Vin number stamps on my Amphicar

[Akamphi]

During my restoration I noticed that my car appears to have a hood and engine lid from two different cars. But the four digit vin numbers stamped on them, that are suposed to be the last four of my car vin, are actually just two digits different from each other. My car is 103702. Front hood is 4180 and rear is 4182.

I blasted the car to bare steel and both hoods were in original paint and apeard to have never been removed. I'm wondering if the factory could have used spair hoods that were already stamped when they assembled my car sence they both have such close numbers. I think it's unlikely both hoods were replaces from two cars two digits apart and there is no evidence of teh car ever being damaged or rusty enough for hood replacment.

 

[mike_israel]

Entirely possible that it came that way from the factory. Remember that Amphicar's build process was not quite the Toyota factory run by robots, there was a lot of manual finishing. As production neared an end, I am sure they were just using whatever parts inventory was on hand at the factory. Like you said, it is highly unlikely that both hoods just a few vin numbers apart somehow found their way to your Amphi years after purchase.