Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

[Jim S.]

Attached link is a high res shot of a trim and VIN tags of a car I'm interested in a possible purchase.
I'd appreciate any opinions on their originality.

http://photos.zweezy.com/img_d10ad25068b64e36ace254b0550157d0.jpg

Thank you

[Mike T.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Well, it's late and no one has jumped in to answer to let me take a crack at it. Okay, it's Mosport Green on a Green Interior and has A/C. The VIN tag has the rosette rivets that you'd expect but there does seem to be a bit of an interruption towards the last numbers. There were no CNC machines making these tags up back then so maybe it's possible for that small glitch to be naturally occuring. I see this VIN is listed on the C2 Registry as a roadster for sale at Mershons. Not sure if there was anything specific that you were concerned about.

[Joe L.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Attached link is a high res shot of a trim and VIN tags of a car I'm interested in a possible purchase.
I'd appreciate any opinions on their originality.

http://photos.zweezy.com/img_d10ad25068b64e36ace254b0550157d0.jpg

Thank you

Jim------


If it were me, the thing I'd be most interested in is if the frame VIN derivative matches the VIN tag. This is something that folks rarely do and it's the most important thing of all. If you were talking about buying a $500 "beater", it would not be too important. But, when one is talking about buying a $50,000+ classic car that's almost 50 years old, has likely had multiple owners, and a very uncertain history, I think it's MANDATORY.

[Jim S.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Jim------


If it were me, the thing I'd be most interested in is if the frame VIN derivative matches the VIN tag. This is something that folks rarely do and it's the most important thing of all. If you were talking about buying a $500 "beater", it would not be too important. But, when one is talking about buying a $50,000+ classic car that's almost 50 years old, has likely had multiple owners, and a very uncertain history, I think it's MANDATORY.

Joe, I agree with you. I'm trying to cover all the bases Just starting with the tags and moving to other elements as the information becomes available and when I inspect the actual car.

[Jim S.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Well, it's late and no one has jumped in to answer to let me take a crack at it. Okay, it's Mosport Green on a Green Interior and has A/C. The VIN tag has the rosette rivets that you'd expect but there does seem to be a bit of an interruption towards the last numbers. There were no CNC machines making these tags up back then so maybe it's possible for that small glitch to be naturally occuring. I see this VIN is listed on the C2 Registry as a roadster for sale at Mershons. Not sure if there was anything specific that you were concerned about.

Mike, It was at Mershon's in 2011. Another dealer now has it listed on EBay. Photos show several changes on the car since 2011. Just doing some homework as to whether this car is still a potential candidate. Thank you ;-)

[Richard M.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Joe, I totally agree, but there's a caveat. Trying to verify the frame vin on a near 50 year old C2 is extremely difficult. IIRC it exists in two places on a '66 frame. One is on the horizontal top frame rail left side just before the kickup, the other is over the arch on the left rear above the tire area. These areas get pretty nasty from years of driving, especially in the snow belt areas of the country.

In all of my experiences trying to verify a frame vin derivative on the midyears that I inspect, it is a very difficult search. On unrestored cars, years of scale, rust, dirt, and heavy paint and general deterioration make it hard to see. Even with the left rear wheel removed, it's difficult to see over the arch with mirrors, lights, probe cameras, etc. That, and the inability to get permission from seller(s) to scuff, sand, wire brush, Scotch brite, scrape, and identify those numbers, certainly makes it a hard job to verify.

I always recommend the same opinion as yours, but in reality, it is often impossible to get.

Rich

[Gary C.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Question - do 1966 VIN tags have the vertical bars on the ends like earlier C2 VIN tags? This VIN tag doesn't have the vertical bars on the ends.

C2 VIN Tag End.jpg

[Jim S.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Question - do 1966 VIN tags have the vertical bars on the ends like earlier C2 VIN tags? This VIN tag doesn't have the vertical bars on the ends.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]53650[/ATTACH]

Gary, The design change to the VIN tag came in 1965 with the change to rivets.

[Ken R.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

looks just like my 65 tags.

[Mike E.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

looks just like my 65 tags.

Mine too....Except for mine has round rivets which was right around the time of the switch. Notice the kind of funky looking "8". I think that has been seen on different cars with similar VIN's.

I don't think I would sweat the disruption at the end. Where the tag is mounted it wouldn't be a big surprise to see some damage from time to time. I agree with Richard a car from a northern climate with pristine frame stamp is going to be on the rare side.



Mike

[David K.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Does the car match the Trim Tag information? I assume there is green vinyl matching the 430 code but does the car match its ECL code? The BN ECL codes states that is car "should have" 1) Power windows 2)Aux hardtop & 3) Powerglide automatic transmission. It "should NOT have" 1) headrests or 2) should belts. If ALL these do not match up then you have a problem.

[Jim S.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Does the car match the Trim Tag information? I assume there is green vinyl matching the 430 code but does the car match its ECL code? The BN ECL codes states that is car "should have" 1) Power windows 2)Aux hardtop & 3) Powerglide automatic transmission. It "should NOT have" 1) headrests or 2) should belts. If ALL these do not match up then you have a problem.

David, Yes the car has those options. Thanks

[Joe L.]

Re: Opinion wanted on VIN & Trim tags

Joe, I totally agree, but there's a caveat. Trying to verify the frame vin on a near 50 year old C2 is extremely difficult. IIRC it exists in two places on a '66 frame. One is on the horizontal top frame rail left side just before the kickup, the other is over the arch on the left rear above the tire area. These areas get pretty nasty from years of driving, especially in the snow belt areas of the country.

In all of my experiences trying to verify a frame vin derivative on the midyears that I inspect, it is a very difficult search. On unrestored cars, years of scale, rust, dirt, and heavy paint and general deterioration make it hard to see. Even with the left rear wheel removed, it's difficult to see over the arch with mirrors, lights, probe cameras, etc. That, and the inability to get permission from seller(s) to scuff, sand, wire brush, Scotch brite, scrape, and identify those numbers, certainly makes it a hard job to verify.

I always recommend the same opinion as yours, but in reality, it is often impossible to get.

Rich

Rich------


Yes, I agree. it can be extremely difficult to discern the frame numbers. Of course, that means that if it's difficult or impossible for a buyer to do it, it's also difficult or impossible for "someone else" (e.g. law enforcement, DMV) to do it. Nevertheless, if I was buying a car and I could not discern these numbers for ANY reason (including not being able to get the owner's OK to do it), I would not purchase the car. The thought of buying an even possibly previously stolen car is so abhorrent to me, I just could not live with the uncertainty, even if there was virtually no chance that it could ever come back and bite me.

Some might say that the chances of a car being a previously stolen car are very slim. Personally, I don't think so. I think there are a LOT more of these type of cars out there than most folks would think and especially so for old Corvettes.