Dash Vin and title match but protecto plate and engine code do not?

[Ralye]

Looking at a possible purchase...............
dash vin  124378L3055533
Title vin  124378L3055533
protecto plate 124378L305533   one less 5
engine stamp   11305533

Possible factory mess up or what?  Any info in anyones archives. 
Thanks for the help!
Ralye

[bertfam]

Before we can comment, we'll need to see a picture of the dash VIN. The chances are slim (but possible) it's a factory mistake. (They did make a few now and then!) There's only so much real estate on the blank.

Ed

[Ralye]

will have picture today I hope. 
Thanks

[69Z28-RS]

That's the sort of 'error' that I could easily attribute to factory personnel... (or to any of us humans for that matter!).

[Ralye]

here is a vin picture


(I rotated and cropped the pic to be easier to see - Kurt)

[bertfam]

Well, it's "factory" so that's good. Looks like the LA surfer dudes weren't paying attention!!

By the way, can you send me a picture of the trim tag, the POP and the engine pad? I'd like to add the car to the database. My email address is in my signature to the left.

Thanks
Ed

[KurtS]

I've seen 2 or 3 VIN misstamps, but none with extra digits. It's original, btw.

[sdkar]

I have to admit, that extra digit on the VIN plate is one of the coolest factory mistakes I have seen.  How did they not catch this?  So, I have to ask, what was the process for setting up and changing the VIN plate die?  I used to think it was like the bank rubber date stamps where they would spin the dial place of the digit and the next number would come to the front.  From what this mistake shows me, it appears the numbers are removed and replaced with the next die.  Here, the factory worker slid out the ...532, mistakenly removed only one of the 5's, left the other 5 on the press machine, then grabbed an extra 5 and slid it back in place along with the two 3's, and BANG, pressed out the VIN we see today.  The fact that it was never caught and made it out of the factory with the paperwork reflecting the mistake means that more than just one guy dropped the ball here.

I know that misstamped coins make for higer value and collectible status.  Wonder how this affects the value, it at all.  In the very least, cool story.  I will say, if I didn't see the photo of the VIN, I would question this person's eyesight and was sure he was not reading the VIN right.  However, seeing the actual VIN confirms it.  If I was buying this car and saw this VIN, I would shy away and assume someone was trying to pull a fast one.  I would also want to know where the other 2.5 million Camaros were.

[JohnZ]

I have to admit, that extra digit on the VIN plate is one of the coolest factory mistakes I have seen.  How did they not catch this?  So, I have to ask, what was the process for setting up and changing the VIN plate die?

There was no manual changing of individual character dies (like there was for the engine and transmission VIN derivative stamp gang-holders); the VIN plate was produced in a Graphotype machine, like a big typewriter. They normally have a mechanical character count limiting device, but it either didn't work or was over-ridden when this plate was created.

Very few people in the plant paid any attention to the VIN; what mattered to the Production System was the Sequence Number (top left corner of the Broadcast Copy).