Just bought a 3rd. gen. race car. VIN # is missing. I think it is a '82-'84 but don't really know what year. The guy I bought it from doesn't either.
Is there a hidden location where I can find the # and can someone interpet it for me?

 

does it have any lights left on it? Can get an idea from those, sometimes has the year on the lense along with a code (tail lights, signal lights). It's a bit of a stretch but worth a shot.

 

Good idea. BTW, davidz, welcome to TGO.

JamesC

 

Vin is inside the console. Unless the sticker is not there. There are a couple more places like on the door and on the frame i believe. Tail lights would help, good idea.

 

I've seen vin's on the bumper support behind the cover. I think I've see. One in back behind the storage compartment on the drivers side too.

 

I have a vin sticker on the bottom of my hatch.

 

The year shown on lights is the year that that particular design started production. For example, the stock tail lights on my '85 Z28 had '82 on them. The grids I have now were pulled from an '87 IROC and they have '85 on them.

 

Interesting. I guess that's why my 85 IROC has 85 on them.

JamesC

 

DBL TKE is absolutely correct. That method used to work when cars changed every year, but not now that they remain the same for several years.
For example, my '90 IROC tail lights & parking lights are stamped "85". Must be the first year they used that design. My race car tail & parking lights are stamped "82", 1st year they used that dsesign. But, I believe they used that design from '82-'84 so that doesn't really help me much.

 

Do you have a title or registration papers ? It should be on there.

 

Console is missing as an after market shifter was installed. All VIN # stickers have been removed as car was completely disassembled to a shell, cemically stripped, painted on a rotesserie, then reassembled. I just remember that cars had hidden #'s stamped in various places on the sheetmetal or frame. I just don't know where these places are on a 3rd. gen. Camaro but I guess, as I work on the car, I will find a number. Then I'll ask you guys to interpete it for me.
Meanwhile, when someone asks me what year my car is, I'll just say "a '82-'84 Camaro".
Kind of embarassing though not knowing what year your car is.

 

You can probably get a good idea on your year by looking at the Camaro pictures by year on the home page of this site.

 

Hi frankwi,

No title or registeration. Just a bill of sale stating "Camaro race car".

Apparently this is totally acceptable in race car circles and perhaps that should be sufficent for me. I just would like to know exactly what I have.

 

If you still have the stock seat belts then you can either eliminate or confirm '82. Do the seat belts have retractors on both the sill mount and roof mount and have two belts going to a common buckle? If so, it's an ''83+. If the seat belts are a conventional style where it has one belt with a fixed point at the sill, retractor at the roof and a buckle that slides on the belt then it's an '82.

 

Factory seat belts are gone as car is required to have a five point safety harness.

 

Here are how you find where the vin is on the car, or atleast the most common places. (copied and pasted so i know some have already been ruled out)

- On the door frame/door post of the front doors (usually driver's but sometimes passenger's)
- On the dash near the windshield
- On the engine itself (machined pad on front of engine)
- On the car's firewall
- In the left-hand inner wheel arch
- On the steering wheel/steering column
- On the radiator support bracket
- On your car's title, registration, guarantee/maintenance book or on the declarations page of your auto insurance policy

Once or if you obtain the vin. Look at the eighth digit from the right end identifies the model year of the vehicle.

The third gen ranged from 1982-1992 so here are the corrosponding numbers.

C – 1982

D – 1983

E – 1984

F – 1985

G – 1986

H – 1987

I – not used

J – 1988

K – 1989

L – 1990

M – 1991

N – 1992

Vins are easy to interpret and there are many buisnesses dedicated to doing just that, most famously carfax. PM me (op only) if you want it carfaxed and we can work something out, or just google a free vin decoding site if you want the basic information.

If you dont have the vin as stated before snap a pic of the tail lights and we third gen detectives will try and figure it out, assuming they haven't been changed or painted.

 

well there was no sticker in console until 84 so that won help you much also. sounds like someone went to alot of trouble to deface the year of this car

id be pretyt weary of it bein stolen and hot.

the dash and console in 82 83 48 is also different from 85 up

most anything is different from 82 83 84 to 85 up

including bumpers and lights and seatbelts in early years, and so much more.


the bottom underside of the hood will have date stamp in it, with year, look for that, if the hood is original.