Looking for history when all I have is the VIN
#1
12-28-2010, 08:27 PM
Looking for history when all I have is the VIN
All,
I would like to find specific history like the bill of sale, dealer invoice, or copy of window sticker for my 69 RS/SS? Perhaps there is a title or VIN data base out there if so, I do not know where. I have the VIN, a copy of the title from when it was sold in 1976 & that is about it. The build sheet is long gone. Word of mouth would be great but the guy I got it from has passed on. Any ideas would be great.
Thanks
Dan
danc76@aol.com
I would like to find specific history like the bill of sale, dealer invoice, or copy of window sticker for my 69 RS/SS? Perhaps there is a title or VIN data base out there if so, I do not know where. I have the VIN, a copy of the title from when it was sold in 1976 & that is about it. The build sheet is long gone. Word of mouth would be great but the guy I got it from has passed on. Any ideas would be great.
Thanks
Dan
danc76@aol.com
#2
12-28-2010, 09:11 PM
No window stickers on a 69. Infact there is no way to even prove a 69 is a real RS/SS without all the original documents. Even then that can all be faked. If it was possible to track a car back to its original build sheet there would not be anywhere near as many RS/SS as there are today.
We even had a story of a guy that built a 69 Z28 rag top (no GM never built one) he did a whole build thread and he faked all the documents just to prove it could be done. The fakes where amazing. The build sheet was aged and some of the document even had coffee stains on them. The guy sold it and made sure the guy he sold it too knew it was a fake. Sure enough it showed up on the market a year later as the only Z28 rag top Full documented! Emails where sent with the links to the build thread showing how he got all the faked docs and the car adds get pulled only to show up again in 6 month from another dealer. I am sure had this guy not done a rag top that car would be in a collection somewhere as a true RS/SS.
We even had a story of a guy that built a 69 Z28 rag top (no GM never built one) he did a whole build thread and he faked all the documents just to prove it could be done. The fakes where amazing. The build sheet was aged and some of the document even had coffee stains on them. The guy sold it and made sure the guy he sold it too knew it was a fake. Sure enough it showed up on the market a year later as the only Z28 rag top Full documented! Emails where sent with the links to the build thread showing how he got all the faked docs and the car adds get pulled only to show up again in 6 month from another dealer. I am sure had this guy not done a rag top that car would be in a collection somewhere as a true RS/SS.
#3
12-29-2010, 08:16 AM
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: The 'Burbs of Chicago
Posts: 18,306
DCorey, Google "Camaro Registry" and check out the links that pop up. There's a chance, albeit a small one, that one of the owners could have registered the car for this very reason.
#4
12-29-2010, 02:52 PM
Gorn,
Your response reminds me of the time I was at the Bloomington Gold Corvette car show. I was talking with a judge and in passing he said "each year there are more 435hp 427 tri-power cars here than GM built...and they all claim to be the real deal."
That said, I hear what you are saying, it would be great if GM had a data base that any GM enthusiasts could search through to find correct and accurate vehicle history.
Like many others who have been in the same predicament right now word of mouth and the VIN is all I have to go with. If there is a silver lining to this grey cloud it would be one only two other people owned this car also, the second owner had it from 1976 until I purchased it last year. He has since passed but I do remember him telling me the car was sold new by a small town family owned Chevy dealer in Central Illinois. To my surprise the dealer is still there run by the same family. Recently I emailed them with the facts & am waiting to hear back.
Camaro 69,
Your right it was a long shot never the less, I checked the Camaro Registry and no luck but a good try thanks for the tip. I will be registering both my cars there. I had my doubts from the get go due to the fact this car was wrecked in the mid 70's & taken off the road the owner never touched a computer in his lifetime otherwise maybe he would have entered it into the registry.
Luckily a few facts are known it is a true RS/SS. The collision in the mid 70's was nothing more than your typical front-end fender bender with light cosmetic damage however, this being a RS it broke the head light and jammed the head light door from opening on the passenger’s side and the car was parked. That would have been great for me as I start the restoration with only 52,000 miles but over the course of the last 32 years the car has been sitting idle 15 years of that was spent outside uncovered where a tree damaged the windshield letting water and snow enter ruining everything interior based including floor boards, wiring, carpet, seats etc. A family of raccoons took residence in the trunk ruining the trunk pan, inner fenders and rusted out the rear quarters. To make a long story short it needs everything rebuilt and or replaced but the whom every ordered this car knew a thing or two about performance as it is a 375 hp 4 bolt main solid lifter square port iron head RPO L/78 396, M22 4 speed, 12bolt, disc brake car the good news is all that it there albeit in poor shape but it is better than the alternative.
Thanks for your replies to the question.
Dan
Your response reminds me of the time I was at the Bloomington Gold Corvette car show. I was talking with a judge and in passing he said "each year there are more 435hp 427 tri-power cars here than GM built...and they all claim to be the real deal."
That said, I hear what you are saying, it would be great if GM had a data base that any GM enthusiasts could search through to find correct and accurate vehicle history.
Like many others who have been in the same predicament right now word of mouth and the VIN is all I have to go with. If there is a silver lining to this grey cloud it would be one only two other people owned this car also, the second owner had it from 1976 until I purchased it last year. He has since passed but I do remember him telling me the car was sold new by a small town family owned Chevy dealer in Central Illinois. To my surprise the dealer is still there run by the same family. Recently I emailed them with the facts & am waiting to hear back.
Camaro 69,
Your right it was a long shot never the less, I checked the Camaro Registry and no luck but a good try thanks for the tip. I will be registering both my cars there. I had my doubts from the get go due to the fact this car was wrecked in the mid 70's & taken off the road the owner never touched a computer in his lifetime otherwise maybe he would have entered it into the registry.
Luckily a few facts are known it is a true RS/SS. The collision in the mid 70's was nothing more than your typical front-end fender bender with light cosmetic damage however, this being a RS it broke the head light and jammed the head light door from opening on the passenger’s side and the car was parked. That would have been great for me as I start the restoration with only 52,000 miles but over the course of the last 32 years the car has been sitting idle 15 years of that was spent outside uncovered where a tree damaged the windshield letting water and snow enter ruining everything interior based including floor boards, wiring, carpet, seats etc. A family of raccoons took residence in the trunk ruining the trunk pan, inner fenders and rusted out the rear quarters. To make a long story short it needs everything rebuilt and or replaced but the whom every ordered this car knew a thing or two about performance as it is a 375 hp 4 bolt main solid lifter square port iron head RPO L/78 396, M22 4 speed, 12bolt, disc brake car the good news is all that it there albeit in poor shape but it is better than the alternative.
Thanks for your replies to the question.
Dan
#5
12-29-2010, 03:04 PM
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: The 'Burbs of Chicago
Posts: 18,306
Well then, a matching numbers 396 would settle whether it's a true SS or not, as would the X code on the trim tag if it didn't have the original engine: http://www.chevy-camaro.com/chevy-ca...ecode-1969.asp
Sounds like you have quite a project ahead of you, but it should be quite a nice one once done.
Sounds like you have quite a project ahead of you, but it should be quite a nice one once done.
