ex RAF 109.. Cant find identity.. very suspect?

Hi.
My mate has acquired an Ex RAF series 3, 2.5 (not 2.25) landy.

We are looking for the chassis no so he can apply for the V5.

the seller was supposed to do it but doesn't appear to have done so.

The number plate on the bulkhead has been removed which looks a bit iffy
but there should be a number stamped in the chassis itself.

The Chassis has been painted with black stuff so ill have to scrape away.

I have checked the driver side suspension hanger,on the off side of it and there seems to be lots of scratches.. if it was here its been ground off

so question to ask is.. where to look next and worst if its identity has been removed. what to do?

was bought via ebay, but he cant seem to get hold of the seller now.

many thanks for any help.

theres not many reasons why you would grind it off legit

looks like your mate's been done.

certainly a possibility.

could be a replacement front chassis? but the fact that the plate is missing and the drilled off rivets are still there doesn't look good.


& the number plate is recognised on the DVLA database

I have the link to the advert and it looked legit enough. also the address.


what is the best way to proceed?

Go get some nitromoors ( or other suitable skin damaging solvent based stripper) and douse the hanger liberally 3 or 4 times and get it down to bare metal.

Once it's done, you'll be able to see if the area HAS been ground down beyond the stamping.

If it's ground down - then summats not right, and he's got a problem. However, if it looks kinda abused, then you could try to rub a suitable dye, or coloured compound into the area, kind of like a brass rubbing. Doen it before and it's worked a charm......

If you inform the police, they can do an engine number check on the Police National Computer (PNC) and if its a stealie the engine should be on it.

I doubt the DVLA will have a note of the engine change of a vehicle this old. My V5 doesn't even have an engine number!

You may have to ascertain age/id from axles numbers, engine numbers and do it that way.

Very few vehicles still have the chassis number still there, as many have had new front sections. If you had the reg number, it would give you an idea!

My Ex-Army FFR 109, has a plate on the side of the drivers fuel tank whick includes its military registration mark, (amongst other things), if thats intact you could get some info through the M.o.D.
Does all sound a bit screwy though.

If a stamped number has been ground/scraped off it can be brought back up by use of an acid dip, which police forensics would do.

Panic Over.
We have just tracked down the previous owner who had removed the plate to get the paint off.
He just hadn't gotten round to putting it back on and still had it.
the acid trick did confirm it was the right plate. wasn't ground off, just hard to find/read.
so all being well and ex military landy will be back on the road soon.

i bet it was a relief