I recently purchased a 1972 malibu two door coupe. The VIN Number begins with the characters 1D3U. I have reviewed this cite and others and have learned that the third and forth characters denote the model of the car. I have not found any reference which denotes a 3U in the VIN. I have seen 36, 37, etc. but not a 3U. Does anyone know what the 3U stands for? Any help would be appreciated.

1D3U

1 - Chevrolet Division of GM
D - Chevelle Malibu, Chevelle Concours or El Camino Custom
3U - DOES NOT EXIST , you must have misread this. Should 36 for a 2 dr hardtop..

If this is from some paperwork, then its a typo. Look at the legal VIN on top of dash at base of windshield, drivers side, seen through glass.

Thanks for the info. The ID3U appears on the title of the car issued by the State. I'll check the actual VIN on the car.

1972 was the first year the coding of the Chevelle VIN differed from the 64-71 Chevelles due to the inclusion of the engine size in the 1972 VIN. Hence, on earlier VINs you'll see something like 13637 for a V8 Malibu 2-dr sport coupe but the 72 would read 1D37 (then a letter for the engine size) like U for a 402-4bbl. See here (http://www.chevellestuff.com/72velle/trim_tag_decoding.htm) for help with 72 VINs. Remember though, the body tag (on the firewall) did not change from previous years and would still show a 13637 body.