I have found a flathead engine that a guy is selling at a good price. He states the VIN is VR 4527 and that is what is stamped on the bottom of the case and is what is on the title. However, he is claiming that it is a 1946 model but titled as a '59. Should I be leary of this? Any help with information on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

My 1947 74ci flathead vin was 47UL1412 (still have a photocopy of the title), the entire vin was stamped on the case.
http://www.theliberator.be/liberator1.htm (WLA models) shows complete VINs stamped on the engines as early as 1940.

 

The V-series Flatheads (V, VL etc) were Big Twins made for 1930–36. For 1931–32 there may have been a Model VSR but the letter S wasn’t usually stamped on the number boss so an example of its VIN would be as follows: 31VR1234. Notice the first two characters would indicate the model year: 31. And the VIN would be stamped on the number boss on the side of the left crankcase near the top.

But the number you gave has no year characters at the start. And you’re saying the number is stamped on the bottom of the case? Numbers that are stamped on the bottom of each case half are sometimes called belly numbers but they usually don’t have letters. An example for 1931 belly numbers would be as follows: 31-1234. And with belly numbers the first two numbers indicate the year the cases were line-bored/machined.

If it’s a 1946 model Flathead then it would normally be from the U-series, W-series or G-series. The U-series were Big Twins. The W-series and G-series were Small Twins. There was such a model as a 46 WR so maybe the guy is confused with what he has? But even if it turned out to be a 46 WR, the VIN should have two numbers at the start to indicate the model year---for example, 46WR1234. And the VIN should be on the side of the left case, not on the bottom of the case.

As for the title, anything could have happened over the years but you may have trouble getting it all registered if things don’t make sense. I wouldn’t recommend buying this engine before you figure out what’s going on. And maybe not even then. But first we need to see clear photos of everything: photos of both sides of the engine; a photo of the numbers you stated; photos of any casting numbers if visible; and photos of any other numbers and/or ID anywhere on the engine.
Eric

 

yep be leery i agree with speedy....mine had its numbers on the boss on the left case, right above the crank, starting with the year numbers...there's a lot people can do with titles,specially bein that old