Very Strange VIN!!

[NorCal72trucker]

Hi Everyone,

Longtime listener, first time caller. I have done a lot of research on this and wanted to get an opinion from you fine folks.

Everything I have read says that a 67-72 comes with a VIN that begins with a C/K and is 13 digits. It gives a lot of information. I have a 71 and it looks like that so I have done a lot of HW how to decipher them.

Now my question. I am looking at a 72 right now that has a 14 digit VIN that doesnt begin with a C/K. In fact, none of the numbers and letters are in an order I can decipher. The VIN is 10703NLEN04331. I will upload a pic later but I have pic of the CLEAN CA title and it has it on there. I also have a pic of that same number stamped on the truck.

It is a nice looking, clean truck but this has thrown me off. It doesnt have the door sill plate so perhaps the cab was replaced? I will try and get pic of number on frame today but wondered if anyone had any advice. Owner thinks it is original but Im worried about all the obvious things - namely if its a cut longbed which I should be able to tell.

Thoughts anyone?

[Grumpy old man]

yep that's strange and not a 67-72 vin , where is that a picture of and are there any holes in the drivers door jam where the original vin plate would be found ? do you have a picture of the spid inside the glove box door ? Does the title state anywhere that its a re badged truck ( state issued vin) , Need more pictures always more pictures .

[michael bustamante]

i was thinking a state issued vin as well, if it is you can have mvd run the vin

[Grumpy old man]

it just looks HOKEY , Why not post a few pictures ? those numbers in the picture you posted look like they have been sanded down a bit , it's easy to tell if it's been cut down ,get a flash light and crawl under it . what does the rest of that " badge " have printed on it ?

[truckster]

It could be a state-issued VIN. If the original tag was missing, the state might have issued a replacement.

[Palf70Step]

I agree with a local/state issued VIN. Looks like the took the model 10703, added the NLEN, then the sequence#. Got to admit, I have never seen one like that, but I have also never seen a local created one regardless of the state I lived in.

[NorCal72trucker]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all the quick responses! So here is the update and its an interesting one:

So the truck appears to be a made in Mexic0 C10 - still has plates on both door sills. It was brought to US and they stuck a CA shortbed on b/c it has the better lines. Clean truck with an interesting story. Guages are in KM and cluster writing is in Spanish.

I didnt even know this was a practice - I thought they were all made in US during this era. I am surprised we don't see more of these here in SoCal. I read its prolly b/c of taxes, fees and california being so strict on this stuff.
So it is a factory shortbed (frame not cut) now registered legally here in CA with clean title and Ca short bed. Nice paint and little to no rust.

So, what are everyones thoughts? Does this effect value vs a US made one where with the common vin and info? Does anyone know how to decipher this VIN now we know where its from? For me its a cool story and makes it an interesting truck but curious what everyone thinks....

[yuccales]

We've seen the VIN, now how about some pics of the rest of that truck!

[Rickysnickers]

If it's a true gray market vehicle and has gone through the legal process to be brought into CA, then you should be ok. However, it doesn't appear as though those are the original type of rivets on the VIN plate. I'd honestly be leery of this truck. I know you said it has a CA title, but I still have my suspicions of it being legit. I'd try running the VIN through NICB and see what that says. It might also be worth your while to contact CHP https://www.chp.ca.gov/find-an-offic...o-liaison-unit

[NorCal72trucker]

So a few things:

-I had it checked out by my LEO buddy and AAA and it comes back to a 72 and clean. Real x-factor here is if it is OG longbed and judging by the un-molestged frame I would say I'm good here.

-I have seen another pic on here of a mexican truck vin plate and tag and it looked the exact same as mine. I think this is how it was done. I agree that one is easier to fake but the it would be really hard to fake the plate on the passenger side as its welded into truck.

[jocko]

Does it have a SPID? (this normally shows the wheelbase the cab originally came on, if the VINs match). And if it has a SPID, and considering the VIN tag is in Spanish - is the SPID in English or Spanish (I'm just curious)?

So I have to ask - does originality (as a swb) matter if you already know the bed has been swapped (assuming frame was shortened correctly)? And keep in mind, lack of frame cuts doesn't mean it was originally a swb truck - people do frame swaps all the time. In my opinion, which is often irrelevant, I think that for THIS particular truck, it really just comes down to level of confidence that this could sail thru CA DMV without pain (it was painful enough just registering a US vehicle when I lived there) and how much you like the truck. I don't think resale potential and/or originality should sway you one way or the other on this particular truck - because some people simply will not buy it BECAUSE of the VIN and some people just won't care either way - and the latter will also likely not care about originality. My 2 cents only Pictures will help us decide for you

[NorCal72trucker]

It is already registered in CA. That has already been done. There are no cuts in the frame. All they did was take off the OG mexican bed with the wierd lines and put on a US shortbed.

[TALLone71]

Originally Posted by jocko

Does it have a SPID? (this normally shows the wheelbase the cab originally came on, if the VINs match). And if it has a SPID, and considering the VIN tag is in Spanish - is the SPID in English or Spanish (I'm just curious)?

So I have to ask - does originality (as a swb) matter if you already know the bed has been swapped (assuming frame was shortened correctly)? And keep in mind, lack of frame cuts doesn't mean it was originally a swb truck - people do frame swaps all the time. In my opinion, which is often irrelevant, I think that for THIS particular truck, it really just comes down to level of confidence that this could sail thru CA DMV without pain (it was painful enough just registering a US vehicle when I lived there) and how much you like the truck. I don't think resale potential and/or originality should sway you one way or the other on this particular truck - because some people simply will not buy it BECAUSE of the VIN and some people just won't care either way - and the latter will also likely not care about originality. My 2 cents only Pictures will help us decide for you

i agree with jocko. on a different note too, i remember seeing one of these trucks that was built in mexico in a magazine one time, and the bed was nothing pretty, very utility like. from memory almost a combination of parts, so i could definitely understand the previous owner changing the bed to the much smoother American version...more pics would be great, neat find!

[TALLone71]

that's good too about the frame being uncut!..i just saw your last post, right after i sent the previous message... too many distractions here tonight typing slow! congratulations, again neat find!

[NorCal72trucker]

No spid but cant be sure it came with one down there? Will throw up a few more pics later. Its definitely an interesting find. Ive never seen one like it. Here in CA a roached longbed goes for 15k these days....

[NorCal72trucker]

Originally Posted by jocko

Does it have a SPID? (this normally shows the wheelbase the cab originally came on, if the VINs match). And if it has a SPID, and considering the VIN tag is in Spanish - is the SPID in English or Spanish (I'm just curious)?

So I have to ask - does originality (as a swb) matter if you already know the bed has been swapped (assuming frame was shortened correctly)? And keep in mind, lack of frame cuts doesn't mean it was originally a swb truck - people do frame swaps all the time. In my opinion, which is often irrelevant, I think that for THIS particular truck, it really just comes down to level of confidence that this could sail thru CA DMV without pain (it was painful enough just registering a US vehicle when I lived there) and how much you like the truck. I don't think resale potential and/or originality should sway you one way or the other on this particular truck - because some people simply will not buy it BECAUSE of the VIN and some people just won't care either way - and the latter will also likely not care about originality. My 2 cents only Pictures will help us decide for you

Great questions and what I was thinking. Im confident it was a shortie but the bed has been replaced to US style shortbed vs teh Mexican one that had different lines. I agree, some people will love the story (non us version of us truck) and other might want the normal made in US story...it is all OG shortbed which I think is the most important part....

[jocko]

No idea if there were SPIDs in a Mexican-built truck, was just wondering in case it happened to be there. And thanks for the clarification, I didn’t realize it was already registered in CA, that’s good news. Looking forward to the pics!

[pjmoreland]

Does it have a partial VIN stamped on the top of the driver side frame rail up by the front of the engine?

[MidLifer]

More info on Mexican C10s:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=697550