Hi Mark, et al,
Every car in our era has a "hidden" or "secret" number somewhere
on the car. They are there so that law enforcement agencies and
insurance companies can deal with stolen vehicles where the VIN
tag has been changed, altered, or removed.
On your '57 DeSoto, as well as '57 Chryslers, this duplicate
number is stamped into the right side frame rail ahead of the
rear wheel well, between the body mounts. It may be on the side
of the frame rail or it may be on top of the rail (in which
case, it is supposed to be viewable with a mirror - good luck).
Hidden / secret numbers have also been helpful in uncovering
restoration frauds - typically where convertibles have been
"built" using cut-down hardtop body shells.
It would be extremely beneficial for an organization such as
this e-club to compile a list of all the hidden / secret number
locations on our cars. Mark's situation is not uncommon - many
of the door post tags simply fell off from rusting of the two
minimal spot welds holding them. If a memeber were considering
purchase of a high dollar restored convertible or rare model, he
could refer to this club's list and verify that the body and
frame have always been together. A far better alternative than
finding out later the car is bogus or been in a horrific wreck
where the frame was replaced.
Other restorer clubs do this. Ask a Corvette owner restorer
about numbers!
What do you other members think? A forwardlook web page of year
/ model / hidden number locations could be a great resource.
I can absolutely verify the location (or locations - some models
have two) for '57 Chrysler + DeSoto, and '60 Chrysler. Other
contributors???
Wayne Graefen
----- Original Message -----
From: MARK J HASH
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2000 11:06 PM
Subject: VIN location`
This weekend I obtained a '57 De Soto Fireflite Sportsman 4 door
hardtop. Unfortunately, someone has removed the VIN tag from
the inside door post. Is the VIN number also listed on the
options tag located on the firewall of the car? Is there a VIN
number somewhere on the frame? If so, where? I'm more of a
Plymouth fan, so can someone give me a sample of a '57 De Soto
VIN number so I know what to look for?
Thanks,
Mark mjh
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