I recently purchased an advertised 1971 Chevelle SS on Ebay that has serious issues. Can anyone help me decode the VIN number? It's 136371R143449.

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Brian

Thanks

1 = Chevrolet
36 = Malibu w/V8
37 = 2-door sport coupe
1 = 1971
R = Arlington, TX assembly plant
143449 = sequential production number

Thanks for the information. How do I prove this to the seller of the car?
Is something offical I can show them? The car was sold as a 1971 Chevelle SS.
Thanks again for the info

Thanks for the information. How do I prove this to the seller of the car?
Is something offical I can show them? The car was sold as a 1971 Chevelle SS.
Thanks again for the info

It might be an SS. The VIN doesn't tell you if it is or not. Only that it started life as a 2 door with a V8, which is how an SS would start life.
What makes you think it's not an SS?

The car has a ton of problems so we started disecting her and have become very concerned about every aspect of the car. There is a old transmission linkage that appears to have been used for a colum shift at some point. The current transmission is the correct one. But why the linkage hanging?
I went to a couple of sites one being Chevellestuff.com and it shows the car is a 1971 Malibu. The calls I have made to supposed experts say you can't tell without the build sheet. But these web sites break the vin down and say it's a Malibu. So I don't know what to think.

A 71 SS has the exact same VIN numbers as a non SS.

http://www.chevelles.com/shop/ss_ident.html

Thats a beautiful car Dean.
Understand the SS cannot be determined by the vin. How do I verify it wasnt originally a Malibu?

Thanks :thumbsup:

There is NO WAY to verify without a build sheet or some form of documentation.

http://www.chevelles.com/shop/ss_ident.html

Are you sure that the linkage that is hanging is not the reverse lock out rod that attaches to the manual transmission?

Thats a beautiful car Dean.
Understand the SS cannot be determined by the vin. How do I verify it wasnt originally a Malibu?

In 1971, the SS option was only available on the Malibu hardtop, Malibu convertible, and Malibu-based Custom El Camino - the VIN on all start with 136xx. Hence, all 1971 SS optioned Chevelles are Malibus. The 1971 model year also saw the introduction of the 350 small block engine (350-2bbl and 350-4bbl) availability with the SS option. :)

an SS could have come with a column shift also.

yeah its attatched to the steering colum and the car is now a console shift

A console shift car still has the linkage to the steering coumn to lock the shifter when the key is out. Look on the column down where it meets the dash to see if there is a place to put the column shift lever in.

When we replace the camaro steering wheel we will take a look at that. There has been a new sleeve put over the steering colum.
Thanks for the information.