1968L (?) with 911S VIN?

[redducati750]

I have a 68 with vin number 11805356 but the aluminum tag under the hood says "911L". My book is showing it as an S, any ideas?

[EARLY911ZOO]

its an "L"
VIN for S is 11800xxx for coupe and 11850xxx for Targas

see this http://www.elferhelfer.com/fzident/fzident68.htm

[redducati750]

Thats odd, im not showing any model other than an S with the fourth digit in the VIN as a "0".

[jaudette3]

As I mentioned in a recent post, I find the VINs and production numbers listed in the Red Book to be confusing. It identifies a 0 in the fourth position of the VIN as an S Coupe. This is how I understand the coding:

First two numbers: 11 = 911
Third number: 8 = 1968
Fourth number:
0 = S Coupe
1 = 911 Coupe
3 = U.S. 911 Coupe
5 = S Targa
6 = L Targa
7 = T Targa
8 = U.S. Targa
Fifth, sixth, seventh & eighth numbers = serial number

However, in the chart of production numbers there is a conflict with this numbering scheme: 11805001 is listed as a U.S. 911L Coupe, which would apply to your VIN of 11805356. But the 0 in the fourth position should indicate an S Coupe.

That same line has another mystery. It shows a range from 11805001 to 118055449 which, with nine digits, contradicts the VIN format of 8 digits. This would throw the calculation of production numbers way off if incorrect.

Is there a way to dig more deeply into the 1968 VIN's and production numbers? I'm not sure what source Paternie used for his great reference, but there appear to be some discrepencies.

John Audette

[davep]

This is my VIN list for 1968
11880001 11880268 USA 911 Targa
11835001 11835742 USA 911 Coupe K
11830001 11830473 USA 911 Coupe
11855001 11855134 USA 911L Targa
11805001 11805449 USA 911L Coupe
11820001 11820928 ROW 911T Coupe
11825001 11825683 ROW 911T Coupe K
11870001 11870521 ROW 911T Targa
11810001 11810720 ROW 911L Coupe
11860001 11860307 ROW 911L Targa
11800001 11801267 ROW 911S Coupe
11850001 11850442 ROW 911S Targa
11899001 11899020 911R Coupe

[rgrimm]

Well, Davep's list works for me!

But I know what you mean. Some of the lists are just "misleading" to put it mildly. Using one of them, I once asked my wrench if it was possible I had an S. The look on his face was something else !

[jaudette3]

Great info, Dave. This differs from the Red Book listing:

Red Book:
11855001 11865134 USA 911L Targa
Dave:
11855001 11855134 USA 911L Targa

The 6 in the 4th position appears to be a typo in the Red Book. Their version would indicated 5,134 USA 911L SWT's and Dave's version indicates 134.

Red Book:
11805001 118055449 USA 911L Coupe
Dave:
11805001 11805449 USA 911L Coupe

There appears to be an extra 5 in the Red Book. If you calculate the production according their VIN series it comes to 50,449, even though they show a figure of 5,449 which is probably correct.

John Audette

[davep]

Thanks. I've put a lot of effort into working out the correct VIN ranges for the cars, and the serial ranges for the engines and transmissions. There is so much bad or misleading info out on the web.