How to Identify Old VINs
In the early 1980s the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration established a fixed 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN), required for all road vehicles, which is unique to each vehicle and identifies its history, year, model and more. Prior to that, the format and meaning of VINs varied, depending on the individual manufacturer. The easiest way to identify these older VINs is through online database searches (both free and fee-based), as well as through expert advice available through antique car forums.
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Instructions
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Locate the VIN: The most common location for a VIN is on the dashboard (viewable through the windshield) or on a sticker in the driver's doorjamb. Other manufacturers might have stamped the VIN on the hood, steering column or other part. Also, check for the VIN on documents for that vehicle (such as the car title and insurance policy). If you're having trouble locating the VIN, contact the manufacturer or have an experienced car mechanic check for it. Also, the Classic Car Database (Classiccardatabase.com) offers free VIN location look-ups (among other information) for older cars.
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Join an antique car organization. For example, the Antique Automobile Club of America (Aaca.org) offers free registration to join its forums, where you can ask other automobile enthusiasts and experts for help decoding and identifying older VINs. To register, go to forums.aaca.org. In the "Members" column on the top right of the Web page, click the "Register" link and follow the instructions.
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Decode VINs prior to the early 1980s. During these years, VINs had varying formats, depending on the manufacturer and year, making them more difficult to decode. The numbers represented such vehicle facts as year of manufacture, body style, assembly plant, even paint codes. There are websites, such as Greatoldcars.com, that decode these older VINs for a fee. Go to Greatoldcars.com, click the "Order VIN Decoding Now!" link on the left side of the Web page and follow the instructions.
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Decode VINs after the early 1980s. Because VINs were standardized in the early 1980s, it's easier to decode these numbers, which are broken up into four sections: the World Manufacturer's Identification (three characters), the Vehicle Description Section (five characters), the VIN Accuracy Check Digit and the Vehicle Identification Section (eight characters). Autoinsurancetips.com/decoding-your-vin.com provides a detailed explanation of each of these sections.
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References
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- Photo Credit old car image by Alexander Ivanov from Fotolia.com
