[borgward]

Where is the hidden VIN number located on 3rd gen Escorts? Not talking about the one that you can see through the windshield.

I heard about these when a guy bought a vintage Corvette from out of state. When he tried to register it the authorities saw that the regular VIN and the hidden one did not match and proceeded to impound the car to have it destroyed. He is suing the state to keep it. Personally I think he should be suing the person he bought it from.

 

[Gamer92]

Might be on the sticker on the driver ride door or on door jamb

 

[borgward]

Supposed to be stamped in metal somewhere not casually seen. A sticker could be lifted or counterfeited.

 

[pextor]

There are stickers on every body panel. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s stamped somewhere, but you probably have to disassemble the car to find it. I’m thinking it’s on the frame rail under the fender.

 

[borgward]

Some where stamped for sure. They started doing this long before everything was stickered.

 

[marclar]

should be stamped or rivited to the body behind the front and rear bumpers, also the cowel, door panel and iirc somewhere on the firewall.

 

[Joey_Twowagons]

I'd like a link to the Corvette story.

 

[TracerLTS/GT]

I’ve disassembled an entire second gen hatch and can confirm I only found the vin on the door jam sticker and dash trim piece. Pretty sure it’s the same on a third gen. These aren’t high end cars.

 

[borgward]

Kansas Highway Patrol Seizes 1959 Corvette from 'Innocent Owner' and Now Wants to Destroy It - Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle

A 1959 Corvette seized from a new owner who has been deemed innocent could be slated for destruction based on Kansas civil asset forfeiture laws.

www.corvetteblogger.com

Other Links:

confidential VIN : Vintage Car Law

www.vintageautomotive.net

https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/16541/what-is-a-confidential-vehicle-identification-number

Supposedly there is a Hidden VIN location database. Probably so because Broderick Crawford is not going to get dirty trying to find the different location for every kind of car.

 

[marclar]

I’ve disassembled an entire second gen hatch and can confirm I only found the vin on the door jam sticker and dash trim piece. Pretty sure it’s the same on a third gen. These aren’t high end cars.

on a 2g I'm 100% sure there are vin tags attached to the front bumper supports behind the plastic facia. almost certain on the rear too.

 

[Mark Eric Roth]

Our first Escort was a '96 former Enterprise rental car. The S/N was stamped on every door, the hatch, bottom of the hood and etched into every piece of glass and probably a bunch of places I couldn't see. Just saying.

 

[borgward]

Probably on places you could not see, They would be looking for numbers on things not removable like frame members or unibody sections.

 

[Joey_Twowagons]

Maybe rental cars have more pieces marked as part of the fleet order.

 

[Mark Eric Roth]

Correct. Enterprise does this to track parts from stolen cars and they order enough cars that Ford will do this for them. The down side of fleet cars (keep in mind Mr. White is also a fleet car) is the "special order paint" jobs they can get where certain parts of the car are not painted.

 

[borgward]

certain parts of the car are not painted.

Please explain. Never seen a rental car with unpainted parts.

 

[Joey_Twowagons]

I'll guess it's things like radiator supports, bumper brackets etc that aren't visible from the outside.

 

[Mark Eric Roth]

In Mr. Whites case, the hatch jam is very lightly painted and the body under the front fenders and toward center of the floors is not painted at all. In the case of our 1st Escort (the Enterprise car) the spare tire well was not painted, the engine compartment and hatch were given the 'light' treatment. If it weren't for our hatchbacks I would never known any different.

 

[jcwagon]

like Boris, in Romanian wants to know so he can change number on car he bought on the dock out of container, very good deal.
VIN number stamped on the chassis

 

[Mark Eric Roth]

I just had a stupid thought, Could it be that they are looking at the production tag that tells the assembly line workers what equipment to install on the car? On Escorts it dangles behind the front bumper from a wire tied behind the left headlight. On my '56 it was tied to the hood hinge. My son collected the things. It has the whole production code stamped onto it. Stupid because it does not take more than a pair of fingers to remove it.