Re: Should GTV6 Engine Numbers Match the VIN?

[James Montebello <jamesm@domain.elided>]

On Thu, 1 Aug 2002, John Hertzman wrote:

> Yesterday Bob Brady asked: "I looked at an '86 GTV6 last weekend.  The owner
> claimed the engine was original, but the number stamped on it did not match
> the VIN.  Should it have?"
[...]
> would tend to assume that on a later car "matching numbers" meant that the
> original engine had been replaced by an unoriginal blank replacement block on
> which someone had stamped numbers copied from the VIN number on the ID tag.
> But that is my guess, and only that. Anybody?
>
> John H.

I've always assumed that "matching numbers" meant the number stamped on
the block matched the engine number stamped on the build plate (i.e.,
original engine).  I'd never even considered the idea that the chassis
number should match the engine number, although (as usual) John gave a
great account of why they would have at one time.

Certainly, for the collectors of American Iron, a factory build sheet is
a common item, so the numbers on that sheet should "match" the numbers
on the car, but not necessarily each other.  So you know you really have
an example of the "rare" (only 10,000 made!) XYZZY option'd ThunderBunny.

james montebello
'84 gtv6
'78 sprint veloce (in an hour or so)
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