I am just getting round to registering the car over here in the UK now the restoration is complete
I have the certificate of title but cant find the date of original registration, is there a way of establishing this please?

Oof! That’s going to be difficult. You’d have to know in which State (assuming it was in the US) and begin with that Dept of Motor Vehicles, and even then they probably won’t have data that far back.

It’s not a required piece of data here, so no one is asking that question.

Is it critical to get it exactly right? What if you take the manufacture month/year from the door jam sticker, add three months and call it good?

Good luck!

I might have to be creative, the certificate of title says 1975, the door jam sticker says 73 I think, Ill have to take a closer look / a photo for interpretation

thank you

The door jam sticker
How is the date interpreted from this pleaseClick to view attachment

@dt4 That is the Compliance sticker which is required in the USA for registration. It shows the date of manufacture of the car in the upper right corner, 11/73 on that particular sticker. Of course then it has to get put on a boat and sent to the USA and get transported to a dealership and then sold. It was not uncommon for 914 models to sit for months and months at dealerships awaiting purchase by someone.

If you could narrow it down with any kind of paperwork you might find in the car to a specific state in the USA you could contact their Department of Motor Vehicles, (responsible for registering all cars on their roads) and see what they show for first registration. But that may be a long shot.

You might get lucky by posting the VIN, (the long number on that sticker or the metal ID tag along the A-pillar) here and pictures of the car and see if anyone remembers the car.

In the sticker posted there is something not right. The manufacture date appears to be in 11/73 and the year model, according the the VIN is a '75. So the VIN is easily verified by the metal plates and stampings on the chassis. The manufacture date has likely been messed with.

The Karmann ID tag will tell you the date of production for your car.
Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

From what I am reading online, you probably don't need that information to get an MOT.

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/exempti...ehicle-approval

A 914 would fall into the exception category.

Do you already have the number tag? If so, then just schedule your MOT.


Good luck!

Clay

That's a weird one 11/73 would be a 1974 model year, with the amount of differences between a 74 and a 75 it should be not too difficult to see which set of numbers is incorrect.

Hi clay
I can put the car in for the MOT once I sort out my rear light issues, I am trying to get an auto electrician out to figure it out
I need the date of registration for the paperwork and to get an age related license plate
If I don’t submit everything needed they either reject the application or issue a Q plate which is NOT what any body other than kit cars has on their car

The VIN is in the photo and stacks up with the door jam and the plates in the front of the car and title

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Based on the pictures, I would bet that the emissions sticker was punched with the build date in error. We have people on here that make replacement sitckers, I would get one with the proper build date and replace it.

That vin is in the data base, entered by @chi-town he put down the build date as 10/75, but shouldn't it have a 76 vin then?
Edit: I bet he just took it from the chassis number and got the year wrong, so it should be 10/74?

It's possible that the Compliance Sticker should have been 11/74 instead of 11/73. The VIN indicates an early production 1975 model year so the 10/74 build date from a previous owner also makes sense. Maybe the the stamping mechanism for the sticker was off one digit for both the month and year of manufacture.

Unless you are required to submit further documentation for the initial registration date I would be creative and just pick an appropriate date and submit the application. Let them prove it's accuracy.

I am inclined to go with 01/01/1975 and then if necessary can provide the Karmann plate photo for build date and title has the year as 1975

I would be inclined to go with the production date from deciphering the Karmann tag as that is the date the car left the factory. As was already said, it would have been registered some months later but that gives you a solid and provable date to show the car is vintage. It will also verify if your compliance sticker was punched wrong.

FYI, there are 4 places the VIN number would appear. In addition to the two you have shared, there is also the plate riveted inside the front trunk and also stamped into the chassis on the right front wheel well inside the front trunk. https://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/PLM.htm

thanks, I have checked them all and they coralate

wouldnt the numbers on the plate equate to week 40 day day 1 number chassis 77 and 1975?

Mines kinda messed up like that way,the government says its a 73 but it had an emission sticker in the engine space that indicated 74 model ,it was not registered until 75 as it was a special private import to my country.
Our system is fairly similar to the UK as far as I know,however cars with no previous history are deemed parts cars only as some folks have found out.

The date on the Compliance decal is 11-73, and means November 1973.
However, that has to be an error; about the third error I know of with these compliance decals for a 914/4.
In the range from 4752901769 to 4752904204 all have decal dates of 10/74
It is possible that the chassis was delayed for some time and was actually completed in November. They may have needed to make up a special decal for it and made an error with the date. 4752902561 is very obviously a 1975 model year car, so a 1973 production date is totally out of the question. Just accept that the month is correct and go on from there.
The actual date of first registration is either known from paperwork included with the car, or has been lost forever.
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
here is one of the other errors at the same time
Click to view attachment

@davep

would the numbers on the plate equate to week 40 day day 1 number chassis 77 and 1975

the numbers on the plate equate to Year 1974 week 40 day day 1 number chassis 77
This was just after the Karmann body # morphed from WWD95xx to WWD90xx
There should be a black tag in the front trunk with the Karmann # as well. Photo?

What is very strange is the paint code. It should read L97A if the paint was originally diamond silver metallic. The -9-3 I have only seen on the 911's of the period.
Click to view attachment

I thought the car was originally red, then a Pontiac (possibly) metallic green
A coat of protective primer was over the whole lot when I received it, I took it back to metal and repainted in Zambesi

so build date of 1974 and registered in 1975
Ill record it as 01/01/75 and see what happens

so according to google it was built on the 30th September 1974