Recently I purchased an '84 Trans Am from the Oregon State Police Department. It was used as their D.A.R.E. car and was in really bad shape when I bought it. Since then I've totally re-done the body and repainted the car and am working my way through the interior now (hence the other questions about the seats). This is when the problems with the DMV started.

The car's got a clean title, and like I said, it was previously owned by the Oregon State Police. However, when I go in to get it registered, they have to do a VIN check, and the window VIN is rusted to the point where the last 3 numbers aren't legible anymore. You can just -barely- read everything else. I get the "mechanical inspector" to take a look at it, and he tells me that I just have to pop the windshield out and use an emery board to get the rust off the VIN plate within the dash. I argue with him for 10 minutes, telling him that it's IMPOSSIBLE to read the last 3 numbers, but to no avail.

I take it to the local GM dealership to inquire about it. They look at the numbers, go "Yep, can't read 'em". We dig around but can't find a VIN anywhere else -- but these guys are techs for '95 and up. I e-mail GM about it, nothing's in their system, so no way to figure it out.

So I bring it to you fine folks! Where else would the VIN be on my '84 Trans Am? I don't want to have to take the windshield out only to go back to the DMV and have them say "Well, looks like you were right, now spend another $200 on getting this NEW windshield replaced so we can give you a new VIN number." Any possible solutions to this problem?

 

the hatch, front bumper, inside fenders are all marked on mine.

also possibly the build sheet is still under the carpet it has the vin on it also

 

check on the title or under the center console lid.

 

Out of curiosity, where inside the fenders? And where on the front bumper? My obvious first choice was the firewall (I used to have a '78 T/A) but there wasn't anything there. We totally dug into this thing, as a mechanic buddy of mine had heard that even the container for the spare had the VIN on it!

Also, is there any way I could take your average Joe Schmoe DMV employee out there for the VIN check and have them trust it? The sticker on the doors is faded through and the windshield won't work, so obviously I don't want to try to argue with someone else about it.
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The title's got it, but they have to verify it with the car itself. The console lid -used- to have a sticker on it, but that's torn off as well.

The car was a repossession on a drug bust, so I'm assuming it may have been stripped at some point in time. Makes it even more confusing for everyone involved. I've managed to get temporaries lasting until the end of this month, but 3 more days and I can't drive my little toy

 

lift the hatch up there may still be the vin sticker on it.if not all the rest are on the insides ehich mean you have to take body panels off. inside the fenders and a sticker on the bumper itself which means you'd have to take the bumper cover off

 

wow that sucks, ur best bet is too search 4 that build sheet somewhere, its a pain but its easier then ripping off the fenders.

 

haha yeah, it hasn't been much fun. All the obvious places didn't work out, so I'll get about to looking around the carpet for it -- if that doesn't work popping a fender off is a PITA, but at least it's better than nothing.

 

build sheet is usually under the carpet next to the driver seat. that's where it was in all 3 of my camaro's. so you have to take out the seat, take off the door sill plate and hope its still there.

 

Not too much work there, I'll head outside and take a look right now. Hopefully not only is it still there, but the people at the DMV are willing to do something about it, our DMV people are REALLY weird about things like this.

 

driver side door usually has VIN

 

Pulled up the carpet all around the driver's side....nothing. I did find a funky TrafficBuster lightbar control box from when it was the D.A.R.E. car....hehe anyone want it? haha

I'm generally assuming this:
A) It was stripped prior to the drug bust, meaning a potentially stolen car in the first place
B) It was stripped by the OSP -after- the drug bust.

In the case of B, they did some really shoddy work on the interior. :P

The sticker for the driver's side door manufacturer's info is still there, but the door must have leaked because the number is also illegible there, too.

Looks like I'll have to start popping off fenders. Hoo boy.

 

The RPO list is not under the center console lid?

I believe it showed the VIN...

 

Nope, that was the first place I checked after the door and the hatch. Nothing -- the dealer said that was the first place.

Maybe I just have the "unregisterable" car that's perfect for crimes, muhaha

So far here's all the places I've checked:

The windshield (everything but the last three numbers and I'll be bamboozled if I'm spending $600-800 on windshields just to prove the DMV wrong)
Driver's side door (the sticker's there but the print's worn off)
Console (nada)
Hatch (Residue from where the sticker WAS, but no sticker)
Pulled up the carpet on all of the driver's side and checked the paneling, as well (Nothing)

Tomorrow I'm going to pull the passenger side, just to be safe. After that it's jackstands and a fender to pop off :/

 

Okay, checked the passenger side tonight because my wife is out of town, don't really have much to do . It's definitely not under there. Looks like I'll be popping off a fender and taking a look in there.

 

check your center counsole if the Factory RPO code sticker still remains it will have the vin

 

Did i not just say that and he confimed it was a negative?!?!

 

oops.....

 

You can look for VINs in all sorts of places, but chances are the only one they're going to care about and accept is the one on the VIN plate. All the rest can be changed.

 

Exactly, which is why I'm reticent to look. If I find it on the fender, I don't particularly think it will matter -- so I'm afraid I'm at a bit of an impasse here.
Guess I'll have to fork over a cubic ton of cash to get the windshield taken out. I'll get it taken out, then go back to the DMV to have them go 'wow, you can't actually read it' -- then hopefully they'll just assign me the same VIN again or something. I don't really know how it works but oh well.

The fun thing is at least I fixed a whole TON of stuff while digging around, and I want to replace the windshield anyway (the graphics and tint on the old one drives me insane), so it's not a TOTAL loss, just figured if I could find it without spending the money on it, it'd be easier.

 

With the windshield out you can clean up the rust and make it readable again easily enough. Try making friends with someone who works at a glass shop and take a 6 pack over after work.

 

Heh, sounds like a great plan! The good thing is I want that stupid windshield replaced anyway, so it's no big deal if it breaks on the way out. The quote I got for it was $200 to replace it, which really isn't that bad in my book -- the guy I was talking to also said they could just charge labor if it came down to putting the same windshield in again, which was definitely nice of him!

 

I'm not 100% positive, but I thought that part or all of my vin# was stamped in the firewall behind the heater and a/c case. Maybe someone with a better memory can chime in if they've seen this too.

 

I would think the burden of proof would be on the Oregon State Police Department.

 

Can you get closer to the vin # by removing the dash pad and then bending an emory board so you can clean it off a bit?

 

I tried it earlier but got absolutely nowhere with it. I might try it again but it seems that the sealant used for the windshield doesn't allow anything to get near it. Maybe if I dig around a bit more I can do something about it.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure if push comes to shove I can contact the OSP and they can provide some sort of recognition of the sale to the police department here. The thing that really torques me off about it is that the title has a gigantic stamp on it that says "PROPERTY OF OREGON STATE POLICE DEPARTMENT"....does my DMV really think I'm stupid enough to steal a car from the oregon state police?

 

200.00 is cheap for a replacement windshield. I spent close to that doing it myself! By the time you figure adhesive and gas money going to pick up the windsheild I would take a 200.00 offer any day. My VIN was also in unreadable condition, I used a fine stainless steel wire brush to clean it up and then light coats of rustoleum before installing the new windshield. Your not supposed to paint over the vin tag, which is why I used very thin layers of flat paint. My windsheild was cracked anyway, in your case if the windsheild is good I might try to find another way around this, there must be some way of getting around it legally.

 

I might toss an e-mail over to the OSP to see if they can do anything. I could probably take the dash pad off and then fanagling around with the sealant on the windshield, but I don't know if I want to do that.

As soon as I get the $ I'll probably take them up on their offer for the windshield.

 

Okay, I just took out the dash pad and got the stripping for the windshield out enough to be able to get close to the VIN#. Problem is, there's enough rust that I'd need more leverage than just simple rubbing with an emery board will get, and there's not enough room to be able to push down enough (I've got maybe 3/4" clearance to 1 inch), so it looks like the windshield will be coming out. Ah well, I'll get a few more quotes and see what happens.

 

Did you look at the right front deck of the block? If the engine is original, the last numbers of the VIN will be stamped on the deck.



Once you have a confirmed VIN (fron the State Police) you can place your new RPO decal back in the console or hatch storage compartment. Just list the options on your car and someone can print a new one:

 

Who would be able to print me a new one? I think it's the original engine and getting the VIN confirmed would be no problem whatsoever. Where would I go to get a new RPO printed?

 

I don't mean to bump this thread, but there is something that the police use to raise serial numbers on guns, when someone grinds them off. I'm not sure what the solution is, or if you can buy it somewhere. Call the police and ask them what might raise the numbers.
This may sound stupid, but it's worht a shot.

 

So the title that the Police have, that you need to sign for and take to the DMV, doesn't have the vin number on it? If this was an impounded car at one time, they must have a record of it in their system. All that info, vin, license plate number, year, model etc. gets put into their computers or whatever filing system they are using when a car gets impounded. They should have the info.

 

This may sound silly but it works. I have found that government employees do not like to go out in the rain. If you have the chance to take it to the DMV when it’s raining, they may just sign off on it with out looking.
In Florida they have to check the odometer and the VIN and I have never had them check either one when it’s raining. Best of luck.

 

why not just pull out the dash pad and then slide in the emery board and clean it
the windsheilds for these cars are cheap
or you can remove the windsheild and then clean it then get the caulking and re install
being that its been a state registured car there should be no problem getting the vin from the police department you got it from
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Vehicle Information
Insurance Claim
No
Service Zip
44720
Make, Model and Year
CHEVROLET CAMARO
1991 2 DOOR COUPE


Part(s) Information Service Type
Replace front windshield


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Quote
$172.30