I used the birthday calculator on the C2 Registry to see when my '66 Convertible was built. I entered the year and last 5 of the VIN and it came back with a Feb '66 date which is fine. However it came back with a complete VIN that shows my car is a coupe, which isn't the case. I tried to find an e-mail to contact someone on the C2 site, but couldn't and when I used the comment site, it gave me a "fatal error" and wouldn't work. My question is how accurate is the data in the C2 registry database?

 

its a mathematical guess based on how many cars were built each month

 

What does the code on your trim tag say for a build date?

 

My trim tag shows G16, which is March 16, 1966 and is 1 month different than the C2 registry calculator which shows Feb 16, 1966. Does anyone know if the trim tag date is "accurate" or is there some margin of error in that too?

 

If you want accuracy - and a fancy looking certificate to boot - why not break down and order a shipping data report from the NCRS? Worth the $40 fee IMHO, as it gives a definitive answer as to when your car was built.

 

Unfortunately you must be an NCRS member to use this service and it just isn't that important to me to re-join.

 

If it's an AO Smith built body, G16 is Feb 16.

 

This brings up an issue I find particularly rankling. I am an NCRS member and have gotten the shipping documents for both my present cars, so I know what's on them. I took delivery of my first '67 coupe on about the 10th of June, 1967 from Village Chevrolet in Wayzata, Minnesota. I contacted NCRS and asked them if they could give me the serial numbers of all coupes delivered to that dealer with a build date of the last week of May or the first week of June 1967. They said that with the data they had, it was impossible. Give me a break; since they have all 3 data points (build date, serial number, which would tell coupe or convertible, and the dealership taking delivery), it should be easy to get the information for that period, but they just refuse to do it. I know there may be VIN privacy issues involved, but that's not their reason. In my opinion, they won't give me the information because that car (which I know was a Plain Jane L79 coupe) is probably now one of the "powers that be's" top flight big block car.

I think this is also the reason the will not provide shipping information to non-members; the more information that gets out, the more fraudulent cats will be exposed. BTW, as far as privacy goes, knowing the volume of that dealership in those days, it was most likely the only Corvette delivered by the in the period. Members seem to expect DMV's to give out this information, why not NCRS? I don't want my old car back even if it exists; it was Sunfire Yellow (the wife's choice). I would just like to know if it still exists, and I could even provide the current owner with some history and a few photos. I even offered to pay the cost of the record search, but nothing doing.

Rant over.

 

It is an AO Smith body, so if the G16 is Feb 16, then that matches the C2 registry. No need to re-join NCRS for the info. I don't really have any issues with NCRS and respect what they do and I was a member for 12 yrs, but my car will never be flighted.

 

Believe me I am no acolyte of the organization... was just throwing it out there as a possible means to resolve conflicting information. To me the shipping data service is more about learning where the car was sold than when it was built, as there are other ways to determine the latter.

 

I would doubt the information is on that type of searchable data base. They probably simply take the serial number and find the information for that car. Its not fair to accuse anyone of having and protecting a bogus car because of not having the data available in that format. And, after all it is a member service, so its not available to everyone.

 

Mark, are you saying that it appears someone has registered a '66 coupe in the registry with your VIN number? Is the 4th digit in your VIN a 6 or a 3? Any reason to doubt your VIN is not correct to your car? Does the VIN on the frame show it as a convertible?

Good luck... GUSTO

 

4th digit in my VIN is a 6, which is a convertible, which is also what is sitting in my garage. I'm not saying someone registered my VIN with the C2 registry as a coupe. What I said (or meant to) was when I use their birthday calculator, it returns the birthdate of Feb 25, 66 (close to the Feb 16 date on the trim tag) and a complete VIN that includes the "3" (coupe) instead of the "6". I also looked at their entire list of '66 cars in the registry and mine is not listed. I have not registered my car in the registry in the 15 yrs I've owned it. As Nowhere Man stated earlier, they probably guess on coupe or convertible based on how many of each were made that month or year if the car has never been registered with them.

 

Thanks Mark for the response. I was just concerned that it might have appeared somewhere out there is a coupe using your VIN sequence for nefarious reasons. If that were the case, if could complicate a future sale. Thankfully that doesn't appear to be the case.

Good luck... GUSTO

 

The date on your trim tag is the date the body was completed. The date in the birthday calculator is an estimated date (based on the VIN number) when the entire vehicle was completed on the assembly line, not just the body.

Feb 16th for the body and Feb 25th for final assembly are entirely consistent, particularly for an AO Smith body which had to be shipped to St Louis!

My '67 with a St Louis body has a Nov 17th '66 body date and an estimated Nov 18th '66 final assembly date.

 

Join NCRS, get the shipping data and dont renew.
It's cool to have that sheet of paper latter down the road.

 

You have to be kidding about your first statement. The database has date, dealership, and serial number. Search for all entries beginning date= 5/20/1967, ending date=6/10/1967, dealership=Village Chevrolet, Wayzata, MN, display serial number; simple. I stopped by the dealership every day to see if my car had shown up yet and don't remember any other Corvettes being delivered. There may have been one or two I missed, but I guarantee the number delivered to that dealership during that time period is in the single digits, the minority being coupes. We will have to agree to disagree on your second statement, which is really not germane to my purpose anyway. As to your third statement, I agree about MEMBER SERVICE.

Since I have never been contacted by anyone, the owner of my original car (if it still exists) probably has no idea who the first owner was. I would think he or she would really like to know and even talk to me about it. They probably would benefit more than me from it.

 

I haven't received any of this information from NCRS so I don't know what form it is in, but if it is stuff from the 60s I would doubt it is searchable to that extent. Second, You are telling me it is fair to accuse some one at NCRS of protecting another member with some bogus stuff. Yea, we will have to agree to disagree.

 

Easy for me to say what the registry "should" do when I am not tasked with making it happen, But rather than the simple one-line per vehicle, it's too bad there is not an historical sequence that can be accumulated to show a car's history.

For instance, I was the 2nd owner of my '67 (funny, it's still "MY" 1967 even 45 years later! ) and I know who the original owner was. But once somebody posts an entry, it appears that is pretty much what stays there regardless.

I have refrained from entering any of my old Vettes from back then just in case somebody who has one NOW wants to update it - I'd hate to lose the chance to see where one of them is today, but the current owner might welcome a history of where the car has been through the years.

 

Sorry, you were the one who said it was a "searchable database". Even if it was in random hard-copy only, I'll bet I could find the desired entries in less than half an hour if provided access. I regret bringing up motives; my main concern is access to available information.