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« on: December 06, 2020, 02:13:19 PM »
The 4J number is likely the engine block serial number, which is different than the vehicle serial number (VIN). If the block hasn't been "decked", the number should be on the top of the block, on the flat spot that sticks out in front of the cylinder head just above the water pump.
I have heard that in the old days, when VIN tags were held onto the body with regular screws and often fell off unnoticed, that the engine block number was used in place of the actual body number. I guess this was based on the theory that it was unlikely that the engine would fall off unnoticed. :-) This didn't address the issue of an engine being replaced, or the block being machined in a way to accidentally remove the block number, and is why the system headed toward securely fastened ID tags on the body...and the number on the tag being stamped into several places on the car frame and body.
Chances are that if the engine block serial number is still there, and it matches the paper title, things shouldn't be too bad. Note all the weasel words in the last sentence. The MVD inspectors are *usually* pretty sharp on this kind of stuff, but.....sometimes....
If the engine number isn't readable or the MVD inspector is in a terrible mood, then my silly wild guess is that a bonded title might be needed. I've never needed a bonded title, but from my reading about the bonded title process, it's "follow the procedure, pay some bond money and push red tape through some hoops". Eventually, after a few years time (3 years, maybe), the bond requirement ends and a regular title gets issued. When the bond requirement ends, if you put up the cash for the bond, then you get the money back. Or if you paid an insurance company a fee to put up the bond...the insurance company made some money.
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