Is this really a coincidence or do my VINs really not match???

[jerimy75]

I hate to say that this is my first post here after 4 months of lurking... I bought the beauty below last December and the build is off to a very slow start. I'm still in the process of having an official registration. I do have an appointment with the CHP next month to have the VIN verified which leads me to my first question to the experts on this board.

The VIN on the pink slip is CCS142Z152166 which I've decoded thanks to VIN link on this site. The number on the frame is 22Z153166. From my searches on here it seems that it is normal for only part of the VIN to be on the frame. But here is my question: What is the extra 2 on the front for, and why is it 53166 and not 52166 matching the VIN? Is it possible that the pink just happened to be built 10,000 units before the frame, or is it a typo?

Any help you can give is greatly appreciated! Enough text, on to the gratuitous photos!!!

Plans are complete frame off, bags, 20's, built 350, and I'm leaning towards Laguna Seca Blue. Lots more details obviously to come, but wanted to give you guys a taste. I will be starting a build thread once I get started. I know we have some members that have built some awesome pickups in my area, so if anyone in the Sacramento/Roseville area can recommend a body shop and engine shop I'd appreciate it!

[gotchevys?]

What does the VIN tag on the cowl say?

[nightmare]

Originally Posted by gotchevys?

What does the VIN tag on the cowl say?

unless it's a California thing, the VINs are not on the cowl, they are on the drivers side door jam.

[jocko]

I'd be mostly concerned with the VIN on the door jamb also - if THAT matches your pink, you should be fine. If not, then, hmm... Another place to look is the at the SPID inside the glovebox - although those can be changed, it's another piece of the puzzle.

I'm guessing the 3166 vs 2166 is a typo - but CHP might not see it that way... I'd imagine they will only be concerned with the riveted VIN (door jamb) and pink slip matching though.

[MikeyMan]

Do you have the VIN tag that's riveted to the cab in the drivers side door jamb?

That's the important one. I believe the frame stamp is just a partial and may not be exact, or you have a typo or mis-stamp. Maybe the factory worker messed up on the line. Being that it ends in 166, I'd think the frame is good with the pink slip. But the pink slip must match the metal tag in the door jamb. I once had a title that was off 2 or 3 digits/letters. Simple mistakes: 2 & Z, 5 & S, mixed up. No problem, DMV made a corrected title.

Your VIN says it was a 72 with a Six cylinder originally. Your doors/door panels appear to be from a 71 or earlier. Maybe your cab was swapped over. Hopefully, the metal VIN plate on the cab will match your pink slip.

[jerimy75]

Wow! Thank you all for the quick replies!

As far as I know there is no VIN on the cowl. MikeyMan you are right, the cab is a 70 GMC which I just discovered yesterday. I knew the PO had switched the cabs because the original cab was rusted out. He was in the middle of swapping the cabs when he sold it to me.

Bad news, no pink for the new cab. When I first called the CHP and told them I didn't have a pink for the cab they said to get any information from the PO on the purchase of the cab. So I have a signed letter with the VIN of the cab from the PO indicating he bought it from someone else.

When I called to make an appointment with the CHP, the officer told me to just bring all the paperwork I had on it and we'd figure it out. As long as nothing was stolen, I'm hoping they will see that I'm trying to do the right thing and issue me a new VIN. Appointment is April 18th, I'll post back up to let you all know how it went.

Thanks again for all the input! It's nice to be confirmed that I wasn't missing something on the discrepancy between the pink and frame number.

[oldschool18]

maybe the first 2 is for 1/2 ton i think the 4 on the vin means truck then the 2 is for 72 the z for fremont......maybe then the 22z is half ton-72-fremont or chevy screwed up and your frame 1000 off of the body. maybe some of the 3/4 tone and the 1 ton guys with a 72 can chime in

[gotchevys?]

Originally Posted by gotchevys?

What does the VIN tag on the cowl say?

Oops I meant to say cab.

[sameyrasmea72]

You said the frame reads 22Z? I have never seen two #'s before the letter. The 2 is the year of the frame (1972) the Z is the plant and the last 6 digits are the production #

[jerimy75]

Originally Posted by sameyrasmea72

You said the frame reads 22Z? I have never seen two #'s before the letter. The 2 is the year of the frame (1972) the Z is the plant and the last 6 digits are the production #

Yes... 22Z153166. I'll take a picture when I get home and post it up.

[socalkevin68]

well i bought a vw once and the vin was missing from the vw all together..so i had to take it to the CHP office to verify vin with the title..they looked all over the vw and couldnt find a vin that matched the title so they confiscated the car right there..I had to find a ride home (2 hours away)....they said they would have to entirely dismantle the car to look for a vin number....well i guess they did just that and after 2 months they called me to come pick it up....they said after stripping the car they found that the original vin was cut out and there were hidden numbers stamped on the frame (they were also removed) so they could not prove it was stolen so they put a new vin number on it and gave it back...Sure wasnt fun not having my car for 2 months...

[nightmare]

Originally Posted by socalkevin68

well i bought a vw once and the vin was missing from the vw all together..so i had to take it to the CHP office to verify vin with the title..they looked all over the vw and couldnt find a vin that matched the title so they confiscated the car right there..I had to find a ride home (2 hours away)....they said they would have to entirely dismantle the car to look for a vin number....well i guess they did just that and after 2 months they called me to come pick it up....they said after stripping the car they found that the original vin was cut out and there were hidden numbers stamped on the frame (they were also removed) so they could not prove it was stolen so they put a new vin number on it and gave it back...Sure wasnt fun not having my car for 2 months...

wow! did they at least put the car back together for you?

[jerimy75]

Originally Posted by socalkevin68

well i bought a vw once and the vin was missing from the vw all together..so i had to take it to the CHP office to verify vin with the title..they looked all over the vw and couldnt find a vin that matched the title so they confiscated the car right there..I had to find a ride home (2 hours away)....they said they would have to entirely dismantle the car to look for a vin number....well i guess they did just that and after 2 months they called me to come pick it up....they said after stripping the car they found that the original vin was cut out and there were hidden numbers stamped on the frame (they were also removed) so they could not prove it was stolen so they put a new vin number on it and gave it back...Sure wasnt fun not having my car for 2 months...

Ouch!! Maybe I'm being overly optimistic about the generosity of the CHP... I guess I will find out. Good thing is I have to trailer the pickup to the CHP, so at least I'll have a ride home if they take it!

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by jerimy75

The VIN on the pink slip is CCS142Z152166 which I've decoded thanks to VIN link on this site. The number on the frame is 22Z153166. From my searches on here it seems that it is normal for only part of the VIN to be on the frame. But here is my question: What is the extra 2 on the front for, and why is it 53166 and not 52166 matching the VIN? Is it possible that the pink just happened to be built 10,000 units before the frame, or is it a typo?

The VIN on the frame is supposed to be a partial representation of the full VIN that exists on truck, and the pink.

My opinion on the 53166 vs 52166: it's a "typo" on the frame.

Should have gotten caught on the assembly line, "X"d out and the correct digit stamped - but it got missed.

At the time you think you catch them all but I'm starting to see more and more that got out.

K

[jerimy75]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

The VIN on the frame is supposed to be a partial representation of the full VIN that exists on truck, and the pink.

My opinion on the 53166 vs 52166: it's a "typo" on the frame.

Should have gotten caught on the assembly line, "X"d out and the correct digit stamped - but it got missed.

At the time you think you catch them all but I'm starting to see more and more that got out.

K

Thanks for chiming in Keith. I appreciate the credibility you bring based on your position on the assembly line. Just read the opening to your build and am completely jealous. I started my college career in Mechanical Engineering hoping to work for a race team of some sort. When I realized that my chances of getting in where slim, I thought about aftermarket performace engineering (Edelbrock, Holley, etc.). Long story short I ended up switching to Civil Engineering. It's been great to me, but still miss what could have been.

Anyway, thanks again for your input!

[Ackattack]

When I moved to KS I had to have all of my vehicles inspected by the KHP. The title on my 69 had a typo, either a 5 or S were switched. Got that corrected without an issue.

Originally Posted by jerimy75

Thanks for chiming in Keith. I appreciate the credibility you bring based on your position on the assembly line. Just read the opening to your build and am completely jealous. I started my college career in Mechanical Engineering hoping to work for a race team of some sort. When I realized that my chances of getting in where slim, I thought about aftermarket performace engineering (Edelbrock, Holley, etc.). Long story short I ended up switching to Civil Engineering. It's been great to me, but still miss what could have been.

Anyway, thanks again for your input!

I'm a mechanical engineer. I started in it cause I wanted to design cars.....I guess I have to do that in my own garage. I work for a power company now. My wife is a civil and works for the DOT.

[Muskey]

Had the same problem once with a 1967 firebird the VIN was off a bit and the lady at the MTO (Canada)just changed the paperwork to match she said it happened alot back in the day of hand writing paper work.

[tobytuttle]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, not steppin on anyone toes.....though my 69 has the frame stamp which is the same as my cab plate.... And on the frame, it is located top side, in front of the motormount right side

[tobytuttle]

Originally Posted by tobytuttle

not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, not steppin on anyone toes.....though my 69 has the frame stamp which is the same as my cab plate.... And on the frame, it is located top side, in front of the motormount right side

also i remember a 76 bigblock shortbed i had a couple years back and the guy sold it to me telling me it was a 396 ....well found the numbers on the head and the tranny and they matched and they were a short version of the vin ,last of it though sure enough it still had the factory 454 and the th400,still in it....now my 70 ss454 monte carlo the full vin (which matches) is stamped on the block by the oil filter ... Plus once again ,"dont know if someone mentioned it" but yer cab vin states its an original 72 6 cylinder truck

[jerimy75]

Well as promised I am posting the results of my VIN Verification trip to my local CHP office. I am happy to report that it went very smooth! I told the Officer my story, handed my paperwork over, and told him that none of the numbers matched. We went outside to look it over, he confirmed that none of the numbers match. Then he said "the only problem is I have to stick a new VIN plate on it and so you won't be able to remove it when you blast, prime, and paint the cab." I told him it was a small price to pay to get everything taken care of. He went inside for about 20 minutes (verifying nothing was stolen I'm guessing), came out with a new ID tag, affixed it in the door jam and sent me on my way.

Stopped by the DMV on my way home to finalize and Non Op it, which went just as smooth. So now I can start tearing it apart! Well, I'm going to put it together fully to make sure the gaps are OK, then I'll start tearing it apart.

Again, thank you all for your input and advice! I'll post up once I start getting into it!

[Lee H]

Great news. Good luck with your build. Post up often.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Critter]

WOW, you guys in Cali sure have to jump through a lot of hoops just to own a truck! Glad to hear everything went through successfully for you, though.

[bollybib]

Quite a story. Glad it all worked out for you.

[slikside]

Being from California myself, I'm surprised this was a smooth ride for you. So much in this state is such a cluster$#@& these days.

Congratulations.....what a relief I imagine. Thanks for the update.

[STPrider]

So heres a bit of a story I'm hoping you guys can help me on: (please!)
I'm from British Columbia, Canada and I went through AirCare (an emissions test) and before they test, they checked for the Vin, and couldnt find it anywhere on the vehicle. The SPID is gone from the license plate, the door jamb plate is gone, and the frame vin on the drivers side rail doesnt line up with any numbers on the vehicle registration papers. Is the VIN stamped anywhere else? Appreciate any advice and help! thanks,
-Derek