I'm wondering if anyone has an official GM-like options page or manufacturer documentation showing the break down of a VIN for 1971...specifically as it relates to a 1971 Olds 442? I'm in the middle of a verification process with my County DMV and working to correct a discrepancy with the Body Style option codes. I was hoping that someone may have something official from GM or that era that I can show the DMV to get this corrected. It appears that one fat-finger character error on a title can take quite a bit of work to correct. Thanks!

 

The "official" breakdown is in Section 0 of the Chassis Service Manual. There is precious little info in a 1971 VIN.
The first character is 3 for Oldsmobile Division.
Positions two and three are the model line. A real 1971 442 will have "44" in positions two and three.
Positions four and five are the body style. Holiday Coupe (hardtop) is "87", Sport Coupe (post car) is "77", and convertible is "67". The Cutlass Supreme notchback two door is "57".
Position six is the model year, which will be "1" for 1971.
Position seven is the assembly plant and will be a letter for that model year.
The remaining six positions are the sequential build number for that plant.

 

Joe---thanks for the info. That's very helpful. I plan to make copies of the chassis manual pages you referenced and use those.