VIN/Chassis Number Mystery

boogie74 · 06-18-09, 08:58 PM

Does anyone know where I can find the chassis number on my BJ74? I thought it was stamped on the chassis @ the driver side (RHD) wheel well.
Nothing there

Also wouldn't the ID plate on the firewall start with BJ74.
Mine starts with BJ70

It is a mwb/frp top cruiser. 13b-t engine but these numbers are doing my head in. I need to find the chassis number but cant find it and that has me worried.

Cheers.

roscoFJ73 · 06-18-09, 10:43 PM

The chassis numbers on both my rigs are on the RH frame rail,about 250mm behind the shock absorber.
Both of them start with the correct series code (FJ73 and HZJ75)

Is yours a JDM?

boogie74 · 06-18-09, 11:19 PM

Hi Rosco,

Mine is JDM. It has the firewall plate and where i reckon there should be the chassis stamp there is nothing.

Is this a JDM thing?

When I type my VIN into EPC I get a BJ70 come up. MWB and FRP was never BJ70 tho.

Dieseler · 06-18-09, 11:23 PM

You may have to wire wheel the frame to located the number JDMs often heavily spray the frames before they sell them overseas which makes it hard to locate usually they mark the area with a yellow pencil when shipping to help verify the vehicle.
If the numbers are ground off I would suggest stamping the serial numbers back on the frame to match the VIN plate or you may have problems with registering,insuring or selling the vehicle.

Koffer · 06-19-09, 05:48 AM

The only other thing is if it was a new OEM replacement frame there will be no #s stamped into it . I have one here for my BJ70 that I ordered from Toyota some time ago and there is no #s
To check to see if the truck was reVINed look at some of the other stuff on the tag to see if it matches up with what you have . A JDM truck will have less #s in the vin then a NA unit also do the trans and color codes match with your truck ?
just some thoughts to try

rick_d · 06-19-09, 07:15 AM

dude, that is not a toyota vin plate.

as rosco said, there is a raised boss aft of the shock tower on the frame which is the normal place for the frame number.

to determine approx age you should tell us what color your engine block is (orange or blue), look at the part number on the tool/jack door cover, and a handful of other minor details can nail down within a few months what the production is. It operates on the roadway as the vin shown on the firewall and leave it at that.

for parts, you will have to fabricate a number to order off of....

Koffer · 06-19-09, 07:26 AM

like rick says that tag looks homemade

heres the one on my rig and heres the the pix of what the frame # area should look like .

boogie74 · 06-19-09, 07:37 AM

I did a REVS check and it is registered to me and no stolen history or anything.

The raised boss has nothing on it.

Its a red block engine.

Would it have a new VIN plate put on when it was imported to Australia? Its JDM.

This doesn't sound good.

Koffer · 06-19-09, 08:03 AM

Looks like you'll need for the other boys "down under" to help you more . I thought Australia had some crazy import laws like here in the US about how old, no LHDs and stuff.
As for the block color on mine its the same as the rest of just about everything under it , Rust

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogie74

I did a REVS check and it is registered to me and no stolen history or anything.

The raised boss has nothing on it.

Its a red block engine.

Would it have a new VIN plate put on when it was imported to Australia? Its JDM.

This doesn't sound good.

boogie74 · 06-19-09, 08:25 AM

Any Aussies who have imported cars might be able to help.

Apparently (after searching the net) pre 1993 imports had to get a new 11 digit VIN number. Which mine is. I also assume that because a new VIN was issued that the frame number was removed. Sounds plausible. I bought the vehicle in good faith and believe it to be genuine. The problem is that its not a BJ70 as the VIN states. It could be that the government authorities that issued the new VIN did not know the exact model number when they complianced the vehicle???? There are quite a few models of the 70 series in the era.

Koffer · 06-19-09, 09:04 AM

Sounds like your on the right track .
In the US they used to re-title older landcruisers that sat on the new car lot too long to a newer year . I think my 64 has a round 65 or 66 tag on the firewall under one of the build tag screws.
Up in Canada they were re-VIN ing JDM with a 17#VIN at first in some (one?) of the provinces

Good luck with it as a little bit of gray never hurt

boogie74 · 06-19-09, 09:31 AM

Yep.... I think the beast is kosher!!

I wouldn't have known about VIN thing but I needed to order a clutch master and slave and used the VIN to source parts. No Clutch masters or slaves in Australia. Trying Japan 4x4 but the only other option is to re-sleeve them. I wish parts were easier to come by. Thats the price you pay for such a sick cruiser tho I spose

crushers · 06-19-09, 02:51 PM

that is the right amount of numbers for a JDM vin but the fourth digit is incorrect for your truck, it should be a '4' designation.
swapped vin?

Gold Boy · 06-19-09, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koffer

S
Up in Canada they were re-VIN ing JDM with a 17#VIN at first in some (one?) of the provinces

yep, my 74 has a Canadian vin.

Clint79 · 06-19-09, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogie74

Yep.... I think the beast is kosher!!

I wouldn't have known about VIN thing but I needed to order a clutch master and slave and used the VIN to source parts. No Clutch masters or slaves in Australia. Trying Japan 4x4 but the only other option is to re-sleeve them. I wish parts were easier to come by. Thats the price you pay for such a sick cruiser tho I spose

You could give Master auto parts in perth a try he imports a lot of gear to Aus

roscoFJ73 · 06-19-09, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogie74

Hi Rosco,

Mine is JDM. It has the firewall plate and where i reckon there should be the chassis stamp there is nothing.

Is this a JDM thing?

When I type my VIN into EPC I get a BJ70 come up. MWB and FRP was never BJ70 tho.

I think I have a firewall plate with the VIN on it but this is something that is fixed in oz to show it's compliance with Aust Standard .

I asked about the origins of the vehicle because some of the other markets seem to have a higher incidence of "re birthing". This is where a vehcle is stolen and given the VIN from a totalled vehcle and shipped overseas.
But I doubt that the JDMs have many problems like that.

Try what Clint suggested.
All the cruisers from the 1960s- have the VIN on the frame.
At least clean it up enough to see if it has been removed.

I seem to remember seeing BJ7- somewhere on my cruiser but its unrelated to the model code
Ill have closer look when the storm abates.

boogie74 · 06-20-09, 12:21 AM

Thanks Clint and Rosco,

I'll try all that. I've put so much work into the cruiser and plan on much more. I don't won't to find out down the track that I have big problems with the rig.

boogie74 · 06-20-09, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crushers

that is the right amount of numbers for a JDM vin but the fourth digit is incorrect for your truck, it should be a '4' designation.
swapped vin?

My first thought was a swapped VIN which means someone has been doing something naughty. The previous owner or maybe even the owner before him? I am hoping that it is a stuff up on behalf of whoever did the import compliance. I spose it is possible someone stuffed up with the model number when it was imported. I dont know how deep I want to dig on this one. It could come back to bite me on the ass.

boogie74 · 06-21-09, 08:45 PM

Ok,

Found the Frame Number. It was down near the RHS Wheel arch. Just a bit dirty down there and couldn't find it before. It's the same as the VIN plate on the firewall. Numbers still don't make sense being BJ70XXXXXXX and all. Must of been changed when it was imported.