[RPbama67]

I just purchased a 66 Chevelle and it is supposedly an SS. The problem is the cowl tag and vin plate both indicate an SS but the unit numbers aren't the same. The cowl tag #'s are 13817 ATL 16904 and the VIN is 138176A178605. Both say it's a 2 door coupe SS and was built in Atlanta. So all indications are it's an SS but i'm wondering if either the cowl tag or the vin plate or possibly both have been altered. The car needs a complete restoration and I bought it cheap enough it won't hurt me if it's a malibu but I'm just curious in case I ever want to sale the car as to what I actually have. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[baron]

Hi Rodney and welcome if you could post a picture of the tags the guys here will be able to tell you if they have been altered almost a guarantee.

 

[Bryan59EC]

Body number and VIN will not match
13817 will be on both tags---but the similarities end there

 

[Mike]

VIN tag and cowl tag are 2 different things and don't match.
The VIN is just that and the cowl tag is the Fisher Body Number plate.
Your 16904 on the cowl (Fisher) tag is the sequence # of the body.
The 178605 on the VIN tag is the sequence # of the vehicle.
The 138176A178605 decodes to
1 - Chevrolet
38 - SS396, 8-cylinder
17 - 2-door sport coupe
6 - 1966
A -Atlanta assembly plant
178605 - vehicle sequence #

 

[RPbama67]

Thanks so much for the info!