I have owned this Oldsmobile Rocket 88 since 1984. I have most of my old passenger registrations, as well as two from the prior owner. I also have a handwritten receipt from the DMV when I got the title transferred into my name. On all of these documents, the VIN listed starts with an R followed by six numbers. We are attempting to do a title transfer from Oregon to Florida but Florida DMV says the current title number does not match what is on the tag attached to the door frame on the driver's side. That is 538C****. I have requested a document search from the Oregon DMV. They say most of it is on microfiche, some of it is illegible and it only goes back to 1980. HELP! Do you know what I can do?

 

A Florida bonded title might be the easiest option, I wonder if Oregon assigned a VIN # sometime in the past.
Good luck.

 

Bummer. I hope you can get a title.

I know cars that old didn't follow standardized VIN rules. The person at the DMV is undoubtedly being difficult since you've had the car registered in Oregon for so long. Might you go to a different DMV office where the employees are more helpful?

 

This reminds me of a 1948 coupe I owned. Somehow the cars MODEL NUMBER from the data plate on the cowl of the car ended up on the title as Vehicle Identification Number on the title. NOT the same as the VIN on the car....
Here in minnesota a bonded title was the cure for a "lost" title. Not sure what the fix will / would be in florida..

 

Looks like your title has the engine number, not the door tag number. Common in some states in previous years like Wisconsin. Engine number is seen between cyls 1 and 3 looking down behind exh manifold to block deck surface. Might take some brake cleaner and some scraping to reveal it if greasy. If the original engine is gone then you will have red tape to associate the door tag number with your existing title.

 

X 2 Many, many years ago, some states used engine serial numbers on titles.