Factory error on VIN tag!

[erikgto]

Hi Guys,

Well after being without a truck for a few years I bought myself another truck.
I wanted a GMC with disc brakes and factory 2 tone.
I finally found it.
It's a 1972 GMC 2500 Custom Camper 2 wd with a 350/350 combo.
Pretty much all Original paint and in pretty nice shape for a '72.


Now I have discovered a pretty severe problem which I hadn't even noticed before:
It's a factory error in the VIN tag!
Everything including the truck, title, Insurance docs, spid and door tag starts with TCE242xxxx
Yet the VIN tag starts with TCE142xxxxx which is a number off and should go with a C10.
But the GVW's are those belonging to the C20 it actually is....
This has got me going nuts!!
Looks like the factory goofed up!!
Did this happen more than once?
Apparently nobody before me ever took notice but I need to have this truck inspected before I can register it and I know for a fact I can not register this with the VIN being incorrect.

Sorry, I can't post any bigger pictures, so it is very difficult to read the door deal and SPID

Erik

[erikgto]

And here are the pics.

[SS Tim]

Its not unknown and you are correct the GVW weights totally support it being a 2500 (2) and not a 1500 (1) as it is stamped. Unfortunately there isn't anyway to correct this and retain a factory look. Is it not possible or just very difficult to register it with an error at yoru local? Have you checked or going on hearsay?
At this point the only thing I could think of to truely correct this would be to apply for a VIN assignment where it is currently titled/registered.
In other words an official govt. VIN like a reconstructed or kit car would have. But only as a last resort.

[erikgto]

Well I know our DMV office goes by the VIN and nothing else.
Problem being that I live in The Netherlands and our DMV is a strict as can be.
This problem should have been corrected back in the US years ago!!!

Another issue is the fact that the GMC was bought in Washington State then exported to The Netherlands all based on the TCE242F VIN.
Apparently nobody ever checked the VIN there either.


Good chance the won't accept the vehicle's TCE142 VIN because it doesn't match the US title and import documents' TCE242 VIN.

Darn, I thought I had triple checked every number on the VIN and all documentation but I missed this one!!!

Now I might end up with a very expensive parts car.....

[SS Tim]

Start by looking into the process and seeing what it will take to have DMV review everything and consider a variance. Might check with a vehicle importer there to see if they have ideas or resources for "issues" outside the norm.

Since we know it is really not possible for two trucks to be built with same serial number from the same plant and year this should be a resolvable problem.

Is there an english language site for your DMV title laws I can review?

[sKnNyPpY]

Do you know what is stamped on the frame?

[SS Tim]

Originally Posted by sKnNyPpY

Do you know what is stamped on the frame?

You are right the vehicle serial number plate riveted to the door pillar is and should be the prime information source as it was intended. However in this case it is clearly wrong by one digit. The blue door certification and the SPId both carry the VIN as a matter cross checking and the fact they match what the serial number plate should be is very helpful.
Unfortunately the frame VIN is only a partial showing the year and serial number (the last six digits) is of no help resolving this issue.
Here is a decoder link for more information on VIN breakdown.

* VIN/Model Decoders

However you do bring up an interesting point about the Protect-o-Plate or warranty plate. It was a stamped metal credit card like imprint device for paperwork that carried all the basic vehicle information including the VIN and the engine numbers. If your truck has the original engine matching the POP you might have some ammo. Is it present with your truck documents or has it been lost? If not I'd try contacting the seller to see if they by chance still have it.

[erikgto]

I don't know if and what's stamped on the frame. Haven't checked for those yet.
I read here that most GMC's apparently have less partial VINs stamped on their frames than Chevys?

Anyway, the factory usually stamped the latter part of the VIN which is the vehicles serial number,, they didn't stamp the beginning which is the manufacturer and model information which is what I'm after.

I just checked, the website with all the information concerning VIN's and how they check the vehicles identity and everything isn't available in english.
The general website is, just not any of the information concerning the VIN and all checks they do.
I couldn't find anything, but you can check it out if you like;
http://www.rdw.nl/englishinformation...s/default.aspx

[SS Tim]

If only it were this easy!!!

[erikgto]

Unfortunately my truck has had it's original engine replaced back in 1992 and the Protect-O-Plate isn't with it either.

From what I know the truck went from it's original owner to Volunteers of American then to a collector in the northwest.
When he sold off his collection it went thru an auction house to a dealer who sold it to the guy (I bought it from) who bought if off Ebay. He made a trip through the USA with it then had it shipped to The Netherlands nearly 2 years ago. It had been sitting in his garage ever since.

[erikgto]

I had to look twice!!! You had me fooled there for a second!!!

Great photoshop!!!

[SS Tim]

So you do not import the truck from the US then?
Where or did the seller even title/license the vehicle?
Was it not a european titled (?) and licensed vehicle when you bought it?

[erikgto]

No I didn't buy it in the US, the previous owner did (bid thru ebaymotors.com) picked it up in Washington state, then made a roadtrip to Houston Texas and had it shipped here.
Here he only imported it.
So all he did was paid the import duties (again based on the TCE242 VIN).
He never registered it because he didn't have any other plans with it.

That might sound strange, but it isn't.
Quite a few classic cars get imported but not immediately registered because they were imported with the intention to sell them on to someone else.
The tech inspection / registration is pretty expensive here (min. $ 500,-) and if you have it registered you need to insure it too (extra costs).
If you then sell it to a buyer in, say, Germany all the extra registration costs spent is money down the drain because the buyer has to do the same thing in Germany all over again which makes the previous investment worthless.

So that didn't throw me any red flag at all. It's pretty common practice to sell american imports with it's US title and import documents.
As long as the numbers match nothings wrong.
And I thought I had checked the numbers at least 2 times, but I must have read over it somehow...

[Aussie Ol' Blue]

Doesn't matter which country you live in, bureaucracy is always ready to make our lives more difficult than it really needs to be!

Its a beautiful looking truck and I wish you good luck with getting it sorted.

[Keith Seymore]

Even though the VIN prefix doesn't match the intended format/content that IS the VIN that has been assigned to this vehicle since its birth, and it IS unique.

I would try to register it based on the VIN as is, and see what happens.

K

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

I would try to register it based on the VIN as is, and see what happens.

K

X2. It's made it 40 plus years with the VIN so far.

[hdff]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

X2. It's made it 40 plus years with the VIN so far.

let us know how it turns out. beautiful truck by the way!

[tony58]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Even though the VIN prefix doesn't match the intended format/content that IS the VIN that has been assigned to this vehicle since its birth, and it IS unique.

I would try to register it based on the VIN as is, and see what happens.

K

That's what I would do. Don't say anything and see if it makes it thru.

[no1udknow]

run the vin that is stamped in the door, make sure it is clean. Most dmv or Highway Patrol offices will run the vin for you and tell you over the phone if it was reported stolen. Just tell them " he said it had a lost title and I just want to be sure it is legitimate before I purchase it.

Then get the seller to write you a new bill of sale with the stamped vin number,
submit it to dmv without the paperwork that has the wrong number and claim it has lost title.
Then get the vin verified (as long as it matches the one under the hood on the frame rail, and your yearly fees will likely be less as it will show as the vin should place the gvwr as a 1500. just my $.02

[SS Tim]

Originally Posted by no1udknow

run the vin that is stamped in the door, make sure it is clean...

The vehicle is in the Netherlands and having not been registered there in the EU needs the importation docs and title to do so. That is the conflict the importation papers and title do not match the truck.

[erikgto]

Guys,

Originally Posted by leddzepp View Post
X2. It's made it 40 plus years with the VIN so far.


I don't mind that the factory assigned this "wrong" number to my truck. If it were on the title and everywhere else.
But apparently nobody ever noticed this anomaly or they didn't do anything about it because all the documents including all previous titles says the vin is TCE242...
It is that difference that worries me.

[erikgto]

Thinking out loud here; Could there be 2 VIN's ending with the same sequential number F710902 ?!?
If so, did the factory build a vehicle with TCE242F710902 AND another vehicle with TCE142F710902?!?!?

I always thought that the sequential number made the vehicle " unique"...

[WIDESIDE72]

Originally Posted by erikgto

...all the documents including all previous titles says the vin is TCE242...

If this is true, then it seems to me that there was a typo when the truck was registered. Do you have a copy of the previous title? I would think you could then make a case for a new title with the "TCE242" VIN.

[Aussie Ol' Blue]

I know it's a longshot but would it be worth it to approach GM (Chev) HQ for some kind of help?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by erikgto

I always thought that the sequential number made the vehicle " unique"...

Negative.

The combination of the sequential portion and the prefix make the VIN unique.

Case in point: I have in my records the VINs for two '65 Pontiac GTOs.

One vehicle is 237375P115814 (built in Pontiac Michigan)

the other is 237375Z115814 (built in Fremont Michigan).

Both vehicles were actually built and still exist. It took me a full year to notice.

But the plant code is part of the prefix, so there would never be two common sequence numbers from the same plant. There was only one unique P115814 built in Pontiac, or one unique F710902 built in Flint.

K