Different VIN number on frame

[1batt4u]

So I finally removed my rear fascia setup and impact bar.

I knew the last 4 digits of Vin number are written on the back of the frame, but the number written, 2962 if slightly different than what my Vin plate on dash and all original paper is, 2964.

Anyone have same thing happen?

19195

[Ron]

I think most of them are off.

I'm curious what are the numbers welded on the left frame (inboard, near the rear) are?

[jawn101]

So I finally removed my rear fascia setup and impact bar.

I knew the last 4 digits of Vin number are written on the back of the frame, but the number written, 2962 if slightly different than what my Vin plate on dash and all original paper is, 2964.

Anyone have same thing happen?

19195

Very common for the frame number to be close to, but not exactly what your VIN is. Peruse through the Registry that Shannon and company maintain and you'll see that it's like this on just about every car.

Sometimes they are waaaaaayyyyy off, too.

Even cooler, my welded frame plate was about 1300 lower (839) than what was sharpied on the rear crossmember, (21X6, the X was impossible to read) which was only a few off from my VIN. And my engine is 2692. If you ever see a "Numbers Matching" DeLorean cross the Barrett-Jackson block you know they've cannibalized several cars to get it :lol:

[Dangermouse]

Mine are listed in my sig.

Close to each other but no cigar.

[kings1527]

I've never heard of any real rhyme or reason to it, but like everyone is saying they're off from each other but usually not by much. My frame is 6685 and my VIN is 6575. I've also been curious as to 'why'. Anyone know?

[1batt4u]

Thank you for the info guys!!

Never knew all this!!

Other than Vin number plate and number written on back of frame, any where else on the car where there is a vin number or last 4 digits?

[David T]

With a set of letter and number punches you can make anything "Numbers Matching". If I saw that listed for a Delorean right away you have to be suspicious since the only things number matching are the 2 vin plates and the Title. All of the rest of the numbers mean nothing, there is no correlation between any of them. The only other numbers that have any meaning are the codes for the keys. That is really weird because on all other cars that I know of, after around 1965, part of the vin # is in the transmission and engine serial numbers. For whatever reason DMC never did that. The DOT made that a requirement so they could track major parts of cars that got stolen and chopped up. The other thing about "numbers matching" is many companies put a date code on a lot of parts. On a truly numbers matching car it can never have a part with a date code that is AFTER a car's date of manufacture. This is a really big deal for cars like Corvettes and other expensive cars. There is a whole sub-culture of this kind of stuff with books and books about which part on what make, model and year. Even during a build year there were running changes, just like Deloreans! They also have "Build Sheets" that detail every part and option that went into building the car. You can really get anal over this but that is what separates the nice cars from the super expensive numbers matching ones.
David Teitelbaum

[jawn101]

The numbers matching bit was a joke for this exact reason... I seem to recall one of the cars auctioned last year had that in the description and those of us who noticed it got a good laugh.

[Dangermouse]

My understanding of "numbers matching" in say the corvette world is that the chassi, engine, transmission number matches that listed on the cars build sheet.

As we don't have build sheets, the closest we can get is the window sticker which has the VIN and engine number iirc.

[Dangermouse]

Thank you for the info guys!!

Never knew all this!!

Other than Vin number plate and number written on back of frame, any where else on the car where there is a vin number or last 4 digits?

There is a plate welded on the frame with a number embossed in it. It is on the rear driver side "leg" in the engine compartment. You can usually see it best looking from underneath the engine on the drivers side.

[Ron]

My understanding of "numbers matching" in say the corvette world is that the chassi, engine, transmission number matches that listed on the cars build sheet.

As we don't have build sheets, the closest we can get is the window sticker which has the VIN and engine number iirc. There are tons of places to get that info (including the rear-axle assembly number). Build Sheets (or Trip Tickets) can be found under the carpet and inside the seats of 60-70s vehicles as well.

[krs09]

Oooo so close .. Vin 4870 .. 19198

But the welded number wasnt even close.

[1batt4u]

I will be cleaning and painting the frame and fiberglass body soon.

What do you guys recommend about the rear bar with Vin marking on it? Keep that area untouched?

[mluder]

For what it's worth - 4456s numbers on the frame and vin plates match. Not sure about the rest.

Cheers
Steven

[dmcerik]

19201


Vin 4512 had frame 4506 before I swapped it out.

[DMCMW Dave]

My frame is 6685 and my VIN is 6575. I've also been curious as to 'why'. Anyone know?

Because it made no difference and the people in the factory really didn't care about such things, any more than they cared about whether the gas flap hood was the right one for a particular VIN etc.

Doors had to match so that the keys matched (on later cars) there were some issues that mattered, but this isn't one of them as long as an automatic body landed on an automatic frame, they were happy.

[David T]

The plate on the frame with the # was probably only used for inventory purposes. Logistically it would have been difficult to make any particular frame # match up to a vin, especially if the frame you want is on the bottom of the pile! A factory only takes that kind of an effort if it matters. As Dave S points out the only thing that mattered is if it was a frame for a manual or an automatic. There was a card file kept to correlate frame #'s to vins for some early cars. If you are that interested check with James Espey at DMCH.
David Teitelbaum

[eagle-co94]

891 had frame 426 but no number sharpied on the frame.

[Shep]

559 has "98" welded on the frame but nothing sharpied on it. Apparently they sharpied the VIN's on there only after the first few hundred.

[Dangermouse]

I wonder who had the box of sharpies - the frame manufacturer (GKN iirc) or DMCL?

Perhaps it was nothing more than inventory control.

[tgraham]

Sometimes they are waaaaaayyyyy off, too.

#3281 had "13" hand written on the back... lucky me.

Travis

[Shep]

I wonder who had the box of sharpies - the frame manufacturer (GKN iirc) or DMCL?

Perhaps it was nothing more than inventory control.I don't see why the frame manufacturer would have sharpied the VIN on them when they already welded the serial numbers on the left rear corner. My guess is that it was done after the frames went into DMC's hands. Probably just so they would know approximately where in production a certain frame belonged in. It's harder to keep track of the frame numbers when they seemed to be a few hundred lower than the actual VIN, so they may have sharpied the approximate VIN on so the factory workers could tell at a glance roughly where in production it belonged. Going purely from the numbers posted in this thread (which may be foolish, but humor me here), they may have started writing the approximate VIN's on the frames soon after the welded numbers reached the 500 range, possibly due to a confused factory worker thinking the frame numbers were supposed to match when they really weren't. The welded number would've been about 400 to 500 off from the actual VIN at that point.


#3281 had "13" hand written on the back... lucky me.

TravisDo you have any pictures? I'm wondering if there was more that may have rubbed off at some point. The positioning of the numbers may provide some insight to that effect.

[Dangermouse]

I don't see why the frame manufacturer would have sharpied the VIN on them when they already welded the serial numbers on the left rear corner. My guess is that it was done after the frames went into DMC's hands. Probably just so they would know approximately where in production a certain frame belonged in. It's harder to keep track of the frame numbers when they seemed to be a few hundred lower than the actual VIN, so they may have sharpied the approximate VIN on so the factory workers could tell at a glance roughly where in production it belonged..

Conversely, why would the factory workers care. As was pointed out, all they would practically care about was whether it was an auto or manual, so a sharpied A or M would be all they needed

[Shep]

Conversely, why would the factory workers care. As was pointed out, all they would practically care about was whether it was an auto or manual, so a sharpied A or M would be all they neededSo they keep them fresh? It's as good an explanation as any :tongue: