Fiat VINs

[Dwight Varnes <xmxbreed@domain.elided>]

Vincent Gulley demanded to know:
>>1) how reliable are the fiat production figures?

   Not very. None of the Italian firms are known for their record keeping 
   skills.

>> 2) Are the VIN #  assigned sequentially or did they skip numbers?

   Should be sequential, though it may vary from year to year.

>> 3) The 1608cc engine is listed as a 125BC000 yet both of mine        read 125BC040 what is the significance of the 000 vs. 040 ?

    I dunno. Could indicate a different mold or a casting change in the 
evolution of the block, or could mean something else (see above, I dunno)

>> 4)  What is the spares number used for?

    I think the spares number came about as a more reliable way of 
dealing with the fact that bodies and engines were manufactured in two 
different places, and therefore the s/n's for them wouldn't be the same. 
This was to aid in the ordering of parts to narrow down when, exactly, 
the car was built in a production run to deal with a change during that 
time. Quite honestly, I've never been able to make sense out of the 
spares numbers in my many years behind the Fiat parts counter.

>> 5) can anyone translate the color codes?<<

    Yes. Fiat used to issue a chart and/or service bulletin listing the 
colors by their number. Older editions of paint manufacturer books will 
also do this. I used to have a color chart that went up to about 1974 but 
I think my evil ex-employer kept it and it's probably gone forever.

Dwight Varnes
1970 124 Spider
sig file coming soon!