Fake VIN number, 1970 needs one last number Options

[pgollender]

My 1970 with a california re-assigned ID number is ready to go back on the road after nearly 5 years of restoration. When I bought the car it had a California re-assigned ID number because of a falsified VIN. About 10 years ago there was an investigation by a Fresno police officer that used a Fry's method of recovering the real VIN. His investigation was almost successful, he identified and recovered NINE out of TEN digits. So the car is one of 10 possible.
If the group can help by supplying any of the missing known numbers that would greatly enhance the chance of restoring the true ID number of my vechicle by process of elimination>
This is the partial number: 4702905_48. Anybody that has that third digit could respond. If I get lucky, REALLY lucky, I'll have 9 responses. Any help is appreciated.

[pgollender]

Did Karmann ever keep records of chassis numbers matched with VIN's ?
Silly question, but does anyone know when the VIN is actually applied , like at the very last stage of completion or if the VIN was actually stamped at the factory?
914 VIN numbers look like they were applied with a cold punch tool by hand, at least my two other 914's looked that way. Kinda sloppy.
Is there a way to contact the old Karmann-Porsche factory ? I'm assuming this question probably has been asked before. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[Tom_T]

Did Karmann ever keep records of chassis numbers matched with VIN's ?
Silly question, but does anyone know when the VIN is actually applied , like at the very last stage of completion or if the VIN was actually stamped at the factory?
914 VIN numbers look like they were applied with a cold punch tool by hand, at least my two other 914's looked that way. Kinda sloppy.
Is there a way to contact the old Karmann-Porsche factory ? I'm assuming this question probably has been asked before. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

Thanx for explaining the Fry's method! I learned something new!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Not with Karmann, even though VW has taken over the Karmann plant since the BK noted above, since the records will be with Porsche/PCNA now as microfilmed to digital of the original paper "Kardex" build record.

Here's what I'd suggest that you try...

Call PCNA Customer Care 800# & select the one for the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) & tell them that you're trying to straighten out your 914's true VIN & will then want to buy a COA - which you'd want to help you document out your 914's true VIN & then reregister it under that with DMV .... I'm assuming here!

They may want you to send pix of the Chassis # & of the Fry's method of the result (if you got that, or of the officer's documentation given to you).

So IF - and a BIG IF - if Hans or Franz or whomever did the Kardex at Karmann back in `69 or `70 when yours was built also happened to take the time to enter the Chassis # on the Kardex equating to your car/VIN -

.... then PCNA ~ IF they're in a cooperative mood (another big if) ~ can use the process of elimination which your asking here to go thru the 10 VINs to match the Chassis # - since only one will match a particular VIN.

Now PCNA is notoriously wrong on translating the option codes & just about anything else on the older Porsches of ALL models, & notoriously lazy in researching much of anything - or in correcting THEIR OWN ERRORS on your COA ~ even when you send them correcting information & documentation (personal experience unfortunately).

So you may have to go up the ladder to supervisors & managers ... & then may still hit a dead end "NO" (as I did) .... and then call or email their current GM of Customer Care to explain the problems & get some action - as I did & it worked!!

So patience, persistence, time, effort & pix & documentation MAY find you the answer - but they'll have to go beyond the lazy easy path, & then actually look at the photos (microfilm-to-digital) on their little computers to see if they can match the Chassis # to one of 10 VINs.

If you can narrow down any by using the VIN data base on here as SirAndy suggests above, then that can help your cause that at least you've tried at some time & expense to solve it for them.

BTW - I contacted the VW Museum in Germany & got a COA for our 88 Westfalia correct the first time at 1/2 the cost - while it took 1-1/2 years, many calls & emails & absolutely a-hole supervisors & managers of the COA/Customer (non-)Care dept. at PCNA for 2x the price to get 3 incomplete incorrect COAs (no 2.0L & wrong interior color due to mis-read code # by them) .... & got no help nor correct COA until I called therir Custome CAre GM personally - who did give me an apology, got the COA corrected & refunded my full fee! So they can sometimes figure out how to serve customers, although others have not been so fortunate in getting their COAs corrected, & I basically had to research & document all of the info. before they would change it anyway!

FYI - The Chassis # translates by first knowing which year it was built in - yours could be 8-12/69 or 1-7/70 (or process of elimination by the weeks counting out too late in the year), then get a calendar for that year to start counting weeks (which is what Wolfgang did for his post above)....

1239531

XXY95ZZ

XX = week of that year - start with week #1 even if only on 1/1
> & note what month that is in

Y = Day of Work Week 1-5 = M-F

95 = Karmann Plant (all 914/4 & -6)

ZZ = Car # built on that day

96 = Add 100 to above (97 = add 200)

Keep us posted as to how it goes!