shiftman

It was suggested to me by a GM man to ask Scott S about the following VIN question. However, anyone with knowledge about the issue, please chime in!

This discussion concerns ONLY 1985 Van Nuys F-Bodies. Norwood information is not needed at this time.

Two Big Questions:

(1) When and why did the Firebird VIN sequence placeholder change from a 2 to a 6? (FL200001 to FL6xxxxx)
(2) When and why did the Camaro VIN sequence placeholder change from a 1 to a 4? (FL100001 to FL4xxxxx, and eventually FL5xxxxx)

Discussion:

By collecting VINs, I am reasonably confident that the change happened on both models before December 1, 1984.

I do understand that the Van Nuys Camaro went over 99,999 units produced, so the 4 placeholder was changed to a 5 for the final 3,768 cars (final VIN is FL503767, but we have to add the FL500000 car, so the final 3,768 Camaros have the 5 placeholder). The 1985 Van Nuys Camaro had three different VIN sequence placeholders.

The 1985 Van Nuys Firebird did not get close to 100,000 units (final VIN was FL654874), so there was no need to change the placeholder. Why then, was it changed from 2 to 6?

Again, the two big questions:

(1) When and why did the Firebird VIN sequence placeholder change from a 2 to a 6? (FL200001 to FL6xxxxx)
(2) When and why did the Camaro VIN sequence placeholder change from a 1 to a 4? (FL100001 to FL4xxxxx, and eventually FL5xxxxx)