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Jay - I see this is your first post, welcome to the Corvette Forum.
Can't remember exactly when they made the switch from drivers side door jamb for VIN location to the steering column in 1960 but one thing I'm pretty sure of...when the VIN tag was moved to the steering column, it was 'spot welded' not riveted so good chance that tag was added by some previous owner or shop. I thought maybe the spot welded original tag might have come off so someone decided to pop rivet it back into place but as you already know, they didn't make 17K Corvettes in 1960 unless we're misreading that tag.
Mike T - Prescott AZ
Welcome to the forum. Sorry but that's not a factory tag. Like before, it should be a spot welded stainless tag and embossed from the back, not stamped. That's not a corvette number. I agree on deleting.
Yeah that looks like a home made tag. Also I looked up some info on Chevrolet vins and that combination isn't possible. The first 3 digits would be 1960 corvette but the 4th and 5th digit is a combo that can't exist plus the fact that the serialized part of the vin is too high. That car had a questionable history prior to your dad buying it.
if the frame hasn't been swapped you might be able to figure out the real vin of the car from the stamping since that's the only other place a vin or partial vin will be. But even if you figure out what the vin should be you won't have a title that matches and who knows if the car was stolen prior to your family's ownership.
Does the title match the vin number. Not sure why post should be deleted. Nobody cares about tag being real or not, unless you sell the car.
Actually, I do. Its a bogus VIN for a reason. If the real VIN can be determined from the frame , and its stolen, then Im sure the previous owners or family are interested too.
I hope its just an innocent typo, but if someone is still missing that car, it needs to be recovered.
Find the frame stamp on top of the frame rail between the frame and the body under the area near the driver's seat. Hard to read without cleaning the top of the frame somehow and possibly lifting the body. Most of the time it can be done with a small mirror between the body and top of the frame.
While the picture below is a 1954 frame, the frame is basically the same as a 1960. The VIN on the 1960 is located in the area of Star #7 on top.
The early 60 Corvette Vin plates were screwed with phillip's screws to the door jamb. Starting mid-Dec 59 (somewhere around #1800), they were moved to the steering column and spot welded. The number you show doesn't fit any of the ranges for the 60.
My dad has owned this 1960 Corvette since 1979. Body restored in 1980 and thats pretty much been it. Let's just say, the rest of her needs a lot of TLC. So, this brings me to the VIN #. Before I begin any new work, I'd like to know what this car actually is (year) & what I'm dealing with.
From what I can see the VIN # reads 00866S617541.
From what I've read on-line, the (1960) VIN Range is:
00867S100001 - 00867S110261 (Please correct me if I'm wrong)
10,261 units were built in 1960. So what do I have in my garage? The VIN doesn't seem to make sense, but I've heard of mis-stamping in the early years. Some were done by hand.
Thank you!
Looking at your Picture of the Tag I think th e fourth # is a 5 not a 6 the 6 has amuck smaller o than the 5 so I think it is 00856Sxxxxxxx the Decoder maker it a 1960 Corveette 2dr Malibu or Elcamino the 56 [img]webkit-fake-url://b6aef93c-4bfc-4401-ad14-b4754f2760ed/imagepng[/img][img]webkit-fake-url://3fccb74f-cf3c-4244-b23b-5553d919132a/imagepng[/img][img]webkit-fake-url://d3e4fa4c-9bf6-47da-a12f-88ed01a38956/imagepng[/img][img]webkit-fake-url://8d810633-1ca1-4ba7-9ae4-1d7c38fb6d74/imagepng[/img][img]webkit-fake-url://e117f497-919c-4e3b-aabb-8c102a384334/imagepng[/img]
Looking at your Picture of the Tag I think th e fourth # is a 5 not a 6 the 6 has amuck smaller o than the 5 so I think it is 00856Sxxxxxxx the Decoder maker it a 1960 Corveette 2dr Malibu or Elcamino the 56 [img]webkit-fake-url://b6aef93c-4bfc-4401-ad14-b4754f2760ed/imagepng[/img][img]webkit-fake-url://3fccb74f-cf3c-4244-b23b-5553d919132a/imagepng[/img][img]webkit-fake-url://d3e4fa4c-9bf6-47da-a12f-88ed01a38956/imagepng[/img][img]webkit-fake-url://8d810633-1ca1-4ba7-9ae4-1d7c38fb6d74/imagepng[/img][img]webkit-fake-url://e117f497-919c-4e3b-aabb-8c102a384334/imagepng[/img]
64 Elcamino EBay has a GM Decoder and the list under are links for the decoder I took pic and Zoomed in on your pic of Vin #s Don't Know if this helped a little but Maybee Numbers Could have been assigned By your States Registry after a total loss ? Brother Inlaw had a 78 silver Aniversary that was stripped and total loss car had like 7500 miles The guy that bought it at Auction rebuilt and had MASS Registry assign A Vin ! Let me Rephrase that he applied and Registry assigned them . Who knows How they did things in every State 50 something Years ago Don't get discouraged Worse Case you just Keep Buisness as Usuall and Drive Car when you want ! The Car is Really Nice
Definitely not a VIN tag, or a correct VIN number.
The closest thing I can come up with is
00867S107541 which is a registered VIN. Car was registered in 2005. This VIN is NOT listed in the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Your next step is to see what VIN is on the frame.
I am sure that you have already figured out from this thread that your car has legal issues. No way to determine how significant they are until you determine the original VIN of this car.
Thanks for the feedback so far! Yes, I'm not sure why this post should be deleted, the car is a Corvette. There are no wonder bar radio replicas. Ha ha. I'll look into the paperwork and any other markings on the car & report back!
The recommendation for deletion was based on the fact that your car is technically illegal, and depending on what state you are in, is also subject to confiscation.
An incorrect VIN tag really leads toward the conclusion that this car was stolen or otherwise totaled in a past life.
At the very least, once the issues are addressed, this car will likely end up with a state issued VIN tag.
Just a Note Here: The car is registered, insured, & on the road. I'm thinking this car was water damage since there is a large amount of rust under the car. I will check with the current owner on any back story. Thanks again!
Thanks for the feedback so far! Yes, I'm not sure why this post should be deleted, the car is a Corvette. There are no wonder bar radio replicas. Ha ha. I'll look into the paperwork and any other markings on the car & report back!
Reason is good chance someone is missing a nice 60 Corvette. Delete at least until you figure this out. You would not like LE at your door.
I think everyone wants you to protect yourself. We know you and your father didn't steal the car. We are just saying that the vin tag is home made and that raises red flags. Who knows what happened to the car before the dealer had it and the dealer might not have cared enough to research the vin since it was just a used car then.
If I were you I would try and find documentation of that vin being assigned to the car legally because that is not a state issued vin tag. It looks like one some guy just made up at home and was able to slip past a DMV back in the 70s. Getting good documentation to support the numbers on your vin will only protect you in the future of someone ever questions it. You don't want the cops to take your car and hold it until you prove something. The absolute worst case scenario is that someone did steal that car back before the dealer had it or maybe they swapped the tag because a bank was looking for the car. Then they made a tag and got the car registered and sold. Now if someone ever questions the vin and cops got involved, what if they find the original vin on the frame and determine the car was stolen at one point prior to your ownership. Now the car is gone and you and your dad are out everything. On the other side, let's say it's all legit and that vin was assigned by a state and someone made that tag. Having proof of that will help you later. If you ever tried to sell the car you could ease a buyers mind and make it easer to sell with documentation or if the car is ever involved in a future theft or accedent that makes the law take a closer look you could hand them the paperwork.
Long post but in short... Protect yourself and your dad. Good luck with it all.
06-01-2017, 09:39 PM
