NO Vin plates?

Message

Eddie Culver · #1 Post by **Eddie Culver** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:20 pm

Hi all!,
Newbie here, I am about to acquire my first 1963 356 B Super project that has been stuffed in a garage since 73'. Unfortunately its completely stripped down. Most parts there and all body panels match. Engine is correct but unsure if original to car. Anyway, the car is missing all the vin plates and the color code plate. Should this car be suspect? Are these plates available if the vin checks clear?

Adam Wright · #2 Post by **Adam Wright** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:29 pm

E-
More important than the VIN plates is the VIN stamping, that is right in front of the gas tank, near a little metal loop for the strap for the spare tire. If you can make out those #s you are good to go, if not, that is a far murkier affair.

Eddie Culver · #3 Post by **Eddie Culver** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:38 pm

The vin is stamped there and also has the last couple of numbers stamped on the body parts. I cant find the hood numbers though. So now that my vin is good, where can I get vin & paint code plates made?

Adam Wright · #4 Post by **Adam Wright** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:43 pm

I think you can get the plates from:

International Mercantile

http://www.netsv.com/im/

I think they are the only ones who will stamp them to.

charles kourmpates · Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:54 am

Eddie Culver wrote:Engine is correct but unsure if original to car. Anyway, the car is missing all the vin plates and the color code plate. Should this car be suspect? Are these plates available if the vin checks clear?

The engine No. can be checked to see if it's original. My guess is it isn't, or it would have been a selling point.

Suspect? At this point in the marketing of 356 project cars, I'd "suspect" anything for sale, no matter by who.

Doesn't take long to prove a car isn't stolen. Leans are another thing.

Are the metal panels in place "without" plates?

Sure, you can always buy new and guys do that, but I'd advertise for the original plates first.

I actually see no point in removing "any" plates and replacing them for the benefit of a shinier look or just to have it new.

I personally would want these items original and in place.

Photos of the car?

Congratulations and good luck with your car.

Thomas Canty · #6 Post by **Thomas Canty** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:06 am

Barry Brisco · #7 Post by **Barry Brisco** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:49 pm

Thomas Canty wrote:Be VERY careful with your purchase. Make sure that there isn't a second 356 registered and titled somewhere with that VIN attached to it.
It's not so much that the car was stolen at one time or anything of that nature, it's simple that there might be two of the same car (VIN) currently in existence, and there can only be the one.

Tom, realistically, it's simply not possible to "make sure" that somewhere in the USA, that there isn't another 356 registered with the same CHASSIS NUMBER (no 356 ever made had a VIN as that term did not come into use until 1981, see http://auto.howstuffworks.com/vin.htm). Would you really contact the DMV in all 50 states just to check that before purchasing a 356?

In the case of the car Eddie describes, since it has the chassis number stamped in the trunk in the correct location and the closing panels match, it is highly likely that the number he sees is the original number for that car. There is a very tiny chance that it has been changed, but if I was in his situation I wouldn't worry about it. Cars that have been taken apart and sat around for decades may not have their ID plaques. What counts is the condition of the car.

Best regards,