Hi guys, new thread..
This topic seems to come up and I have tried my hardest to answer my question without resorting to a new thread but I'm stuck.. I'll apologise in advance for stupid questions.. (although my mum always said "there are no stupid questions, just stupid people".. she had me pegged from an early age!)
I have access to a car that has a compliance plate, a build plate and a chassis number. The VIN plate is missing.
From what I can gather, most of the information captured within the VIN plate number is carried on the build/ID plate..
The build/ID plate carries info on the model code (LH or LX), luxury level, body shape, serial number, location of build and engine. All of this info is used to construct the vehicles VIN number which is stamped on the VIN plate.. Infact the only thing missing from the build/ID plate that is captured in the VIN is the year the car was built. (my understanding is its the 6th character of the 14 character VIN code).
The ADR compliance plate has the vehicle date and the chassis number..
Infact, I imagine that with only the body serial number off the build/ID plate, the corresponding VIN plate number could easily be found by GM using vehicle data records.. Please advise if I am wrong.. I expect the date the car was built and the assigned options it was given would all be available.. possibly (and hopefully) even the corresponding chassis number.. Again, I could be wrong. After all, it was the 70's and I wouldn't be surprised if record keeping wasn't a particularly high priority between the reefers, free love and fondue parties..
My question(hopefully not considered a stupid one).. what is the big deal about sourcing a replacement VIN plate if the number that is on it is supported by the build/ID plate that is attached to the vehicle?
I might add that the car in discussion is an el basico column shifter 6cyl sedan.. not that it should matter.. authenticity is what it is.
