it used to be, I don't know what they do now. I once owned a convertible that was titled as a hard top, I took it to DMV and they looked at it and changed the title with no fuss.

I can't really say how things work in Washington so YMMV but that's been my experience in Va and Fla.

"i know many places online have a chart that says if your vin is this then you have a this." The first thing that I'd do is to ask if the DMV has such a chart and if so get a copy of it and see what it says. If the chart agrees with what you say then you shouldn't have any trouble getting the title changed. If the chart is wrong then you going to have to get some kind of expert to prove it and convince the DMV headquarters to change the chart. I've had to do that too. Fla had an error on their list of colors for the YOM tags and I had to show them proof before they'd accept my YOM tag because it was the wrong color according to their list.

 

I don't understand why you would be having a fitment problem with parts. I am not aware of any differences between the '59 and a '63. What parts have you had problems with?

 

As long as its titled and you arent having issues with license etc let it go..once you start getting the state involved your problems will grow..

 

In my state, the town does the initial registration paperwork annually. I just told the clerk the year was wrong, and she typed in the correction. But we don't need "titles" on older vehicles.

 

I agree with Warloch and napaguy,just let it be unless you have some compelling reason to try to change it.

 

Reminds me of the time I went in to DMV (for a different matter) and asked the clerk if she would like to correct the color listed on the registration. The Jeep is green but the paperwork says gray. She responded by saying that I could pay a fee to have it changed. I didn't see any reason to pay them to get their paperwork correct so I just left it.

I agree with others who say let it be. But, if you want to do something ask anonymously to find answers before you give them a chance to burn you.

 

Our '63 had the wrong year on the title when we got it. Since it's a Mk III Tux, I wanted the year correct. I took hard copies of those charts and the ECJ5 article on Tux Park models with me when I went to title it. Showed them to the clerk, explained why it was important to me to have it titled correctly, she checked the VIN plate on the firewall, which matched the chart I showed her. "No problem" she said and titled it as a '63.

Your experience may vary, but it worked for me.

 

Excellent - I want to steal this...

 

yes i do have a title plate on the body and on the frame and they both match. and the number is correct on the title. the parts ive had problems with when at the parts store have been simple things like points condenser cap and other parts on the vehicle i cant remember which others right now. but when i asked for these parts for a 63 cj5 they gave me a part, i tried it and it didnt fit. so i would pull the part in their parking lot and have them cross-reference the current part to get me a new one and they had no problem with that and once referenced they told me their book says that number was no longer used after 59. as far as i know the distributor is original but i havent noticed a brand name on it anywhere yet.

the only reasons im having for changing the year on the title is because the older the cooler in my mind at least, possible resale value (even though i this point im thinking ill have it till im at least 60, im 26 now btw) also some people tell me if its a 63 its not a willys it would be a kaiser and they say at that year it should not have a willys marked tailgate. and as a 59 it would be no question. and though my jeep has been painted before im thinking when it was put into forest service, underneath that paint i still have an original kinda medium to dark green in color sparkly but not metal flake paint on the tailgate body hood hinges and glove box. this is what makes me think this tailgate is original to this vehicle, that and supposedly the last 3 owners let this jeep sit for at least 12 years with hardly any driving even though it wasnt mechanically incapable of it.

 

I don't think you have a title issue. You have a 63. Make it the way you want it. If you want a Willys tailgate. Keep it. 99% of anyone admiring your jeep won't know. Most people only know what you tell them. If you want an older jeep buy one and then you will have two.

 

I've talked to and seen many others in the forum and elsewhere with cj5's. Those with 63's have more digits in their vin than me, and a huge jump in number. And those with a 59, have vins sometimes numerically higher than mine. Also nowhere on my jeep does it ever say kaiser. On the vin body plate it says jeep, universal, and Willys-Motor inc. So I'm pretty sure it is actually a 1959. But of course I could be wrong. But I don't think so.

 

57548 92736 is my vin if anyone with one of those years wants to compare to yours and let me know.
Thanks everyone for your input.

 

It was probably titled in the year it was sold. Not uncommon for that era. In Washington state you just don't want to mess with a title issue unless you absolutely have to. Noone in the DMV realizes that things were done differently 50 years ago then they are today.

 

That VIN puts it a 1959. 1959 Serial number range for model 57548 was 82878 - 97918. Don't know how the WA DMV is - here in WI it would be an easy fix. Probably just a matter of taking a copy of the VIN/Serial number chart and your title to the DMV office and writing a check. When I bought my 60 CJ5 it did not have a title. I sent a photo of the vin plate and a copy of the serial number/year chart I found on line in with my title application, they also required a police officer sign a form that verified the VIN was correct and they issued me a new title.

 

Oops . I assumed you already verified your SN to be a 63. Good news on being a '59, if that is what you want.