Any way to identify year of production?

[RetroC10Sport]

1 - U.S. built
G - General Motors
8 - Chevrolet Suburban
G - 8001-9000 GVWR
C - 4x2
2 - 3/4 ton
6 - Suburban
W - 454 V8 4BBL RPO LE8
0 - Check Digit
B - 1981
F - Built in Flint, Mi.
148141 - 48,141st Chevrolet truck built at Flint in 1981

 

[Keith Seymore]

Thank you for posting the SPID.


The VIN is for an '81, and has the correspondingly correct model code CC20906

where C = Chevrolet
C = 2wd
209 = 3/4 ton (long wheel base)
06 = Suburban

although it does not match the appearance of the truck.

Re-reading the post - I have no idea where that number come from as I realise the VIN is on top of the rail not the side. I can only assume its come from when the vehicle was imported?

Numbers on the side of the rail are the part number, manufacturing date code and manufacturer's identification symbol. They have nothing to do with either export or build sequence.

K

 

[Keith Seymore]

1 - U.S. built
G - General Motors
8 - Chevrolet Suburban
G - 8001-9000 GVWR
C - 4x2
2 - 3/4 ton
6 - Suburban
W - 454 V8 4BBL RPO LE8
0 - Check Digit
B - 1981
F - Built in Flint, Mi.
148141 - 48,141st Chevrolet truck built at Flint in 1981

Once again, nicely done Retro.

I'm not trying to be a pedant but one slight correction -

148141 does not represent the 48,141 Chevrolet truck build in Flint in 1981.

It is merely a serial portion assigned when the VIN is established.

I say this because:

A) Trucks were not build in VIN order. They had the ability to be shuffled and/or banked between body build and paint, and again between paint and trim/final. This was to allow for more lengthy repairs if required, staging of bodies if parts were not immediately available due to an oversight, or work load leveling downstream (ie, can't build too many A/C jobs in a row; can't build too many manual trans in a row, can't have too many 4wd in a row, etc) and to allow the final line to keep running in the event of a breakdown in body or paint.

B) About one out of every nine trucks was a GMC; as you imply they had a separate VIN sequence, and those trucks were mixed in with the flow of Chevrolet nameplated vehicles

C) Flint had two assembly lines under the same roof. Line 2 built Suburbans and Blazers (two Suburbans followed by one Blazer) at a rate of 36 jobs per hour. Line 1 built pickup trucks at a rate of 60 vehicles per hour, and so by comparison was pumping out pickups twice as fast as utilities.

So - the serial portion has no meaning other than being assigned sequentially within the appropriate family of vehicles (and understanding that the sequence was not necessarily preserved throughout the build).

K

 

[Keith Seymore]

Upon further review -

It appears the truck was originally Chestnut (brown) with a tan interior.

I see remnants of the tan carpet (although the grey seats threw me off). Any evidence that the exterior of the truck was originally brown and has been repainted blue?

The body shop could have updated to '89 appearance (front end treatment, body side moldings and steering wheel) at that time.

Bottom line: It's VIN'd as an '81; it seems to be to your advantage for it to be an '81 (from a regulatory standpoint) - I'd call it an '81 and let the good times roll.

K

 

[Billy]

I have seen date stamps on top of the ashtray "frame". Tough to see without removal

 

[shanegtr]

Upon further review -

It appears the truck was originally Chestnut (brown) with a tan interior.

I see remnants of the tan carpet (although the grey seats threw me off). Any evidence that the exterior of the truck was originally brown and has been repainted blue?

The body shop could have updated to '89 appearance (front end treatment, body side moldings and steering wheel) at that time.

Bottom line: It's VIN'd as an '81; it seems to be to your advantage for it to be an '81 (from a regulatory standpoint) - I'd call it an '81 and let the good times roll.

K

I think what most likely has happen is back when it was imported into australia there would have been an age limit on import, so the 89 would have been too new, use an 81 vin and no issues. I cant see any indication so far that it was brown at any stage in its life

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[Keith Seymore]

I think what most likely has happen is back when it was imported into australia there would have been an age limit on import, so the 89 would have been too new, use an 81 vin and no issues. I cant see any indication so far that it was brown at any stage in its life

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Thank you.

No issues other than here in the states swapping VINs is a Federal criminal activity.

What kind of rivets are holding the VIN plate to the dash. Round or "rosette" style?

K

 

[shanegtr]

no vin plate in the dash, its on the firewall and they are round rivets

 

[roundhouse]

I’m in the states
I bought a truck with a state issued VIN

And all the other numbers on the frame engine transmission axles etc are ground off

No way to know what year it actually is

Makes it fun to buy parts

 

[Keith Seymore]

no vin plate in the dash, its on the firewall and they are round rivets

Would you be willing to post a photo of the "firewall" plate?

I'm curious how it compares to the original plate.

Thanks,

K

 

[shanegtr]

Ill post it up in the morning - my guess is its the dash plate thats been put there

Would you be willing to post a photo of the "firewall" plate?

I'm curious how it compares to the original plate.

Thanks,

K

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[shanegtr]

Heres where its mounted, just above my brake booster mount

You must be registered for see images attach

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[78C10BigTen]

Interesting.....

 

[Keith Seymore]

Yep. That's super hokey.

Definitely not done by GM, and I would suspect not done by any government agency.

K

 

[Blue Ox]

If it's a left-hand drive conversion (I'm not aware of any such factory option) it was probably a gray market operation and since they had to pull out the steel under the dash to make it work they probably had to cut out the part with the VIN and relocate the plate. It can seem reasonable to anybody but a bureacrat.