brylo

Short version- Bought a 68 parts car w/salvage title from Michigan sight unseen, brother in law picked it up. I am wanting to sell it and a few people looked at it and said it was a 70-72. How can I tell what year it is if the VIN is wrong? Engine and trans are gone, it was a stolen vehicle recovery so the title says.


Thanks for the help,
Bryan

theandies

Easy. 68 Shark was the only year with push button door handles and the ignition is in the dash not on the steering column

brylo

Ignition is on the steering colmn.

theandies

What about the door handles. 69 and above the door opened by pressing in on the "flap" on the top of the door. 68 had this 'flap" but where the door lock is located there is a push button. This was a 68 only thing. There are other clues also, 68 and early 69's had a wiper door actuator that looked like a coffee can, this could have been changed to the later pie pan actuator though. I know one of our NCRS members will help decode the VIN. You could post in the NCRS section of the fourm.

redwingvette

Side gills are completely different on a 68

brylo

I believe the VIN tag on this car is the wrong one. The Title says it is a 68 but I believe it is a 70-72.

The gills are wrong for the year and the key is not on the dash, which means not 68, but what year is it? I want to advertise the car and I need to somehow decipher the year to put it in the paper for parts.

When I purchased the car 2 years ago I was going to use the parts to restore my real 68/427 NM, but times have gotten tough and they are now a liability and both have to go.

If you have three cars one 70 one 71 one 72 how can you tell by looking at them which year is which?

If you have a 68 and 69 chevelle sitting side by side you can tell the differece in the two buy the tail lights just buy looking.

This is what I am looking for with this corvette, what sets the years apart that I can look for to best guess the year.

Thanks,
Bryan

allanb63roadster

I'm taking this info out of my book 'Corvette Buyer's Guide', by Michael Antonick, fourth edition.

Ok, you know it is not a 68 because the ignition switch is on the column.

If it has round exhaust ports under the rear bumper, it's a 69. Also, the 68 and 69 had 4 vertical slots just behind the front wheels, 70 to 72 did not.

Between 70 and 71 models, early in the 71 model run, they switched to amber turn signal lenses.

If it has the amber lense, it is a 71 or 72. If it has a clear lense and square exhaust, it could be an early 71 but is probably a 70.

71 was the last year for the fiber optics light monitoring system in the center console, so if it does not have it, it's a 72.

And those are the only visual distinctions I can find from reading those chapters in his book.

hope that helps

LAvetteman

:iagree:


Post the beginning of the VIN#, from the 1 to the S.

What is the number before the S?

brylo

Thanks allanb that is what I was looking for.


[Modified by brylo, 7:56 AM 10/17/2003]

Mr.Gearhead

Keep in mind... all this stuff can be swapped. Steering column, Lower dash pads, EVERYTHING can be swapped. The VIN will tell you everything. If the VIN on the A pillar is missing or wrong... it is stamp in various places on the frame... but the body will need to be lifted. Mine was near the rear body mount.... VIN MATCHED... wahoo.... seriously though, all the parts are interchanable.