Octania

Friend is redoing a family car from oh 25 yrs ago.

He has the body off the frame, I sent to see and document hood hinge differences today. We found the VIN stamp in the frame, faint but findable, and it does match the VIN tag. The leading "3" is really not possible to see, but the rest of the characters are Just Right.

Film at 11:00

sammy

Attached

Octania

Uploaded with ImageShack.com

Uploaded with ImageShack.com

I obscured the stamp a little in case the owner doesn't want to share that much info

LH frame rail, on the angled up part going over the rear axle. Right at the cross brace end.

There was a fairly obvious depressed area as if from being struck during the stamping process.

This frame was not at all rusty by MI standards, and a bit of sanding brought the digits right out, with the exception of the leading "3" for Oldsmobile which I never did see a trace of. It was hard to get the camera to capture as good as it could be seen. Lighting is everything.

So, anyhow, that's where it was on this '68 442 convertible frame. And, it does match the VIN.

joe_padavano

Does he cover the VIN on the dash when he drives the car?

Maybe I'm being naive, but I don't know how disclosing a VIN derivative can be a risk, especially when the entire VIN is visible from outside the car. Even worse are the folks who obscure their license plate when posting a photo on the web. Do they cover the plate when they drive the car also?

Junkman

If you want to get a good readable picture of the frame vin, then take the picture without any artificial lighting. I have found that a bright day works best, without being in direct sunlight.

Octania

Joe, I am not sure, but it's not my car and who knows what sort of thing might arise in the future from sharing too much info?

Remember a year or so ago I posted "gr*ffiti" photos from vandalism at former University Olds? Well, Mr. R$^EL was very discreet with his internet bragging... never showed his face or real name... his gf, not so much. After a while I had their names, address, face photos, lots of pics of his crimes, video of him performing his vandalisms... turned it over to the local LEO's. He has since moved to the Big City, where they encourage that sort of crap.

The point of this thread, however, is just to help folks find their own stamp, should they be so inclined.

Allan R

Another reference for VIN stampings on Frame courtesy of John McNeel (2blu442) for anyone who's interested.

Koda

The idea behind obscuring a vin or a tag is because the picture is seen by a lot more people on the internet, in a static environment, than the car is when it is parked at a show. You can't read a vin when the car is driving, and you have to tail it for the plate.

Plus, a car's picture in its garage with a tag allows you to know what building to look for. I'm not sure how accurate a movie is, but the two Gone in 60 Seconds movies featured DMV addresses of all vehicles. Now, they just asked for a 67 GT500 or, I think the original Eleanor was a 70 Boss or something, and they just gave them over. That may not work now, or have ever worked at all, but coming up with a tag number to bribe a bent cop or DMV worker is well within the realm of possibility.

Regardless of whether it works or not, you have the right to conceal your information. The exception is when your car is in public, and, while it is acceptable to photograph at car shows, it is weird to just grab a tag picture off the street, but still legal.

Yellowstatue

Thanks for that...I looked all over, high and low and could not find my vin stamp. I am not going to lift that body off the frame again, just to see if the number is there, but I have one of those video cameras with a long optic cable and we shall see if we can find it...

BlackGold

I don't know how this might have varied by model year, or day of the week for that matter, but I found one frame VIN stamp very easily on my '70. It's located on the side of the frame rail (no need to lift the body) under the driver's door, maybe 8 inches forward of the door jamb. There's probably one on top of the rear hump, too, but I'm not planning a frame-off anytime soon.

brddg

My frame is stamped 3 places (all drivers side) top of the frame middle of the door, top of the frame about 9" in front of rear most body mount, and on the out facing side directly below that stamp. All stamps are complete vin numbers and are very clear after sandblasting. Have had many questions at the cruise nights about this and usually find this rear stamp on the cars with little difficulty.