i am buying an 87 350 iroc camaro, and i had to get the vin # in order to get a loan from the bank, but the car only had a 16 digit vin code. i thought all cars had 17 digit vin codes. i ran it throught the vin decoder and everything checked out, is this normal?

No. Since 1981 all vehicles have a 17 digit number. Even foriegn cars, motorcycles etc.
The year code goes through numbers and letters missing a couple to eliminate confusion then starts to repeat again. I believe 1981 was year code A and within the next couple of years the year code will be A again.

The first number is the country code. 1 = US, 2 = Canada, I've seen a 4 on a Volvo.

The last 6 is just a sequential number having no relation to assembly line runs.

Somewhere you missed a number or letter.

Steve is correct about the 17 digits. The actual code is as follows:

1st - Country of manufacture. 1=USA, 2=Canada, 3=Mexico, 4=Hybrid North American J=Japan etc
2nd - Manufacturer. G=GM, F=Ford, T=Toyota, H=Honda, C=Chrysler (pre merger?) etc
3rd - Division. 1=Chevrolet, 2=Pontiac
4th - Car Line F=FBody (Camaro, Firebird); Y=Corvette; J=Cavaleir, Sunbird; W=Grand Prix, Olds Cutlass, Chev Lumina; N=Grand Am (possibly Corsica and Berretta) etc.
5th - Model Line. S=Firebird, W=Trans Am.
6th - Body Type. 1=Two door coupe/sedan, 2=Two door Hatchback.
7th - Restraint System. 1=Manual Belts, 3=Manual Belts with Driver Inflatable Restraint System and 4=Automatic Belts
8th - Engine Type. T=3.1V6, E=5.0 TBI, F=TPI305, 8=TPI350
9th - Check Digit.
10th - Year Code. They skipped a few letters too. The year code was L=90,M=91, N=92 and ended recently with X=99, Y=2000 and 1=2001
11th - Plant Code. L=Van Nuys, N=Norwood
12-17 - Six Digit sequence code.

[This message has been edited by Glenn91L98GTA (edited July 06, 2001).]

alright, i am really confused. the winshield only has 16 digits and the title only has 16 digits.i checked all the stuff and the thing missing is there is only 5 sequence digits instead of six.how can this be?

count again?

Pull out the carpet in the back and behind the side compartments. There should be stickers on the metal with the vin number in there also. The vin should also be on the RPO sheet in the center console. The vin is in other places in the car also. I think it's stamped in the left front frame.

I WOULDN"T BUY THAT CAR, NO MATTER WHAT. Sounds to me like someone has given it a new title and vin number off an older car. Here in Virginia Beach they busted a guy who worked for the DMV that was creating Titles for stolen cars using Vins off junk yard cars. This sounds supicous to me.

I suggest caution in buying this car.

The vin should also be on the pass door and in that glove box thing in the back, behind the cardboard liner on the inside of the 1/4 panel.