1930 or 1931?

Michael M

Michael M

Senior Member
I have what I thought is - and is titled as - a 1930 Tudor. After reading through the threads here, however, I'm thinking that it is actually a 1931.

Some of the characteristics:

Radiator shell with painted top and bottom inserts
Oval crank hole
Indented firewall
Single piece apron at running board
Round speedometer

There is a body tag with a number formatted as 37-xxxxxx, which is what's on the title as a VIN.

Am I correct in believing this to be a 1931?

If so, can I expect any issues with it being titled and registered as a 1930?
 
I think the 30 had the blue radiator emblem and the 31 had stainless emblem with black lettering as the original. the full apron was used in september of 1930 to the end of production and on the 31. I hope this helps. jr.
 
I had a late 1930 and that had the full apron and the blue emblem. You should be ably to run the numbers and see what you find. But I think it is a 30. lr
 
Indented firewall is your ticket to it being a late 1931. That would be the thing that makes it certain in my eyes.

All the other stuff can and could have been "easily" swapped over the years onto a 1930 body, and yes, those things are also 31 characteristics...
 
The indented firewall is only April 31 and later. Unless someone swaped it that is a dead giveaway. That along with the other evidence points to a late 31. I can't answer the title legal question....
 
I would think that to be certain you'll need to lift the body and see if the numbers on the frame match the title. It is very possible that someone used a 1930 frame and put a 31 body on it. I believe in most states the frame is the registered part. If that is the case I'd say it is titled properly as a 1930 regardless of what year the body is. It is also possible that someone in the past just used whatever title they had and it doesn't match the frame. If that's the case I'd think yeah it could be a legal issue if it were ever to be sold out of state or involved an insurance claim.
 
sidhartha said:
I would think that to be certain you'll need to lift the body and see if the numbers on the frame match the title. It is very possible that someone used a 1930 frame and put a 31 body on it. I believe in most states the frame is the registered part. If that is the case I'd say it is titled properly as a 1930 regardless of what year the body is. It is also possible that someone in the past just used whatever title they had and it doesn't match the frame. If that's the case I'd think yeah it could be a legal issue if it were ever to be sold out of state or involved an insurance claim.
Click to expand...

Sometimes the numbers on the frame are difficult to read because of dirt and rust. Clean them off and get a good pic of them, so you'll have visual proof. Far too many A's are a mish-mash of multi-year parts. Once you know what year your frame is, you can then start to replace the wrong parts with correct ones.
 
Michael M said:
I have what I thought is - and is titled as - a 1930 Tudor. After reading through the threads here, however, I'm thinking that it is actually a 1931.

Some of the characteristics:

Radiator shell with painted top and bottom inserts
Oval crank hole
Indented firewall
Single piece apron at running board
Round speedometer

There is a body tag with a number formatted as 37-xxxxxx, which is what's on the title as a VIN.

Am I correct in believing this to be a 1931?

If so, can I expect any issues with it being titled and registered as a 1930?
Click to expand...

Yes you have a '31 and no issues should be expected if the paperwork is current and you have plates.
 
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