1971 El Camino Vehicle Identification Number Plate
1971 VIN Breakdown
Do not confuse the Vehicle Identification Number plate information with that found on the Fisher Body Number plate (trim tag).
The Vehicle Identification Number plate (VIN) has similar information to the trim tag such as the model, year, and assembly plant. One difference is the last six numbers relating to the assembly plant sequence as opposed to the trim tag's Fisher Body number on the trim tag.
A typical 1971 El Camino VIN might read: 136801K205624 being a Malibu series V8 2-door pickup assembled in Kansas City, MO. and is the 105,624th 1971 model year Chevelle sequenced at the Kansas City, MO. assembly plant.
The VIN plate is located on the forward part of the dash so the VIN plate could easily been seen through the windshield of the car. The VIN plate was riveted to a special bracket with unique 'rosette' rivets.
First Digit: Division of General Motors
1 - Chevrolet
Second and Third digit: Series Designation
33 - El Camino, 6-cylinder
34 - El Camino, 8-cylinder
36 - Custom El Camino, 8-cylinder
(Note: No 6-cylinder Custom El Caminos were offered for sale in
1971.)
Fourth and Fifth Digit: Body Style/Model
80 - 2-door sedan pickup
Sixth Digit: Year of Production
1 - 1971
Seventh Character (Alpha Designation): Final Assembly Plant
B ~ Baltimore, Maryland
K ~ Kansas City, Missouri
L ~ Van Nuys, California
Eighth through Thirteenth Digits: Sequential Production Number
The sequential starting number for the 1971 Chevelle was 100001 at all Chevelle assembly plants except Oshawa, Ontario which started at 500001. Each assembly plant sequenced Chevelles of all series/models without regard to specific series/models. For example, if a series 13857 Monte Carlo followed a 13667 Malibu convertible, the sequence number would be one unit higher for the Monte Carlo. It's also entirely possible to have the same sequence number from all five 1971 U.S. assembly plants with the only difference between the VINs being the plant code. Oshawa, Ontario would not have a matching sequence number of a U.S. plant Chevelle due to the starting sequence of 500001.
Production at the Baltimore assembly plant in early May and the Kansas City plant exceeded 100,000 units sometime in late April, so the VIN sequence from those time frames to the end of production would be 2nnnnn for the Baltimore and Kansas City plants.
