Thread: VIN Help

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I am trying to decipher a 1970 Chevelle SS VIN number. it is 136370R 256841.

I have the first seven digits done, however I can’t find anything on the last six. The car is supposed to be an original SS but I’m trying to find out.

Hey prostreet,

Not sure if it applies to '70 Chevelle, but I do know that for '69 Chevelle/El Camino that the SS was not a "type" recognized by Chevy.

Evidently you could order a car with the badges, but no way could you identify it as an SS through the VIN. I've gone through the same thing with my '69 Elky. For all I know my Elky (with SS stuff all over it, including a front grill "SS 396") originally had a 6 in it. So I sort of gave up on trying to figure it out and am just enjoying the 350 that I've got in it...

Hope this helps, maybe someone out there has a better memory/information on this question.

Later!

trim tag on firewall drivers side will tell engine, trans, body style, etc

Here's a little information on your tag and the trim tag as well.

1970 was the first year that the Super Sport became an option within the Malibu line, and also in a limited number of 300 Deluxe coupes, instead of a stand alone model. Therefore, it is impossible to document a 1970 Super Sport by the VIN number. You still can obtain some valuable information from it. In 1970, the VIN. number is located on a bracket riveted to the underside of the instrument panel, visible through the windshield on the driver's side. Examine other Chevrolets and become familiar with the multi-sided "rose" rivets that fasten the bracket to the car. These rivets are not reproduced legally, so you need to look to make sure the original rivets still hold the VIN plate.There are 13 positions on the VIN plate. 1) Will always be 1 signifying Chevrolet division of GM. 2&3) Series code- 36 denotes Malibu eight cylinder, however there were a handful of 34 code base Chevelles also built with the SS option( without proven documentation, be wary of these.) 4&5) Body style- 37 is 2 dr. sport coupe; 67 is 2 dr. convertible. These are the only two style codes for a Super Sport.6) Model year-will always be 0 for 1970. 7) Assembly plant-'70 Chevelles were built in Atlanta(A), Baltimore(B), Flint(F), Kansas City(K), Los Angeles(L), and Arlington(R)in the U.S. You are fortunate if a 1 appears in position 7, because this is an Oshawa Canada built car, and you can obtain a history on the car by contacting GM of Canada. 8-13) The last six are the sequential number, or the order in which the car was built. These numbers can be valuable in cross checking with the pad on the engine for a match, signifying original motor.

The trim tag or data plate holds some very important information. The trim tag is riveted to the top of the cowl on the driver's side. We will read it from top to bottom, left to right, just like reading a book. The first line of the plate begins with ST or style- first two numbers will be 70 for the year-the next five should be either 13637 or 13667 for hardtop or convert- this is followed by assembly plant letter code, and finally sequential number of the body- this is not the same as the sequential number of the whole car in the VIN, so dont get nervous if they don't match. The second line begins with TR which is trim- this gives you a numeric trim combination and are as follows- 753,black cloth bench;755,black vinyl bench;756, black vinyl buckets;762,blue cloth bench;764,blue vinyl bench;765 blue vinyl buckets;770, saddle vinyl bench;771, saddle vinyl buckets;782 green cloth bench;795, green vinyl bench;796, green vinyl buckets;776, gold cloth bench;777, gold vinyl buckets;779, turquoise cloth bench;790, ivory vinyl bench; 791, ivory vinyl buckets;787, red vinyl bench; 788, red vinyl buckets.
On the far right is the PNT, or paint code. There are two sets of numbers, the first being the lower body code and the second the upper body or top code. The paint color codes are as follows-10-Classic White;14-Cortez Silver;17-Shadow Gray;19-Tuxedo Black;25- Astro Blue;28-Fathom Blue;34-Misty Turquoise;45-Green Mist;48-Forest Green;50-Gobi Beige;55-Champaign Gold;58-Autumn Gold;63-Desert Sand;75-Cranberry Red;78-Black Cherry.On convertibles, the second code will be AA-white, or BB-black.On vinyl roof cars the second code will be AA-white,BB-black,CC-dark blue,GG-dark green,or HH-dark gold.
The last line will have a three character body build date code. This date represents the final body assembly date, not the final assembly date of the complete car. The first numbers represent the build month 01-12. The letter represents the week assembly took place-A-1,B-2,C-3,D-4,E-5.


RS

I appreciate all your help, thanks a million!!