[Chris R]

The cowl tag certainly looks as if the rivets have been changed. Door tag looks original.

 

[Ddawg07]

The entire VIN derviative on the firewall reads 7K and the last six numbers of the VIN, correct?

That is correct. The VIN stamped on the firewall is an exact match to the VIN on the inside of the door jamb.

My guess is with another post that someone swapped the Body Plate (trim tag) with a SS car trying to pass off a Malibu as an SS. Immoral but not illegal as long as the VIN isn't altered.

I didn't really think about the fact that someone may have taken the tag off of this car to use on another. I kept thinking of why would someone put a non SS tag on this car not the other way around. Thanks

 

[Ddawg07]

Hi
I am the one that was bidding on your car on e-bay and pointed the mis-match out to you. Seems like every time I bid on a car something weird happens. Sorry for the jinks. I did as you said and listed you under fav. so the relist will pop up. But why don't you give me a call before you relist it once you get it all worked out. By the way, was the title a 138 vin or 136. You asked why would some one change a vin:
1. Theft
2. A 138 is worth more than a 136.
3. Someone totaled thier car and thought they could use thier parts and go with a vin they had a title on using the old car as a body donor.

I'm sure you were in the blind about this and not pulling a fast one. If you were trying to pull something over on someone you would have listed it as an SS.
Call me Bill @ 928-300-6791

Thanks Bill. I actually probably had at least 30-40 people email me to point out the discrepancy.

We never even noticed that the two tags did not match until someone (you) emailed me via ebay to point it out. We also didn't know 138 denoted an SS (I'm a Pontiac guy ) until it was pointed out from people on ebay.

You would be surprised at how many people emailed "hinting" that we were trying to pull something with the auction. My feedback is 100% POSITIVE and I intend to keep it that way. Whats hilarious is (as you pointed out) NO WHERE in the auction did we ever mention the word "SS" or "Super Sport" because we didn't know that's what it was. Why would we try to deceive anyone on the auction by trying to sell an SS as a non-SS? If that were our plan, we're not very good at scamming since this would devalue the car. LOL! Some people don't get it.

We had about 70-80 inquiries about the car via ebay and about 50 people left their phone # or wanted us to call them about the cars. I work 7 days a week and my friend (who owns the cars) owns a nearby convenience store and he works 6 days a week 12-13 hours a day. Neither one of us really have the time to spend all day on the phone. However, since you are a member here and the members here have been very helpful, we'll give you a call when we get ready to relist it.

Thanks again for everyones help!

 

[70 Gold Nugget]

So this means that there is possibly a brown with brown interior fake SS with a fake VIN tag that is really a butternut yellow with turquoise interior Malibu running around out there somewhere??? If they could use some method to attach Ddawg's false cowl tag then one would assume they did this with the other car. Here is a theory...some immoral car dealer in 77 had two Velles an SS and a Malibu...he sold the SS via bill of sale minus its cowl tag as a SS...used the 'lifted' cowl tag on the other car to pawn it off as an SS as well???????????

Very strange at any rate...

 

[70 Gold Nugget]

Another theory perhaps someone was trying to make a butternut yellow SS but gave up when they realized how stupid they were...

 

[Ddawg07]

Good theory 70GN!

Also on another note; the bill of sale that we found dated in '77 was notarized RIGHT HERE IN OUR SMALL TOWN so that means that there is a good chance that all of this happened here and that that fake Yellow/Turquoise is probably nearby too.

We can actually trace the lineage of ownership back to the early 80's. All locals. I wish I had the time to try to contact each one and get back to the original owner. I bet your right though; that somewhere along the way I'll find a used car dealer in there somewhere. And if it's local too, I can just about bet that I know which dealer it would be.

This is actually getting kind of fun now. I feel like a detective. :beers:

 

[huffhuff]

VIN and cowl tags aren't supposed to match. They serve different purposes on a car.

the standard catalog for chevelles indicate that the cowl tag should ID the year and 4 or more symbols to ID the series and body style. so they should closely match.

 

[elcamino]

Here is something that a used car dealer around here has been doing. Those dealers are always looking for ways to make their cars more desirable.

The local Chevy parts counter tech told me this. he bought my used truck back in 1999. He said he sells these Z71 decals you see on Chevy trucks to a local used car dealer. He takes off the 4x4 stickers and adds the Z71 stickers to make the truck more desirable to younger drivers.

So never put anything past a used car dealer.

Another thing that always cross's my mind when I hear people talk about a car having low miles, is that back in the 60's and 70's it was common for used dealers to role back the odometer on many cars. I know someone who did this part time back then travelling to the various dealers and changing them.

 

[70 Gold Nugget]

The Chevelle Detectives...watching the detectives *singing like the PBS show*

My uncle just looked a used car recently that was offered as something like 71K original miles...he goes for a test drive and immediately realizes that the odometer doesn't work!!! 90% of used car dealers are snakes of the worst kind maybe even worse than lawyers...heck I can't imagine what a used car dealer's lawyer would be like

 

[65chevss]

The rivets on the cowl tag look kinda shady to me..Shouldn't the centers of the rivets be hollow??

 

[70 Gold Nugget]

You know something greed is really bad...I would love to have a real SS but I would take a Malibu any day and be a happy traveler...then I would clown it just because I like those SS badges ...heck I don't know if I would even bother with that...people really suck sometimes...

 

[Dean]

..............
Another thing that always cross's my mind when I hear people talk about a car having low miles, is that back in the 60's and 70's it was common for used dealers to role back the odometer on many cars. I know someone who did this part time back then travelling to the various dealers and changing them.

My best friend's brother-in-law (may he RIP) had used car lots for a few years before he became a professional "clock setter"
He was very good and fast at doing it and made a lot of money going around to car lots and rolling back several a day.
He also was the first person to ever go to prison for rolling back odometers.

I believe that years ago we were driving cars that the odometers had rolled over at least once or twice and didn't even realize it.

 

[billmaxwells]

Hey heres a new thought, maybe it was a bad day at the plant and they messed up at the plant. Like a double stamped 55 penny and you have the rarest SS in the world LOL. Call me when your ready to sell it and I'll solve the mistery on my end.

 

[DaleM]

You know something greed is really bad...I would love to have a real SS but I would take a Malibu any day and be a happy traveler...then I would clown it just because I like those SS badges ...heck I don't know if I would even bother with that...people really suck sometimes...

Clown? Guess that's why cannibals don't eat clowns - they taste funny. :yes:

 

[DaleM]

The rivets on the cowl tag look kinda shady to me..Shouldn't the centers of the rivets be hollow??

It's not unusual at all for the rivets to have body filler in them - not bondo but factory body filler. I'd be suspicious just because the body plate appears like it's not parallel with the body line on the firewall. May just be the angle of the photo...

 

[32551]

YOU GUYS ARE MEAN. BUT I LIKE IT. keepem honest fella's:noway:

 

[Ddawg07]

It's not unusual at all for the rivets to have body filler in them - not bondo but factory body filler. I'd be suspicious just because the body plate appears like it's not parallel with the body line on the firewall. May just be the angle of the photo...

No, it's not the photo. The body plate is at an angle. I noticed it when I took the picture but I didn't think much more about it. I guess that should have been my first clue that something was amiss.

 

[BigFred66]

Here's a thought......

Car is possibly the result of two "totaled" cars grafted together in a wrecking yard and sold sometime before 1977?
Probably closer to 1967!

 

[70 Gold Nugget]

Here's a thought......

Car is possibly the result of two "totaled" cars grafted together in a wrecking yard and sold sometime before 1977?
Probably closer to 1967!

I thought about that too...after my comment about changing the heater box #'s...you know that cowl is easy to replace for a real good bodyman...but then that butternut cowl tag hits me...why would they do that? It downgrades from the 138...did somebody in 74 change it to a Malibu because gas was expensive and hiper cars undesirable and all to common at the time? That could be a highly likely scenario some used car guys are totally stupid but very crafty...at any rate a good bodyman could look the car over and tell what has happened with the metal.

Some idiot has put that cowl tag on there for what reason I can't imagine other then he needed a 138 cowl tag...It smells like a car dealer trying to scam someone to me...and it could be a rebuilder car...I know of bodyshop/car dealer guys who buy rebuilders and pass them on...most of the time rebuilt fast and shoddy...scamming someone...but that is the height of stupidity to put a Malibu cowl tag on a 138 VIN car...:yes:

 

[wannarun70]

You Should Be Able To Pull Up That Tag Just Enough At The Top To See Any Other Holes Or Markings From Another Tag.