body and interior Vin # On Passenger Side Inner Fender

[schoir]

Is the VIN # that is stamped into the rear of the top surface of the passenger side inner fender just stamped into the primer or is it stamped into the metal itself?

 

It looks to me as though it's stamped into the metal, but I'm not 100% sure.  I'm grinding all of the paint and primer off the inner fenders presently and don't want to mess up/damage the VIN #.

 

Also, since the little rectangular area into which the VIN # is stamped is not the color of the paint on the car (Agave, in my case), is it the same color primer for all of the 2002's or did they vary the color of the primer depending on the year of production, etc...

 

The primer in that area on my car looks like it's turned to a brownish grey, but I seem to remember when I bought the car and looking at it over the years that it may have been originally a medium to light grey.

 

Regards, Maurice.

[LimeySteve]

Yes it's stamped into the metal , mask off the area & paint stripper will reveal a pristine stamp

[Buckeye]

It seems to me that the VIN # was stamped after primer was applied and then was masked prior to paint. Can follow up with picture this evening.

[peterschop]

The number is stamped into the metal. All the paint has been stripped off my vin plate and the only thing left is the stamped number.

[Conserv]

I believe that what you see on an un-touched example is the car body's primer. The colors seem to vary from year to year and maybe even from car to car -- different batches of primer -- but most that I have looked at tend to be shades of gray or greenish-gray (maybe I've seen some brownish ones). The VIN stamps below are from my April '76 car (top) and my October '72 car.

The VIN stamped into the right-side inner fender is really the "biggie," the chassis stamp. It is intended to endure and be more tamper-resistant than the stamped and riveted plates on the right-inner fender and steering column, and the printed and adhered label on the trailing edge of the left door. The chassis stamp's location was likely planned so it would not be easily lost due to collision repair: if you need to replace the inner fender at the cowl, chances are the car is going to the crusher, like my '70 below. By contrast, when several batches of '76 cars were produced without the stamped and riveted plate on the right-side inner fender -- my '76 is among these -- no one cared!

Regards,

Steve

Edited November 4, 2014 by Conserv

[peterschop]

Oh, that one. Looks like it was stamped into the fender and then primmer applied. My '74 is a brownish color.

[schoir]

Thanks all for clearing that up for me.

 

Steve:  Thanks for taking the time to post the photos and for the cogent explanation.

 

Regards, Maurice.

[Mike Self]

Based on my two roundies, both of which had original paint when I got 'em, it appears that the factory stamped the VIN into the body sheet metal before any paint was applied; then the body was primered.  Before the final paint was applied, a piece of masking tape or some sort of shield was placed over the numbers and then the color coats were applied.  Primer was grey on both the 69 and the 73.

 

When the factory did it, there was evidence of a little bleed-over around the edges as you would find if it were hastily-applied masking tape.

 

cheers

mike

[schoir]

Thanks for the further clarification.  Much appreciated!

 

Regards, Maurice.

[motomoto]

Man Steve, that is some serious front end modification! What the heck happened, and I suppose u were ok?

[Conserv]

Man Steve, that is some serious front end modification! What the heck happened, and I suppose u were ok?

Thanks. I had my harness on and, most fortunately, no passengers!

That was how I learned about trailing throttle oversteer. Never lift, never lift!

Regards,

Steve