vin nr and reg doc

[storm99]

I recently bought what i thought and what is described on the reg doc as a 1987 2.5N/A diesel 90 hardtop. However after checking the VIN nr on various sites it should be a 1983/4 2.5 TD if that chassis nr is correct.

I have found the chassis nr stamped onto the front side of the spring mount/chassis and sure enough it corresponds to a 1983/4 TD.

Now i can understand that the engine may have been changed from a turbo to a N/A however i have no idea why the reg doc says 1987 as this doesnt make any sense...

If i now inform the DVLA that its a 1983/4 i will have bought something (private) that is 4 years older than i realised and consequently the price will be affected a little...however if i dont tell them the new buyer will have the same problem..

Any ideas what to do and whats happened here??? Thanks, Mark

[Andy_LR90]

Just checked mine on the new 90 and I find the same, got a A (1984) for model year in the VIN code but on a 1986 vehicle. Is there a batch with replaced older chassis? interested to see if anyone here knows.

[101sean]

You sure you've got that right, there was no TD in 83/84.

[Matt Neale]

I recently bought what i thought and what is described on the reg doc as a 1987 2.5N/A diesel 90 hardtop. However after checking the VIN nr on various sites it should be a 1983/4 2.5 TD if that chassis nr is correct.

I have found the chassis nr stamped onto the front side of the spring mount/chassis and sure enough it corresponds to a 1983/4 TD.

Now i can understand that the engine may have been changed from a turbo to a N/A however i have no idea why the reg doc says 1987 as this doesnt make any sense...

If i now inform the DVLA that its a 1983/4 i will have bought something (private) that is 4 years older than i realised and consequently the price will be affected a little...however if i dont tell them the new buyer will have the same problem..

Any ideas what to do and whats happened here??? Thanks, Mark

Be careful with decoding the VIN. Model year codes (position 10) of the VIN weren't used on 90/110 models up until about 1987 - prior to that it would simply denote the model as "A" - Land Rover 90 & 110.

There weren't any TD engines in 1983/84.

PM me the full VIN and engine number and I'll cross check it for you.

Question though;

Does the VIN on the vehicle (both on the VIN plate under the bonnet, and the stamped number on the chassis) match with the V5? Do the numbers in both locations look original and genuine?

Matt

[sgnas]

There weren't any TD engines in 1983/84.

Matt

Errrr. were there any 90s in 83/84?

110s were around for a year or so before the 90s came out

[Orgasmic Farmer]

Just be warned that if you tell the DVLA without first working out what has gone on they may well demand an SVA test to determine whetrher the truck has been built from parts of different vehicles. If this is so then it is likely that they will determine that its true age is uncertain and you will be issued with a Q plate. If the chassis number is from a vehicle that is NOT the same as that shown on the V5 then a Q plate is near certainty (unless you buy a brand new chassis and fit that!)...

Just beware, its a minefield and its getting worse.

[western]

As the reg plate is a D year letter that makes it first registered in 1986/87, my cousin used to have a D reg 90TC with a 2.5TD engine, which would tie in with your 90's spec as per the VIN info we found last night.

[western]

Just checked mine on the new 90 and I find the same, got a A (1984) for model year in the VIN code but on a 1986 vehicle. Is there a batch with replaced older chassis? interested to see if anyone here knows.

I'm thinking LR made these chassis & allocated serial numbers & then stockpiled them until 90 production started, so the chassis shows a earlier serial number but was built later.

[Matt Neale]

Errrr. were there any 90s in 83/84?

110s were around for a year or so before the 90s came out

Re-read my post. There weren't any 90's in 1983/4, you're right. I didn't imply that there were - The "year code" wasn't used until later in the production run, so that character position in the VIN simply denoted 90/110 models - (as in, it covered BOTH models using the same single letter code) - It didn't denote a model year.

Without knowing what the VIN in question is, it's difficult to say more.

Educated guess though is that it's an "A" in the model year position = 90 or 110.

Matt

[western]

Re-read my post. There weren't any 90's in 1983/4, you're right. I didn't imply that there were - The "year code" wasn't used until later in the production run, so that character position in the VIN simply denoted 90/110 models - (as in, it covered BOTH models using the same single letter code) - It didn't denote a model year.

Without knowing what the VIN in question is, it's difficult to say more.

Educated guess though is that it's an "A" in the model year position = 90 or 110.

Matt

It's SALLDVAB7AA****** last 6 are numbers but not shown here so as to protect storm99's vehicle. not having the A denoting the year of build would explain a lot, so in that case I'd say it is a genuine 1987 reg vehicle with nothing to worry about.

[sgnas]

Could have made it clearer myself.

TDs were not available in 83/84 and neither were 90s

If the V5 and the physical vehicle all match up the balance of probability is that the vehicle is "pukka" and the vin decoder is not 100% accurate for all production.

[storm99]

Could have made it clearer myself.

TDs were not available in 83/84 and neither were 90s

If the V5 and the physical vehicle all match up the balance of probability is that the vehicle is "pukka" and the vin decoder is not 100% accurate for all production.

thanks for the replies folks, only have internet at work at night so hence the delay.

I'm aware there was no turbo diesel in 1983/4 , i am coming to the conclusion that the vehicle has just had a N/A engine thrown in at some point as the turbo motor wasnt so reliable, maybe it gave up and the owner didnt trust putting a new one in.

As for the chassis, the numbers look original and all match up with VIN plates, stamped on chassis, reg doc etc. I am now guessing that the vehicle, whilst MADE in 1983/4 was 1st REGISTERED in 1987. May have been on a farm or something before. I live in denmark and today re-registered it here, MOT'D it etc, no-one has done a check on the numbers apart from making sure they all are the same as on reg doc so i'm going to let it stand there, whilst i have had to pay a little more in import duty as a 1987 than i would if it was 1983/4 im willing to take that chance as when i sell it i will get a few hundred quid more for a 21 year old car than if it was 25 years old.

Anyway, thanks for the help....i was a bit puzzled but im not going to lose any sleep over it now that im registered, insured and driving.

Yippee kai ay

[western]

good to read you got a satisfactory result from the vehicle authorities over there.

[101sean]

Wouldn't count on getting any extra for it for being a bit newer, it's condition that matters at that age.

[Jason2]

This is good for sorting vin N°'s out

http://www.lrfaq.org/FAQ.3.Chassis_Numbers.html