A friend told me about a VIN Decoder available on the web that gave really detailed informaiton, such as factory differential ratio, and such.

The VIN decoder on www.thirdgen.org is great, but it does not supply this level of detail.

Does anyone know where I might find a VIN decoder like this?

Thanks!

 

The VIN itself wont tell you what gear ratio the car has. It wont even tell you the trans.
This is the breakdown of what the VIN can tell you (thanks to Drew)

1st digit = Country of Origin
2nd digit = Manufacturer
3rd digit = Car Line (ie. Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, etc.
4th digit = Body code (ie. F-body, Y-body, J-body, etc)
5th digit = Body Model (ie. Camaro/Firebird)
6th digit = Body Style (ie. hatchback/convertible)
7th digit = restraints
8th digit = Engine code
9th digit = Check digit, used to verify vin accuracy.
10th digit = Model year
11th digit = Production Plant (Van Nuys/Norwood)
12-17th are the production sequence numbers.

You'd need the RPO's to get detailed information like that. Some might say you could choose by the engine, like lets say its a 350 so it has to be an auto trans, but who knows... maybe someone with some serious connections got a manual trans and the RPO sheet even showed it, but the from the VIN itself you would never know unless you are a dealer and the RPO list comes up for that specific car.

 

I don't have an RPO list in my car, can i obtain one somehow?

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1987 Black 305 TPI 5spd IROC, seems to be fully loaded, but can't find RPO codes.

AIM: IROC 5spd

 

Not really, your GM dealer might be able to print you a list of the RPO's if you supply them with the VIN, but the rumor has it that they can only do cars from 90-up. I haven't been too concerned with it since the cars I'm really working on are 91's.

 

Seriously...the @$$ that had my car before me took it off and I am really interested in finding out the options! There's gotta be a way to find out the options it had.....does GM have a database or something?

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1988 Camaro Sport Coupe

• 305 TBI
• 700R-4
• 14"x3" K&N Filter
• Flowmaster Cat Back System w/ 3&1/2" tips
• Y2K Origional Vette Rims
• Pioneer 6200 Deck
• 2 Kenwood 600 watts
• 2 Infinity Reference Subs
• Sony 3-way 6x9s in custom panels
• up to 137.0 dB
• "speed" stripes

Coming soon...4th Gen Seats

 

Coolguy,

If you want to pay $30-some dollars for each car and wait about a month, there's always Pontiac Historical Services at http://www.phs-online.com/

However, I am needing to get these option details in an almost instant response on a large number of vehicles, so PHS is not practical for me. It may help you, though.

Is anyone else out there sure they've never used a VIN decoder, either at their business, shop, dealership, or some program/service that I can order and pay $$$ for?

Thanks again,

 

You can get a sales brochure for your year Camaro/Firebird, either off ebay or from various dealers online. Most of our cars are pretty dictated as far as smaller options by larger options. For example the brochure will tell you standard equipment and options packages. Its a pretty safe bet that if you have several options that were part of an option package, you probably have that package. But really there is no concrete way of knowing what the car had without a build sheet or an RPO list.

BTW PHS only does Pontiacs, Camaro guys are on your own.