I recently purchased my first corvette. Its a 1981 convertible c3, come to find out they didnt make these in 1981 so it was a conversion or special order (since its not a hack job and professionally done) But im going to list the vin number there are (2) digits i cant seem to find out what they mean or werent listed with a 1981 option..... see if someone else can figure it out.

vin: 1G1(A)Y87(6)9BS416554

oK the digits in () are the 2 im having issues finding out. Almost all of the sites ive been too show YY not AY, it says that digit is the carline or series??? and the second is the engine type digit. The 1981 corvette was only offered the L81 engine from what i see on most sites, but 6 isnt offered as a digit for that, now if you move to the 1980 c3 codes, 6 = L82 model..... When i bought this car they listed it as an 82, i believe they saw 82 somewhere and thought that was the year and it might have been the model number???? When i did a search those 2 digits left ?'s in the information given. Its a 1981 with 62K orginal miles, great condition..... How do i find the value of the car, you cant just do a KBB on something like this, and it being a custom or special car because of it being a convertible that was not offered, and who knows what the story is with the engine and the other letter (A). How do i find its value. Here is a link i found to a car that is exactly like the one i bought, only difference that i can see is the color of the top and interior, mine is black and black.
http://web.dealer123.com/wa/br/?ID=45285
Thanks for any help offered.

 

I don't have my Corvette black book with me so I can't help with the VIN numbers yet but ALL 1981 and 1982 corvettes were sport coupes and none were convertibles. In 1981 there was just the coupe and it was coded 1YY87 and then the engine was the L81 engine. In 1982 you could get the Sport coupe 1YY87 ( around 18648 produced) or you could get the 1YY07 collector edition hatchback ( 6759 produced) but no convertibles. In 1982 the engine was the L83 cross-fire injected V8. 1980 was the last of the L48 or the optional L82 engines. By the Vin you show I am thinking your car # S416554 is a 1981 produced between December 1980 and January 1981. December 1980 started with VIN # 415234 and Jan 1981 VIN start was 418399.

 

With these cars getting to the ages they are there are no telling what all kinds of custom changes have been done. I do believe there are a few cars that I have seen over the years converted to a vert from a coupe... maybe the company Caravaggio rings a bell. As to value... it is just another late C3 that has had custom body work done. Some will like it some will not. No special order on that option there though.

 

Well i do believe your correct on the date of manufacture, because ive read that the "s" in the vin is for St. Louis, and in 1981 the first half of the year vettes were made in St. Louis and then the factory closed to the new on in Bowling Greens, KY. So im wondering if the (6) is the L82 motor and it was built in late 80 but put the 81 year on it? Or i could just be completly wrong with the code and who knows what it stands for. I have found some convertibles for that year, so i guess they probably just took the *** end off of a 74 or before and attached it to the body and made it a conversion convertible. Thanks for your reply

 

here's a website that might help you a bit further...

http://c3registry.org/index.php?uid=5472

 

Got this info from a post back in 2008...


1981 Corvette Identification


VIN Tag Information
1G1AY8764BS400001 - 1G1AY8764BS431611 (St.Louis)
1G1AY8764B5100001 - 1G1AY8764B5108995 (B.Green)
Digit Definition
1st 1 = Nation Origin = US
2nd G = Manufacturer = GM
3rd 1 = Make/Type = Chevy/Passenger
4th Vehicle Restraint System: A = Manual Belts, B = Automatic Belts, C = Air Bags
5th Y = Carline = Corvette
6th/7th 87 = Body Type = Corvette
8th 6 = Engine Type = L81
9th Check digit to verify VIN#
10th B = Model Year = 1981
11th Assembly Plant: S = St. Louis, MO, 5 = Bowling Green, KY
Last 6 digits Production Number starting with 400001 and up.

 

Hmmmm, i wonder where this was found, because here is the standard i keep finding.

1981 to Present
Standardized 17 digit VIN Explination
Position Description Code
1 Country the car was manufactured in 1 = USA
2 Corporation that built the car G = GM
3 Make of the car 1 = Chevrolet
4 Car line or series Y = Y-body series
5 Additional information about the Vette Usually a Y but a Z = ZR1
6 Body style 1 = two door coupe
3 = convertible
7 Restraint system 3 = late model seat belts warning and air bags
8 Engine type 8 = L98, P = LT1, J = ZR1, 5 = LT4
9 Randomly generated check digit 0 - 9
10 Model year GM decided to give the car B = 1981, C = 1982, D = 1983, E = 1984 , F = 1985, G = 1986
H = 1987, J = 1988, K = 1989, L = 1990, M = 1991, N = 1992
, 6 = 2006, 7 = 2007, 8 = 2008
11 Assembly plant or location 5 = Bowling Green
12 to 17 Production sequence number Example: 800001 = ZR1

 

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...1981/81id.html

 

Thank you, that website was very helpful. Now how do you find out or determine the worth since its a convertible and not a standard vette?

 

My research shows the vin# you supplied has the correct numbers both in my Corvette Black Book and my quick check online. The A stands for "Occupant Restraint" and the 6 Stands for "350 4 V engine". Heres a website for you to check out how to decode the vin #. http://corvettec3.ca/vin.htm#1981_Options

As far as value, Go to Nada.com. There you can get a feel for what the car is worth. No idea on the convertible though.

Good Luck!

 

Just did a quick google search for 1981 Corvette convertibles and was surprised to find a few cars out there for sale. It seems that there were companies out there in the 80's and 90's that did ground effect and convertible conversion kits for these cars. It was probably fairly costly to do. The values I saw of the convertibles being sold were in the same range of cars that did not have conversions. The pricing seemed to hinge more on how nice of condition the car was in rather then the conversion. Looks like the range is from 10k to 15k depending on how nice the car is. Later model C3 Vettes can still be purchased at a reasonable price right now and alot of guys like myself are buying clean low mile ones for investments because over the next 10 years I feel they are going to go up in value considerably. I personally would stay away from any conversion car because most high dollar collector vette are the ones that stay as original as possible. This is true for most collector cars but Vettes even more so. Have fun with your car!