Re weired Vin Number

[CORVETTELOVER88]

I have an 88 convertible or so i thought.
the vin is 1G1YY 2 180J5119935
The 2 denotes coupe and this unit is a convertible which should show a 3. can anyone advise why this would be.It has the switches on both doors to release the lock pins that hold down the soft top rear pins, as well as the pop up rear to fold the soft top away.
I only became aware of it when pointed out to me last week
thanks

 

[Dirtfarmer]

That is weird. :confused The rest of your VIN makes sense but that 6 spot is screwy.

I'm sure someone will come along and give us an answer.

 

[KOPBET]

Stranger things have happened with stolen/rebuilt cars. Have you checked other VIN locations?

 

[c4cruiser]

Is this the number on the rivited-in VIN plate at the lower corner of the left side of the windshield??

There should be a decal on the left door that has the VIN on it. If it's there, does it match? Look for the Service Parts Identification sticker that's either under the console lid or under the right side storage compatment lid. That sticker will also have the VIN.

The last 8 digits of the VIN is stamped on the frame just below the battery. Remove the back part of the wheelwell and you should see the stamping about an inch below the top of the frame rail. It will be right in front of the battery.

I believe that the complete VIN is also stamped on the top of the frame rail just forward of the right rear control arm mounting position. You will have to remove the right rear wheelwell piece and probably do some cleaning.

You might want to get a CARFAX subscription and check the VIN. It's possible that the car was stolen, or it was wrecked and the car is cobbled together from the front half of a coupe and the rear half of a 'vert. Anything is possible with car thieves or with shady body shops.

Did you have the car imported into Australia or did you buy it from another person? I would think that the car would have been carefully checked over for proper ownership papers and matching VIN when it was originally imported.

 

[CORVETTELOVER88]

[C4cruiser.
yes the vin visible through the windscreen is the same it has gm written every 1/4 across the label.bought in aust already been converted over to r/h drive. will check otherspots you mentioned in morning
thanks

 

[Vettelt193]

[C4cruiser.
yes the vin visible through the windscreen is the same it has gm written every 1/4 across the label.bought in aust already been converted over to r/h drive. will check otherspots you mentioned in morning
thanks

If it's been converted to RH drive, then it may have been converted to a convertible too. The RH drive conversion in these cars is not easy at all, so it wouldn't be too surprising to see the 'vert added at the same time.

A couple of ZR1's have been converted with factory parts, so it's very possible.

 

[c4cruiser]

Converting to RH drive is one thing, but converting D ) to a convertible is another thing altogether. The fact that the decklid release switches are in both doors means that somebody did a lot of extra wiring.

Does the car have the factory X-brace under the car? How are the shoulder belts mounted? Factory 'verts have a sort of boxed tower above the wheel well that are used for the bolts.

Also, the factory vert will have a short 10 gauge orange wire in the harness going between the passenger side shoulder belt tower and the door pillar that is for the factory hardtop defogger grid in the glass. It's about 6" long and should not reach much beyond the first hinge bolt for the convertible top. A coupe will have a defogger wire but not in that location.

Another thing you can do to check the validity of the VIN is to contact the National Corvette Museum and order the window sticker and build sheet. They should be able to ship to Australia. The last 6 characters of the VIN is unique for the year. It is the production sequence number and simply is a range from the first production 88 to the last production 88 car. When you order, you enter the VIN you have. The printed forms should show that it is a coupe (assuming that 6th digit is right) or it will bounce as an error if you enter a 3 for a 'vert. If nothing else, send them an email asking if they can verify the 6th digit based on the the entire VIN and the fact that you have a convertible.

 

[CORVETTELOVER88]

4 cruiser

carfax snt me this
I have asked one of our data analysts review the information you have provided up to this point. They have indicated that the 9th digit of the VIN is incorrect. Please double check several of the VIN plates in the vehicle and reply with the correct VIN.
getting weird now i will pull the r/h wheel off on weekend and check vin below control arm.
no sticker under armrest carpet has been stuck there.and storage compartment was mising when i got car bought another one and the sticker is off that car.

 

[CORVETTELOVER88]

and yes the factory x brace is under the car.

 

[c4cruiser]

I would think that it would be pretty difficult for a VIN error to be made on the assembly line but anything is possible . The fact the the 9th digit of the VIN is in error, (according to CARFAX) is strange. It's a check digit used to verify the correctness of the entire VIN.

There are lots of checks that are made as the car goes thru the various stations. The build sheets that are printed once a car is scheduled for production have barcodes that are scanned by the workers to determine what parts are to be installed on the car.

The quickest check is to verify the last 8 digits stamped into the front frame rail directly in front of the battery. The VIN on the right rear is also on top of the frame and is hard to see.

I would have assumed that the car passed all of the Australia import/customs checks when the car was shipped there.

As I mentioned, I would try to get some info from the National Corvette Museum on the VIN.

 

[John Robinson]

1G1YY 2 180J5119935

The letters or numbers in red seem to be wrong. They should look something like this 3P2P:confused

 

[c4cruiser]

The 7th digit (a 1) is correct for an 88. That defines the type of restraint system; 88 did not have airbags only a manual seat belt.

The 8th digit is the engine type. An "8" stands for an L98 motor.

The 9th digit (a 0) is the check digit. It is arrived at by a computer-generated formula when the VIN is created and can vary widely based on body style and the sequence number.

Your 3P2P example show you have a a manual restraint system with driver's side airbag (3), an LT1 motor (P), the '"2" is the check digit, and the last P is the model year (1993).

 

[CORVETTELOVER88]

c4cruiser
do you have a pic or anything of the r/h rear control area where the number is/ The car has been sprayed with black tar rust proofing so it is a huge area to scrape
thanks

 

[c4cruiser]

If you remove the right rear plastic wheel well, the VIN should be on the top of the frame rail. It should be under the right rear brake line forward of where the flex line attaches to the hard line and the stamping is facing up.

But the black stuff should be thin enough for the stamping to be seen. You could remove the coating with lacquer thinner or a paint stripper.

Did you find the partial stamping on the frame rail just in front of the battery? That stamping won't show the check digit (the stamping should begin with the J) but at least that will verify the build sequence number shown on the windshield VIN plate.

Another thing that you might check is to see if the build sheet is still on the gas tank. There was a copy of the build sheet glued to the forward part of the gas tank and it should be visible if you remove the spare tire carrier and look up at the front portion of the tank. It's probably very dery and would not easily come off without tearing. Another copy was rolled up and stuffed in the front crossmember just ahead of the motor. Soem folks have had luck removing that copy by using needle-nosed pliers and reaching thru the small oval holes on the top of the crossmember.

I guess it's always possible that the metal plate riveted to the dash area was stamped incorrectly but there should have been multiple checks done at the assembly plant, the shipping area and the receiving dealer to verify it was correct. Who know, but there could be an 88 'vert out there somewhere with the VIN plate that should have gone on your car.

 

[CORVETTELOVER88]

not having a good day!!
the number where the battery was (air con unit now) has been punched.***** but can see the last digit is a 6 so different chassis number. some one has gone to a lot of trouble. can you advise what you class as R/H is that the side original drivers in the states.

 

[o2bnkc]

Converting to RH drive is one thing, but converting ( ) to a convertible is another thing altogether. The fact that the decklid release switches are in both doors means that somebody did a lot of extra wiring.

I was on ebay last night looking at c3s, and there was a vert for sale that they say started out as a coupe. You never know.

 

[CORVETTELOVER88]

outwest
i have the feeling some one has rebirthed a coupe and made into a vert on my rego papers AUST shows badged as coupe and body shape as a convert. chassis number last 8 numbers match last 8 on engine numbers

 

[CORVETTELOVER88]

well solved the problem the 9th digit is numeric not a letter
it is an 88 hatchback 2 door acording to carfax.
but confused any ideas mine still looks like a vert also has x member underneath and boot lid switches on both doors.
do they do this sort of conversion in the states hatch to vert ??

 

[John Robinson]

In the States it is the passenger side but in your country it is the driver's side.


Another thought is this a COPO car. I had a COPO Chevy II in 65 with a 327 and 4 spd with Corvette metallic brakes and positraction running on Cheville rims.

 

[Vettelt193]

Converting to RH drive is one thing, but converting D ) to a convertible is another thing altogether. The fact that the decklid release switches are in both doors means that somebody did a lot of extra wiring.

Does the car have the factory X-brace under the car? How are the shoulder belts mounted? Factory 'verts have a sort of boxed tower above the wheel well that are used for the bolts.

Also, the factory vert will have a short 10 gauge orange wire in the harness going between the passenger side shoulder belt tower and the door pillar that is for the factory hardtop defogger grid in the glass. It's about 6" long and should not reach much beyond the first hinge bolt for the convertible top. A coupe will have a defogger wire but not in that location.

Another thing you can do to check the validity of the VIN is to contact the National Corvette Museum and order the window sticker and build sheet. They should be able to ship to Australia. The last 6 characters of the VIN is unique for the year. It is the production sequence number and simply is a range from the first production 88 to the last production 88 car. When you order, you enter the VIN you have. The printed forms should show that it is a coupe (assuming that 6th digit is right) or it will bounce as an error if you enter a 3 for a 'vert. If nothing else, send them an email asking if they can verify the 6th digit based on the the entire VIN and the fact that you have a convertible.

Coupes also have the switches in the doors for the rear hatch, and they are exactly the same as the convertible switches. At some point in time, chevy stopped putting them on both doors for coupes, but back in 88 they were on both doors.

The cross member means little, you can add one to a coupe and if you went through the trouble of changing the car around you would definitely add the cross member.

What does your rear cargo area look like, the area behind the seats? Where are the speakers?