HI i need some help with decoding my dads 1966 F-85 cutlass Convertible Vin and cowling tag. this is a car made in Canada. one of the things the bugs me is the i think body and the last 6 digits on the VIN should match, right? thanks in advance for your help.

VIN
G.M Canada D.D
633867003385

Cowling Tag
Style 33867 2 2 4
Body 333028
Paint has been covered up by label.
Trim 980
M33X05TP2

 

I believe the cowl tag body number will be different than the VIN number.
Body by Fisher has their own numbering system.

Paint code 13 is Cadillac - georgian silver for 1974

 

No, they will not. The cowl tag number is the body sequence number from Fisher Body and was assigned to the body shell before the VIN was assigned to the complete car. They will not match (except in the case of a very unusual coincidence).

Your VIN is unusual and does not follow the format used by GM in the US, but that may not be unusual for early 60s cars. North American VINs didn't get standardized by law until the late 1960s.

I'll take a crack at the VIN:

6 = 1966 model year (normally this would be in the sixth position of the VIN on a US-built car)
3 = Oldsmobile Division
38 = Cutlass model line
67 = Convertible
003385 = sequential build number

Note that this is only a 12 character VIN, not the 13 character VIN used on the US-built cars. I would suggest contacting GM of Canada Historical Services for VIN decoding documentation, as I am only guessing on this.

 

Well, it appears that my guess was pretty good. Here's a page from the Canadian Oldsmobile Master Parts Catalog that decodes the VIN tags. 1967 was the first model year where Canadian VINs matched their US counterparts.