VIN Numbers

[sperold]

A day is coming when "matching Serial Numbers" will be important. It first requires that our cars get the recognition they deserve, so it may be awhile (lol).

Where are the serial numbers displayed.... all of them?

I know about the one on the dash, under the windshield glass, and the one on the driver's door. I think the number can be retrieved from the data port where you do the diagnostic hook-up (not positive about that).
I heard urban myths that in the old days when cars had frames, the number was on it as well, but I am not sure about that. In the really old days (50's), the motors had a separate serial number that did sometimes show up in ownership documentation.

A second set of questions is.... what is the proper thing to do if you change your dash, your driver's door or your computer (if there is a number in there)?

For now, I would be happy to know where all the serial numbers show up.
Thanks

 

[rubydist]

the vin is not actually on the dash, it is on a part of the windshield frame. so, if you change the dash, the vin plate is not affected.

my understanding is that the vehicle vin is not in the pcm on obd1 cars, like these. some obd2 vehicles have the vin embedded in the pcm - perhaps only pats vehicles but I am not sure.

the label on the door with the vin included is called a certification label. it is the label required to document that the vehicle meets the required safety, emissions, etc. requirements for the year built. in most states, that label does not qualify as providing the vehicle vin, since it can easily be changed by changing the door.

my service manual does not document any vin location other than under the windshield.

 

[SHO Continental]

You can see in this picture (that I took when I swapped interiors on my old '93) there are two flaps of metal coming off the firewall. One just to the right of the column support, one at the very edge of the frame on the right. They have the 6 digit production sequence number/last 6 of the vin stamped on them. You can also see the VIN plate on the left side under the windshield.