early / late

[bkahler]

I've been busy reading all of the old news letters and as expected
I've been finding a lot of good information to digest.

One thing that I found was the vin number information in the Nov/Dec
2001 issue. Based on the information gleaned from that article it
looks like our 1964 Amphicar was actually built in 1961 and was the
232 car off the assembly line. That leads to the question as to
whether our car is considered and early car or late car. I would
assume its an early car.

My reason for asking is it would be nice to be able to start buying
parts knowing ahead of time I'm buying the correct part, such as rear
u-joints. Its my understanding they are categorized as early and late
with early being the harder ones to find. Restoration of the car
won't actually start until early next year so knowing ahead of time
what parts will fit sure make life easier.

Thanks!

Brad
1964 101232

 

[Ken Chambers]

Next issue of the Wheels and Waves should have an article on this
subject.

Ken Chambers


On Jul 22, 2009, at 1:35 PM, bkahler wrote:

> I've been busy reading all of the old news letters and as expected
> I've been finding a lot of good information to digest.
>
> One thing that I found was the vin number information in the Nov/Dec
> 2001 issue. Based on the information gleaned from that article it
> looks like our 1964 Amphicar was actually built in 1961 and was the
> 232 car off the assembly line. That leads to the question as to
> whether our car is considered and early car or late car. I would
> assume its an early car.
>
> My reason for asking is it would be nice to be able to start buying
> parts knowing ahead of time I'm buying the correct part, such as rear
> u-joints. Its my understanding they are categorized as early and late
> with early being the harder ones to find. Restoration of the car
> won't actually start until early next year so knowing ahead of time
> what parts will fit sure make life easier.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Brad
> 1964 101232

 

[bkahler]

Ken,

That sounds great! Reading through all of the old news letters has
been real interesting and beneficial.

Brad

On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 6:35 PM, Ken
Chambers<> wrote:

> Next issue of the Wheels and Waves should have an article on this
> subject.
>
> Ken Chambers
>
>
> On Jul 22, 2009, at 1:35 PM, bkahler wrote:
>
>
> Quote:
>> I've been busy reading all of the old news letters and as expected
>> I've been finding a lot of good information to digest.
>>
>> One thing that I found was the vin number information in the Nov/Dec
>> 2001 issue. Based on the information gleaned from that article it
>> looks like our 1964 Amphicar was actually built in 1961 and was the
>> 232 car off the assembly line. That leads to the question as to
>> whether our car is considered and early car or late car. I would
>> assume its an early car.
>>
>> My reason for asking is it would be nice to be able to start buying
>> parts knowing ahead of time I'm buying the correct part, such as rear
>> u-joints. Its my understanding they are categorized as early and late
>> with early being the harder ones to find. Restoration of the car
>> won't actually start until early next year so knowing ahead of time
>> what parts will fit sure make life easier.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Brad
>> 1964 101232
>

 

[Canadian four amphs]

If your serial number is 101232 then yours would be the 1232ed car built, not 232. for 4000+ cars so your not as early as you think,
I have a car here # 100056.. It is a early 61 they do have alot of differences,(Peter in Fl has #48. and I have seen #42 in TX)
early 61s have a complete different front hood with a 2 bolt hold on instead of 3 bolt.(BTW, I have a good 2 bolt hood in stock)
seat bracket above Trany is smaller in diameter,Horn body is different,But to the joe on the street they all look the same.
Once prodution got underway the cars were built in 2 plants, one had flat sides the othe had humps over rear wheels but parts were got from a central supply so I have seen indifferences in all years.Painted vents on 65s, small rear nurfs on 68s etc.I talked with a lady in Fl., who,s father worked on thec line. That was real interesting,Dan Borgman in Fl. has met here and I hope he can write a story for mag, on it.(push him on that Victor)
GORD

 

[azpaul50]

I have 100114 and 100289.... both white but 100114 was repainted blue sometime in the past. Speaking of horns, I recentily tried to replace a Japanese Nikko 12V horn that had been crammed into Blub sometime in the past with an equivalent new (Japanese one). This came at the advice of one of our Amphi suppliers and was originally for Yamaha 650s. It appears that the new production of these replacement horns are slightly smaller in diameter. I got mine from JC Whitney. I had already drilled out the rivets on the new horn and expected to only have to drill new alignment holes to match the original Amphi horn cover. This new replacement horn's diameter is too small for new holes. (Smaller by 1/8 inch all around). I'm going to try to notch them (rather than have complete cover supporting screw holes) but it will be a contrivance at best.



To: azpaul50@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20495] Re: early / late
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:43:38 -0400
From:




If your serial number is 101232 then yours would be the 1232ed car built, not 232. for 4000+ cars so your not as early as you think,
I have a car here # 100056.. It is a early 61 they do have alot of differences,(Peter in Fl has #48. and I have seen #42 in TX)
early 61s have a complete different front hood with a 2 bolt hold on instead of 3 bolt.(BTW, I have a good 2 bolt hood in stock)
seat bracket above Trany is smaller in diameter,Horn body is different,But to the joe on the street they all look the same.
Once prodution got underway the cars were built in 2 plants, one had flat sides the othe had humps over rear wheels but parts were got from a central supply so I have seen indifferences in all years.Painted vents on 65s, small rear nurfs on 68s etc.I talked with a lady in Fl., who,s father worked on thec line. That was real interesting,Dan Borgman in Fl. has met here and I hope he can write a story for mag, on it.(push him on that Victor)
GORD



_________________________________________________________________
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[bkahler]

Gord,

Thanks for the info.

In the article (nov/dec 2001) is says the 3rd digit is the year which
would make it 1961 and goes on to state that the 4th, 5th & 6th digits
made up the production number so it would seem it would have been the
232 car produced. If this info is correct it would seem that the
Amphicar company didn't plan for more than 999 cars being built in a
given year which seems strange from a planning point of view.

Would you mind explaining how you came up with the year of manufacture
for ours and it being the 1232 car off the line?

Here are a couple of points about the car:

Chrome bilge blower cover
Painted wing window frames (original)
2 lock front hood
Raised lower fender lips
Prop guards

Brad


On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 8:43 AM, Canadian four
amphs<> wrote:

> If your serial number is 101232 then yours would be the 1232ed car built,
> not 232. for 4000+ cars so your not as early as you think,
> I have a car here # 100056.. It is a early 61 they do have alot of
> differences,(Peter in Fl has #48. and I have seen #42 in TX)
> early 61s have a complete different front hood with a 2 bolt hold on instead
> of 3 bolt.(BTW, I have a good 2 bolt hood in stock)
> seat bracket above Trany is smaller in diameter,Horn body is different,But
> to the joe on the street they all look the same.
> Once prodution got underway the cars were built in 2 plants, one had flat
> sides the othe had humps over rear wheels but parts were got from a central
> supply so I have seen indifferences in all years.Painted vents on 65s, small
> rear nurfs on 68s etc.I talked with a lady in Fl., who,s father worked on
> thec line. That was real interesting,Dan Borgman in Fl. has met here and I
> hope he can write a story for mag, on it.(push him on that Victor)
> GORD
>
>

 

[Tedredamphi]

Brad,
All of the characteristics that you mention are on my 1964 Amphicar serial number 101227. They were probably built in the same month.
Later,
Ted

 

[mike_israel]

Dave Chapman probably knows more but I recall that Amphicar used*two sets of VIN's based on which factory they were built at.*

 

[DavidC]

They did use different VINs - and also it's not unknown for cars to have more than one vin number and even two cars to have the same vin number.

Thing to remember is most of the cars were made in one batch probably late in 1962 when Amphicar were in "we will sell 20,000 of these a year" mode.

The prop shields were only on cars that left the factory early - they were cut off all later cars as Amphicar works better without them.

Larger driveshaft tunnels mean a later car.

The flat side cars were all early.

Chrome windows were an option.

Red cars were a black dashboard were often earlier blue white or green cars resprayed.

Early cars could jump out of gear as they didn't have a steady at the bottom of the water transmission.

I think the best way to tell the age of an original car is the serial number of the engine and transmission - these seem to have been used sequentially. Most of my cars are late and had/have transmission numbers over 2000 but I do have an early transmission here (number 34) that looks to have been hand built.

Engine numbers - earliest I've seen is GK150HE but there may be earlier ones about.

There are sometimes date stamps on the brake backplates and the speedo - but these are when the components were made and so are normally 1961.

Under the front seat there is sometimes a label and I have seen handwritten dates on these.

Be aware that a German 1 looks like an English 7, the German 7 has a line through the middle.

Cars with the flat sides are slightly heavier than those with the profile at the bottom and as a result don't drive quite as well although difference is very minor.

Removing the rubber underseal saves around 30Kg which is noticable - (another reason why I always recommend against, epoxy paints, stone chip, por15, truck liner, thick marine paint and the like that people put on their Amphicars that just adds weight and that some poor sod will have to try and remove a few years later !)

Oh - finally - Amphicar America and later Ranchero Motors would stamp there own "manufactured date" on the car at time of sale so it appeared fresh.

David C



----- Original Message -----
From: mike_israel
To: david@manbus.com
Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 8:58 PM
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20495] Re: early / late


Dave Chapman probably knows more but I recall that Amphicar used*two sets of VIN's based on which factory they were built at.*





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[SplitPersonality]

On the subject of VINs and etc- My VIN has always seemed curious to me, as
it has the VIN in 3 separate groupings of 3 numbers and the last 2
groupings are the same. I have always figured that this was entirely by chance, but
it is puzzling. MY VIN is 106 523 523 and it is a 1967. Also, The
plate says Industrie-Werke Karlsruhe. Did they make them at both the
Karlsruhe and Berlin plants at the same time ? Also, I see 6 digit serial
numbers mentioned such as 101232 and 100056. Is the last trio of numbers in my
VIN an error ? Should my VIN only have the first 6 numbers ? If the third
digit is the year of manufacture, my 3rd digit is 6. Certainly my 1967 was
not actually manufactured in 1966. Thanks for any comments. Vic in Florida


In a message dated 7/23/2009 2:57:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

Gord,

Thanks for the info.

In the article (nov/dec 2001) is says the 3rd digit is the year which
would make it 1961 and goes on to state that the 4th, 5th & 6th digits
made up the production number so it would seem it would have been the
232 car produced. If this info is correct it would seem that the
Amphicar company didn't plan for more than 999 cars being built in a
given year which seems strange from a planning point of view.

Would you mind explaining how you came up with the year of manufacture
for ours and it being the 1232 car off the line?

Here are a couple of points about the car:

Chrome bilge blower cover
Painted wing window frames (original)
2 lock front hood
Raised lower fender lips
Prop guards

Brad


On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 8:43 AM, Canadian four
amphs<> wrote:


Quote:

> If your serial number is 101232 then yours would be the 1232ed car

built,

> not 232. for 4000+ cars so your not as early as you think,
> I have a car here # 100056.. It is a early 61 they do have alot of
> differences,(Peter in Fl has #48. and I have seen #42 in TX)
> early 61s have a complete different front hood with a 2 bolt hold on

instead

> of 3 bolt.(BTW, I have a good 2 bolt hood in stock)
> seat bracket above Trany is smaller in diameter,Horn body is

different,But

> to the joe on the street they all look the same.
> Once prodution got underway the cars were built in 2 plants, one had flat
> sides the othe had humps over rear wheels but parts were got from a

central

> supply so I have seen indifferences in all years.Painted vents on 65s,

small

> rear nurfs on 68s etc.I talked with a lady in Fl., who,s father worked

on

> thec line. That was real interesting,Dan Borgman in Fl. has met here and

I

> hope he can write a story for mag, on it.(push him on that Victor)
> GORD
>
>

**************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy
Steps!
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yExcfooterNO62)

 

[Ken Chambers]

Vic,

That is a strange repeating sequence of numbers on your VIN. To make
the 9-digit VINs the extra digits 652 were added.

Ken Chambers


On Jul 23, 2009, at 10:22 PM, SplitPersonality wrote:

> On the subject of VINs and etc- My VIN has always seemed curious to
> me, as
> it has the VIN in 3 separate groupings of 3 numbers and the last 2
> groupings are the same. I have always figured that this was entirely
> by chance, but
> it is puzzling. MY VIN is 106 523 523 and it is a 1967. Also, The
> plate says Industrie-Werke Karlsruhe. Did they make them at both the
> Karlsruhe and Berlin plants at the same time ? Also, I see 6 digit
> serial
> numbers mentioned such as 101232 and 100056. Is the last trio of
> numbers in my
> VIN an error ? Should my VIN only have the first 6 numbers ? If the
> third
> digit is the year of manufacture, my 3rd digit is 6. Certainly my
> 1967 was
> not actually manufactured in 1966. Thanks for any comments. Vic in
> Florida
>
>
> In a message dated 7/23/2009 2:57:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> writes:
>
> Gord,
>
> Thanks for the info.
>
> In the article (nov/dec 2001) is says the 3rd digit is the year which
> would make it 1961 and goes on to state that the 4th, 5th & 6th digits
> made up the production number so it would seem it would have been the
> 232 car produced. If this info is correct it would seem that the
> Amphicar company didn't plan for more than 999 cars being built in a
> given year which seems strange from a planning point of view.
>
> Would you mind explaining how you came up with the year of manufacture
> for ours and it being the 1232 car off the line?
>
> Here are a couple of points about the car:
>
> Chrome bilge blower cover
> Painted wing window frames (original)
> 2 lock front hood
> Raised lower fender lips
> Prop guards
>
> Brad
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 8:43 AM, Canadian four
> amphs<> wrote:
>
>
> Quote:
>
> Quote:
> > If your serial number is 101232 then yours would be the 1232ed car
> built,
>
> Quote:
> > not 232. for 4000+ cars so your not as early as you think,
> > I have a car here # 100056.. It is a early 61 they do have alot of
> > differences,(Peter in Fl has #48. and I have seen #42 in TX)
> > early 61s have a complete different front hood with a 2 bolt hold on
> instead
>
> Quote:
> > of 3 bolt.(BTW, I have a good 2 bolt hood in stock)
> > seat bracket above Trany is smaller in diameter,Horn body is
> different,But
>
> Quote:
> > to the joe on the street they all look the same.
> > Once prodution got underway the cars were built in 2 plants, one
> had flat
> > sides the othe had humps over rear wheels but parts were got from a
> central
>
> Quote:
> > supply so I have seen indifferences in all years.Painted vents on
> 65s,
> small
>
> Quote:
> > rear nurfs on 68s etc.I talked with a lady in Fl., who,s father
> worked
> on
>
> Quote:
> > thec line. That was real interesting,Dan Borgman in Fl. has met
> here and
> I
>
> Quote:
> > hope he can write a story for mag, on it.(push him on that Victor)
> > GORD
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
> **************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2
> Easy
> Steps!
> (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126...gID=62&bcd=Jul
> yExcfooterNO62)
>
>

 

[Canadian four amphs]

I just had a car in my shop, owner Fred Pierce in Toronto, His wifes father bought it new
the serial number on the engine and on the Plate said""GK 7HE
Lowest I've ever seen!

 

[DavidC]

> the serial number on the engine and on the Plate said""GK 7HE

Wow, that is early, does that car also have other early stuff on it like the "smiley" horn housing, and is the transmission also a low number ?

David C

 

[AMPHI1]

I also have a 1967 from industrie-werke karlsruhe with a 9 digit VIN 106 523 494. Perhaps the middle 3 digits refers a build location other than Berlin? My engine number is GK 2260 HE.

On the subject of VINs and etc- My VIN has always seemed curious to me, as
it has the VIN in 3 separate groupings of 3 numbers and the last 2
groupings are the same. I have always figured that this was entirely by chance, but
it is puzzling. MY VIN is 106 523 523 and it is a 1967. Also, The
plate says Industrie-Werke Karlsruhe. Did they make them at both the
Karlsruhe and Berlin plants at the same time ? Also, I see 6 digit serial
numbers mentioned such as 101232 and 100056. Is the last trio of numbers in my
VIN an error ? Should my VIN only have the first 6 numbers ? If the third
digit is the year of manufacture, my 3rd digit is 6. Certainly my 1967 was
not actually manufactured in 1966. Thanks for any comments. Vic in Florida


In a message dated 7/23/2009 2:57:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

Gord,

Thanks for the info.

In the article (nov/dec 2001) is says the 3rd digit is the year which
would make it 1961 and goes on to state that the 4th, 5th & 6th digits
made up the production number so it would seem it would have been the
232 car produced. If this info is correct it would seem that the
Amphicar company didn't plan for more than 999 cars being built in a
given year which seems strange from a planning point of view.

Would you mind explaining how you came up with the year of manufacture
for ours and it being the 1232 car off the line?

Here are a couple of points about the car:

Chrome bilge blower cover
Painted wing window frames (original)
2 lock front hood
Raised lower fender lips
Prop guards

Brad


On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 8:43 AM, Canadian four
amphs<> wrote:


Quote:


built,


instead


different,But


central


small


on


I







**************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy
Steps!
(FreeCreditReport.com | Free Credit Report and Credit Score Online by Experian
yExcfooterNO62)

 

[SplitPersonality]

Ken -
How did you come up with the fact that the "652" portion of my VIN was
added ? My Factory plate very clearly shows the 106 523 523. That is a
strange portion of the VIN to have been added. It is the same therefore on my
title and on the title that the previous owner had ( because I kept a copy
of his title before I transferred the title ) and he was the 2nd owner.
The car came from New Hampshire in 1991 and I doubt very much that anyone had
such a thing as a reproduction blank plate for Amphicars back then, let
alone even today. Does anyone else reading this thread have a plate showing
a VIN with 9 characters, especially in three 3 number groupings such as my
106 523 523 ?
Vic Nelson near Daytona


In a message dated 7/24/2009 7:08:24 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

Vic,

That is a strange repeating sequence of numbers on your VIN. To make
the 9-digit VINs the extra digits 652 were added.

Ken Chambers


On Jul 23, 2009, at 10:22 PM, SplitPersonality wrote:



Quote:

> On the subject of VINs and etc- My VIN has always seemed curious to
> me, as
> it has the VIN in 3 separate groupings of 3 numbers and the last 2
> groupings are the same. I have always figured that this was entirely
> by chance, but
> it is puzzling. MY VIN is 106 523 523 and it is a 1967. Also, The
> plate says Industrie-Werke Karlsruhe. Did they make them at both the
> Karlsruhe and Berlin plants at the same time ? Also, I see 6 digit
> serial
> numbers mentioned such as 101232 and 100056. Is the last trio of
> numbers in my
> VIN an error ? Should my VIN only have the first 6 numbers ? If the
> third
> digit is the year of manufacture, my 3rd digit is 6. Certainly my
> 1967 was
> not actually manufactured in 1966. Thanks for any comments. Vic in
> Florida
>
>
> In a message dated 7/23/2009 2:57:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> writes:
>
> Gord,
>
> Thanks for the info.
>
> In the article (nov/dec 2001) is says the 3rd digit is the year which
> would make it 1961 and goes on to state that the 4th, 5th & 6th digits
> made up the production number so it would seem it would have been the
> 232 car produced. If this info is correct it would seem that the
> Amphicar company didn't plan for more than 999 cars being built in a
> given year which seems strange from a planning point of view.
>
> Would you mind explaining how you came up with the year of manufacture
> for ours and it being the 1232 car off the line?
>
> Here are a couple of points about the car:
>
> Chrome bilge blower cover
> Painted wing window frames (original)
> 2 lock front hood
> Raised lower fender lips
> Prop guards
>
> Brad
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 8:43 AM, Canadian four
> amphs<> wrote:
>
>
> Quote:
>
> Quote:
> > If your serial number is 101232 then yours would be the 1232ed car
> built,
>
> Quote:
> > not 232. for 4000+ cars so your not as early as you think,
> > I have a car here # 100056.. It is a early 61 they do have alot of
> > differences,(Peter in Fl has #48. and I have seen #42 in TX)
> > early 61s have a complete different front hood with a 2 bolt hold on
> instead
>
> Quote:
> > of 3 bolt.(BTW, I have a good 2 bolt hood in stock)
> > seat bracket above Trany is smaller in diameter,Horn body is
> different,But
>
> Quote:
> > to the joe on the street they all look the same.
> > Once prodution got underway the cars were built in 2 plants, one
> had flat
> > sides the othe had humps over rear wheels but parts were got from a
> central
>
> Quote:
> > supply so I have seen indifferences in all years.Painted vents on
> 65s,
> small
>
> Quote:
> > rear nurfs on 68s etc.I talked with a lady in Fl., who,s father
> worked
> on
>
> Quote:
> > thec line. That was real interesting,Dan Borgman in Fl. has met
> here and
> I
>
> Quote:
> > hope he can write a story for mag, on it.(push him on that Victor)
> > GORD
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
> **************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2
> Easy
> Steps!
> (_http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126...gID=62&bcd=Jul_

(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126...gID=62&bcd=Jul)

> yExcfooterNO62)
>
>

**************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy
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201462830/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=Jul
yExcfooterNO62)

 

[Ken Chambers]

Vic,

Amphicar used both 6-digit and 9-digit VINs. To create the 9-digit
VINs they simply added the digits 652 after the second digit. Nobody
seems to know why.

See the VIN registry in the Members section of Amphicar.com

http://www.amphicar.com/goodies/vin_numbers.htm

Cheers,
Ken Chambers


On Jul 24, 2009, at 10:26 PM, SplitPersonality wrote:

> Ken -
> How did you come up with the fact that the "652" portion of my VIN was
> added ? My Factory plate very clearly shows the 106 523 523. That is a
> strange portion of the VIN to have been added. It is the same
> therefore on my
> title and on the title that the previous owner had ( because I kept
> a copy
> of his title before I transferred the title ) and he was the 2nd
> owner.
> The car came from New Hampshire in 1991 and I doubt very much that
> anyone had
> such a thing as a reproduction blank plate for Amphicars back then,
> let
> alone even today. Does anyone else reading this thread have a plate
> showing
> a VIN with 9 characters, especially in three 3 number groupings such
> as my
> 106 523 523 ?
> Vic Nelson near Daytona

 

[SplitPersonality]

Thank you Ken for the information. It sure was a puzzle to me how you
picked those particular 3 numbers. Vic Nelson


In a message dated 7/25/2009 3:53:39 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

Vic,

Amphicar used both 6-digit and 9-digit VINs. To create the 9-digit
VINs they simply added the digits 652 after the second digit. Nobody
seems to know why.

See the VIN registry in the Members section of Amphicar.com

_http://www.amphicar.com/goodies/vin_numbers.htm_
(http://www.amphicar.com/goodies/vin_numbers.htm)

Cheers,
Ken Chambers


On Jul 24, 2009, at 10:26 PM, SplitPersonality wrote:



Quote:

> Ken -
> How did you come up with the fact that the "652" portion of my VIN was
> added ? My Factory plate very clearly shows the 106 523 523. That is a
> strange portion of the VIN to have been added. It is the same
> therefore on my
> title and on the title that the previous owner had ( because I kept
> a copy
> of his title before I transferred the title ) and he was the 2nd
> owner.
> The car came from New Hampshire in 1991 and I doubt very much that
> anyone had
> such a thing as a reproduction blank plate for Amphicars back then,
> let
> alone even today. Does anyone else reading this thread have a plate
> showing
> a VIN with 9 characters, especially in three 3 number groupings such
> as my
> 106 523 523 ?
> Vic Nelson near Daytona

**************A bad credit score is 600 & below. Checking won't affect your
score. See now!
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[seaweed]

DOT required the change to the longer VIN. The code includes the country of origin with a single digit and the plant number and mfg.. The change came in the late 60s. All vehicles need nine digit to be imported. Grey market cars like the smart car had the vins with t his sequence added here. Sometimes a local registry will reject a VIN less than nine and will assign one to the car.
- Show quoted text -

 

[chasgould]

The theory is basicaly correct, but the details are not. The DOT NOW requires a 17 digit VIN number, and has doen so sine the early 1980's, but this did not apply to the 1960's cars, and to my knowledge never had a nine digit requirement. The Smarts all had a 17 digit seriel number, even those cars not legally imported to the USA, as the 17 digit seriel numbers were designed and designated to make all automobiles produced all over the world, comply to these requirlements which do include a specific digit for the country of origin, and another for the model year. So, that is why all Smarts have this 17 digit VIN, however that very digit is the tip off to the DOT and other regulatory agencies that these cars were never tested or allowed into the USA, and designates them as a gray market car.
Chas

DOT required the change to the longer VIN. The code includes the country of origin with a single digit and the plant number and mfg.. The change came in the late 60s. All vehicles need nine digit to be imported. Grey market cars like the smart car had the vins with t his sequence added here. Sometimes a local registry will reject a VIN less than nine and will assign one to the car.
- Show quoted text -

 

[Ed Price]

_____

From: seaweed [mailto:]
Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 2:23 PM
To: edprice@cox.net
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20495] Re: early / late


DOT required the change to the longer VIN. The code includes the country of
origin with a single digit and the plant number and mfg.. The change came in
the late 60s. All vehicles need nine digit to be imported. Grey market cars
like the smart car had the vins with t his sequence added here. Sometimes a
local registry will reject a VIN less than nine and will assign one to the
car.
- Show quoted text -



California accepted my 101808 for my Title and Registration without
hesitation.

You can find a long VIN article at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_Identification_Number

However, since the information all relates to the current VIN system, which
began in September of 1980, none of the Amphicar VIN's can be properly
decoded.


Ed Price
El Cajon, CA USA
WB6WSN
61 Rust Guppy
1987 MB 420SEL