TPD

So I'm looking at a 65 Convert in my town that is for sale and I've ran into a very wierd situation.

The Vin tag says 19467591158XX clear as day but the Ohio title from 75 says 194675S1158XX

The owner has owned the car since 75 and has done a full restore on it. He said the block doesn't match along with the trans. But that is hardly a concern.

Any ideas of what could be going on?


I've searched through 9 pages of posts 2 times over trying to figure this out but the search brought nothing to the table to cover this.

Also, can anyone list the locations that I can find the "numbers" to see what else is off?

sedowney

I had a similar situation, I knew about a 73 vette a guy had since 88 or 89. When I bought it from him the DMV transposed 2 numbers on the title. I did not catch it, fast forward 3 yrs, I sell the restored car to a guy in Kentucky. He goes to register the car and they won't let him due to the title. I had to get the car back to GA, have a police officer inspect it (I kept a copy of the original title) fill out all sorts of affidavits, and apply for a new title. Car goes back to Kentucky. Six weeks go by the title comes back, it is still wrong. Had to do all of that crap over again . It was a PITA and took 3-4 months. Get the owner to fix it BEFORE you buy.

ctjackster

19467591158XX is not a valid VIN for a 65 Corvette, Ohio got it right, and perhaps that was based on an earlier, orginal VIN tag?

I think the VIN tags were punched out by a dedicated operator, it is not all that likely that he had a "9" in there in place of the "S" (that part of the VIN was fixed and did not vary), but I suppose anything is possible if you want to believe it happened . . . .

vintagecorvette

The 9 should in fact be an S. The only other VIN on the car other than the tag that is riveted under the glove box is the one stamped on the driver side of the frame around there seat is. It is stamped on the top of the frame so it can be a pain to see.


oWEN

ctjackster

actually on C2s the VIN is stamped on the frame in two locations, (1) where Owen indicated near the D-side door sill, and (2) On D-side, just above the rear tire on top of the frame - that's the easier one to get a look at for many folks, perhaps using a scrubber pad and a mirror

Critter1

I've never seen this particular mistake on a VIN tag but I've seen many others that are just as weird. It's certainly possible that it's a genuine tag.

The tags were stamped right at the St Louis assembly plant one at a time as a body passed that station. All of the characters had to be typed into the "Address-O-Graph" machine for every tag so it would be possible to make a mistake. It certainly didn't happen often but it did happen.

Would it be possible to post a closeup pic of this tag? That may tell if it's a genuine. The last few characters can be blocked out if you want to keep the number private.

6T5C2

On mine the title has a 5 in place of the S which I can see as a typo - the person registering the car could have mistaken the 5 for an S. I haven't fixed it yet but don't plan on selling the car anytime soon either.

66BlkBB

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Critter,

How in heavens name would you cure this problem? Factory says that the number must include the S in the serial number. Vin Tag indicates that the digit of 9 is placed in serial number and not the S that should be there. Evidently the factory, the dealership and state licensing department took the correct number from the title without checking the vehicle but the car remains stamped incorrectly due to factory mistake. Most states will probably give this guy a lot of s--t trying to say that the vin tag has been altered. Especially after 42 years. Shouldn't this have been corrected by the dealer when they received the vehicle indicating that the serial number was incorrect from the factory? I have to assume that they did check them for accuracy and to make sure they were selling the correct vehicle. Somewhere down the line you would have thought that it would have been discovered prior to this if the car had changed hands a few times.

Steve

66since71

Don't know how to cure it either.. I'd look at the frame. If it is an S, then I'd forget it...

By the way, the 'code' is:
194675S1158XX
19467- body style (I think convertible? and 19437 is coupe?)
5- model year (65)
S- assembly plant (St louis)
1- don't know? (any help?)
158XX- the 158XX car built

66BlkBB

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The "1" is just a place holder in the serial number.

I don't know that you could just forget the serial number problem. That is why this surfaced now. These cars have upped so much in value that when you buy one you have to make sure that everything is correct with respect to serial numbers, frame numbers, vin tags, etc. This guy wants to buy this unit but started to check the numbers and found the problem. The previous owner bought this car when the value was much less and wasn't worried about matching numbers, etc. Probably never even thought about checking the vin number against the title. In the event this guy buys it and forgets the serial number problem it will most likely show up again if he ever decides to sell it. The next buyer will sure as hell question the vin tag problem.

Steve

TPD

Wow, you guys are really a huge help.

The owner seems to be as confused as me, I'll get some nice clear pictures this weekend and see what you guys say.


I must say out of all the forums I've visted in my time, you guys are amazing! This whole place is fileld with great info and good people. Thanks!

Critter1

Steve,

Decades ago, this problem could have been corrected with a new proper VIN tag right from GM. If an incorrect tag was found after the car was delivered to the dealer, or the customer, a correct tag would have been issued and installed by a GM zone rep. I was somewhat involved in one such replacement on a 1966 or 67 Corvair in about 1968 and I know of a few others on passenger cars from the same era.

When new cars arrived at the dealer in the 60's, more often than not, the VIN is never inspected. (although it was supposed to be) The "new car get ready" guy immediately issued a dealer stock number to the car and it was refered to by that number for the duration of time that the car sat in stock and during it's sale to the customer. The VIN was only important at the time of sale and that number was found on the dealer invoice. When a new car get ready guy DID look at a VIN, he probably only looked at the last few digits to verify that he was selecting the right blue Impala from the inventory as there may have been several blue Impalas in stock. In the case of the Corvette, there likely wasn't more than one or two Corvettes in stock at most dealers so he didn't have to make sure he picked the correct "silver 396 Corvette coupe".

I would still very much like to see the VIN tag in question but I wouldn't be totally surprised to learn that it's the real thing.

66BlkBB

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Critter,

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds like the dealers worked the same way as the county recorders and assessors in the early 60's through the 70's when property changed hands. I don't mean to hi-jack this thread in any way. I recently put my house up for sale as the new one is built and I should be able to move in by the end of February. I had a buyer look at the property on line and found that the property line, as recorded by the county, runs right through the back portion of my dwelling. No survey was required back then. They just plugged in numbers that were given to them by either the buyer or the seller. The county puts the starting line in the middle of the nearest roadway as a starting point. The guy that sold it to me did not realize this and it moved the property line to where it is today. He measured it from the closest right of way line instead. I now have to have a survey done, file a quit claim deed and register it with the county to get it all straightened out, if that will do it. I am in that process now and not sure that will be the end of it. The guy who sold me the property is in deep s--t if it doesn't because I will have to file a suit against him for selling me property he didn't own.

Steve

TPD

If someone altered the vin on this car why would they make such a blunder? Seems to me it would be the stupidest thing someone could do.

Mike Terry

Sounds like a DMV typo mistake to me. This happened on my 54 Vette where the S was a 5 on the title. I had the local police come out and check the car and ran the Vin Tag Check. He made the correction on paper and I too paper work to DMV along with the Police papers and the DMV changed it, NO PROBLUM. BUT that was here in Indiana I don't know what you have to do in the state you live in.

ctjackster

nah, this one is a GM mistake, the VIN tag is the one with the bad digit THIS time

dkleather

Fill out your profile. Knowing your state may help someone here advise on what you can do with the DMV to solve your problem.

John 65

Get the owner to fix it BEFORE you buy.

I just went through this mess 2 months ago. My problem was with the letter "s" and the number "5". The title and Vin didnt match because of it. Just a big headache till it got straightened out. Good luck.

TPD

It's an ohio car

Mark_Milner

I had the "S" and "5" problem on one. It took three returns before they finally got the title right. I even wrote "the letter S, not the number 5" on the side and drew an arrow to the VIN on the paperwork.

Of course, without the right VIN on paperwork, it held up the registration so I couldn't drive it.

On your problem with it being the tag, you might contact Chevy. However, it is doubtful they can/will do anything. Even if they do, I seriously doubt they can issue a VIN tag that looks anywhere at all like that one, so it would really stand out as different.

You do have a problem if you are crossing state lines in the sale. Many states want to physically check the VIN now. This can be a real problem because it won't match. Some states as soon as they see the VIN is messed up will rip the original VIN plate off and stick on a state-issued one, once they check the whole car history. So be careful on that, too.

In-state sales rarely check the VIN physically, so if you are only selling to someone local, you can probably get away with it but it really isn't the moral thing to do.

Consult an attorney. I bet this one would perk their ears, since I doubt they run into this in their careers.