OK, here's the situation as I know it. I recently bought what I believed to be a 1968 442 (VIN starts 344878M....). Transmission, engine block, and head are all properly coded to a '68. I have the title from when it was last registered (1990) and it is not salvaged. The VIN on the title matches the VIN on the car. All is fine here.

Now herein lies my problem/question. While I'm awaiting confirmation from my mechanic (picked up car and trailered straight to him), I have reason to suspect the fender/cowl tag does not match the VIN. This is off a piece of paper that the person I bought it from had left in the car, so it's not confirmed. But if it is the actual fender tag on the car at the moment, it reads that it's a '68 Cutlass (68-33687). Is this right? Or should it read 34487??

 

Phew! For those interested, after a little research, I found my answer.

"The body data plate will not match the VIN. All 1968 442s have 344878... VINs, but the body data plates for those years will carry a 3687... designation. This is well documented and nothing to worry about."