OK folks, Is there any way to tell what a car originally had from the factory by deciphering a vin. Here's the deal. Currently my Buick is in line to get cut up, (pro-street) so in the meantime, I am gonna steal my buddies 70 chevelle. He says it is a true SS, I call bull. Can I tell what drivetrain and color the car had from the factory by running the vin somehow? If anybody can help me out I would owe ya one. Before, anybody gets nervous, I am a diehard buick boy, those who know me on this board can vouch for that. This is just a way to help my freind out who needs to sell his car FAST, and drive a nice A-body for the summer, then sell it and put that money back into buickland. The Vin: 136370K12557 below that lists 11A02343 ST70 Next to that lists KAN263229 75A body paint We know it is a 70 malibu that had a v8 from kansas, but what more can we learn from the vin. I would like to know if the serial tells if it is a true SS or not. Can you even look that information up? Thanks in advance to all whom can help, Josh
A real big block Chevelle would have a 12bolt Chevy rear, a 3/8" fuel line,engine mount brackets would have 4 bolts attaching to the frame ,instead of 3, the rear suspension would have brackets/braces connecting the upper control arms to the lower control arms at the the frame crossmember.Should have disc brakes,too.The dash in a real SS car will have round gage cluster pods ,instead of horizontal sweep speedo setup.Plus SS emblems on standard steering wheel horn pad,doorpanels,grille,fenders,and a rubber pad w/SS on rear bumper('70).Otherwise,you need to find the build sheet.
So Far, You are correct 70 Chevelle (or Monte Carlo) 2dr V8 Built @ Kansas City. There should be 2 letter code on lower right of data tag followed by PNT. to give color. In 70, there were354,700 V8 Malibus built, 7,511 were either Malibu/Malibu SS convertibles. Unless he Car has Vin stamped on Block (ahead of Pass. Side Head) that match I don't know how to prove it other than Build Sheet. 64-67 Malibu SS was its own line. I think 68 Up you could get the SS package on the base Chevelle (chevelle 300 post), Malibu was higher option. Send me the codes from the Block & I will try to ID that as well. JR Wills jrwills1970@earthlink.net.
Paint code 75 = Fire Red (Buick's name, don't know Chevy's) Upper code A = White vinyl top. ST70 = 1970 model year. 11A = First week of November production. KAN263229 = Fisher body number. No relation to VIN. BTW, you're missing a digit somewhere in the last 6 of the VIN.
It wasn't until model year 1972 that GM had the engine size in the VIN, in your 1970 VIN the 3rd digits only tells if it came with a 6 or 8 cylinder engine. SS396 (wasn't this the 402 engine ?) and SS454 was an option, and not listed in the VIN. SS396 option package was the Z25, SS454 was the Z15. I can scan a description of the SS package differences from the Chevrolet SS Red Book if you want. 136370K12557 1970 Monte Carlo is 13857, 13637 is a model year 1970 2 drs HT sport coupe V8 Chevelle Malibu. Chebby name for paint code 75 = Cranberry Red. Only 5 digits on the Body Number Plate before model year 1973. (71 Centurion BNP in the photo, 5 digits)
Erik, I agree on the body data tag, but the VIN he provided IS short 1 digit, somewhere in the last 6 of the VIN. VIN's are different that body numbers... added in edit: BTW, Fisher body numbers ARE 6 digits long, at least for GS's built in Flint. See Marco's Registry : http://stage1registry.com/registry/1970_stage_1.htm
The VIN is indeed 13 digits, but I read this: So this is telling that the data was read from the BNP, and in that case it has only 12 digits :TU:
Well I ASSUME(D) he was reading the VIN plate up on the dash. I can see now were I made an error in my assumption... BTW, when you ASS/U/ME something, you make an A$$ out of U and ME :laugh: . Sorry for the confusion.
I'm so happy I speak English and not the American dialect, ARSEume is a different story...... :laugh: :bglasses: :laugh:
Erik and Brad - You guys are too cool! :beer I never thought I could learn so much about Chevys on a Buick board! Does Chevrolet have a service where you can send them the VIN and they give you the option content (like Pontiac Historic Services)? My car was built in Canada and so I was able to get it done through GM of Canada but am not aware if that service is offered here in the US. Anyone? Bueller? K
insurance/more stampings I quickly jotted the numbers down, and that is why it is all out of order but I think we got the meat of it. With this info you all provided I can do my own looking up. Thanks guys. Is there anywhere else on the CAR that would have the motor/tranny number? I have heard of guys taking vins off of dead cars, and riviting them into place. The car has a 454, I havn't pulled the motor numbers yet, but am interested in validating the motor to other parts on the body? Doesn't the rearend have some sort of stamping? Also, Does anybody know how car insurance works if you take out a loan on a 70 chevelle? Does it have to be full coverage? How does this process work. Thanks Josh
Josh, I just notice that for some reason the engine block casting numbers are not listed in the info from the book, but I still can help you out with that.
Well, since I'm in the insurance business, I can tell you if you take out a loan, the financial institution WILL require you to carry full coverage on the car. You may run into a problem with a standard carrier getting one to insure a 35 year old car. You should call your agent BEFORE you buy the car, not only to see if they will cover the car itself, but also the price of the coverage.
