Body Panel Vin Stamping 1965 1966 911

[bonzer5]

Hi Porsche Friends,

I've been trying to locate the body panel vin stamps (3 digit ending numbers of the vin) stamping found on the very early 911 fenders. I've read here that they are stamped, but I cannot find any on my pair. 4 screw horn grills ought to have them eh? I figured a nice list of these stamped locations would be helpful for all in the never-ending quest for correctness.

- Dash Board = Full vin stamped underneath dashboard knee pad below radio (all early 911 cars have this particular stamp)
- Both doors = stamped near door release lever, under interior side panel
- Engine Lid = stamped top side on centered post below grille
- Fenders =
- Hood?
- Anything else?

Thanks dudes!

[fryardds]

Isn't the last 3 digits of the VIN stamped on the inside of the headlight bucket? Remove the headlight and check it out.

[bonzer5]

Isn't the last 3 digits of the VIN stamped on the inside of the headlight bucket? Remove the headlight and check it out.

Thanks Brian. You're the man! A quick search confirms the location in the headlight bucket. I'll have a gander. Take care!

[John Straub]

There should be one stamped on the hood under one of the front hinges.

John

[Bradford]

Hi Porsche Friends,

I've been trying to locate the body panel vin stamps (3 digit ending numbers of the vin) stamping found on the very early 911 fenders. I've read here that they are stamped, but I cannot find any on my pair. 4 screw horn grills ought to have them eh? I figured a nice list of these stamped locations would be helpful for all in the never-ending quest for correctness.

Thanks dudes!

I was in the same position as you when I bought my early 66' last year. I stripped the paint off the headlight bucket area of my original fenders and there were no stamped #'s. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong but here is what I read somewhere regarding the stamped headlight buckets. When the fenders were originally fit to each car, some required additional work to get proper fitment. If the fender had to be custom fit to a particular car, then the buckets were stamped with last 3 digits of the VIN. This is because the fenders were then removed before paint and they wanted to ensure that the correct fender went on the correct car. Fenders that were not stamped fit properly without any additional work.

[LiveFromNY]

I was in the same position as you when I bought my early 66' last year. I stripped the paint off the headlight bucket area of my original fenders and there were no stamped #'s. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong but here is what I read somewhere regarding the stamped headlight buckets. When the fenders were originally fit to each car, some required additional work to get proper fitment. If the fender had to be custom fit to a particular car, then the buckets were stamped with last 3 digits of the VIN. This is because the fenders were then removed before paint and they wanted to ensure that the correct fender went on the correct car. Fenders that were not stamped fit properly without any additional work.

I was given similar information years ago by someone I respect.

[mrgreenjeans]

And, I have also heard the same dating back to the early 70's time frame.

( during my southern CA. days and watching Speedsters and early 911's droning down freeways with open exhausts. I took on as many as I could with my Datsun coupe, and usually got lost in the fray )

[NorthernThrux]

But wouldn't you have to stamp even the "good" fenders so you knew which cars to put them back onto ? Good fenders (or doors for that matter) probably only occurred when the planets aligned. A set of fenders that was good on one car would not necessarily be good on another car. So all the fenders would need a stamp in my mind. Don't see how it could be any other way.

The idea of tagging the fenders and doors to a chassis makes sense in those hand made days. But it only makes sense if every part got tagged since they were clearly not interchangeable without some hammering or bending.

Ravi

[LiveFromNY]

But wouldn't you have to stamp even the "good" fenders so you knew which cars to put them back onto ? Good fenders (or doors for that matter) probably only occurred when the planets aligned.

Not really. I've moved a lot of these fenders and doors around. You'd be surprised how good the fit is most of the time.

[Harvey Weidman]

I was told the main reason for the stamping was to keep the parts with the car they were fitted to WHEN they were running a load of the same paint color. (as was the normal way)...It stands to reason that you would not need to stamp a fender from a car that was running through the paint color alone?
It would be interesting to see how many "odd" color cars had stamps....that would settle that theory.
Every Light Ivory and Polo Red car that I have worked on had numbers.....
BTW early fenders couldn't be moved because they were "pinned" and they do not just bolt on as LWB fenders do...
H