Car [Vin/Engine/Body] Number help...

[Atrus]

...since it's too cold and I am too broke to do anything to the sprite, I figured some of you may feel the same way. To pass the winter time, anyone want to tell me whatever they know about the following numbers?

VIN: HAN 9U/77197G
Body: HUN 004257P
Engine: 12CD-DA-H 8193

Body was the tag inside the driver's door on the post.

Any other numbers I should look for?

The body tag had about 3 different coats of paint on it! Looks like pinkish primer, then BRG, then the nasty orange it had when I took possesion, then my grey primer, then the blue I painted it. When I was doing some body work, looked it the original color may have been white. I didn't strip it enough to know (next time, maybe summer 2009??).

The VIN tag seems non-OEM - it's just a thin piece of aluminum with the numbers stamped. No mfg info or anything printed on there, I think someone just made it in place of the original. it's about 1.25-1.5" wide, with a full radius on each end. Maybe 3"-4" long.

 

[bugimike]

Vin would indicate a Mk.IV model,
Engine # indicates: 12= 1275cc./ DA=close-ratio center gear box/ H= high compression/8193= eng. serial #

 

[Jer]

Your Vin tag is the correct shape as the original tag, it probably is the original but the black paint marking was worn off when the brake or clutch cylinder was overflowed somewhere along the way... like on my car, that sloped support where the VIN tag is a perfect runway for overflowing brake fluid
The other numbers to find would be the tranny number, but it's on top of the casing, hard to see in car & then the rear axle number which should be stamped in the axle housing on the left side, just inboard of the spring mount. If you have a few spare dollars check out the Heritage Motor Center & get a Heritage Cerificate for your car... I ordered one for my car, found out that Midge is still number matching (body,serial,engine,axle,tranny) & what the original color was, interior color, build dates, options etc. well worth the money in my opinion.

https://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/shop/heritage-certificate/index.html

Original Sprite by Terry Horler would give you great details on the numbers you have above as well. But my copy is at home & I'm a 1000 miles away right now.

 

[JPSmit]

I won't hijack - but any thoughts on refinishing VIN tags?

 

[Jer]

The scary thing is you can get blank VIN tags from Moss Motors, I think VB as well.
I don't know how refinishing an old one would be, creating the lettering etc. would be a challenge , such small details.. hard to say.
I guess a 1/8 letter/number stamp & a new blank VIN tag might be easier - but I can't get my head around being able to buy a blank VIN tag... fine if you have the original tag & #'s I guess, just feels illegal in some way.

 

[Bugeye58]

Kevin, it was probably built in November, '68.
Jeff

 

[Atrus]

Very cool, thanks everyone. I think I'd eventually like the heritage certificate, but not right now.

Thanks Jeff, it's great to know the ballpark of when it was made 40 years ago!

 

[Bugeye58]

Kevin, Horler's book shows that HAN9 76709 was built in Oct, '68, and HAN9 77591 was made in December.
It looks as though the engine was produced a couple of months earlier, as it shows 12CD DA H 8701 as built in October.
The body number tag is of little significance, as it was put there by the firm that made the actual body pressings, and doesn't necessarily correlate to anything else.
Jeff

 

[bugimike]

The scary thing is you can get blank VIN tags from Moss Motors, I think VB as well.
I don't know how refinishing an old one would be, creating the lettering etc. would be a challenge , such small details.. hard to say.
I guess a 1/8 letter/number stamp & a new blank VIN tag might be easier - but I can't get my head around being able to buy a blank VIN tag... fine if you have the original tag & #'s I guess, just feels illegal in some way.

The ONLY way to refinish an original that has the # and no other graphic would be to Photo-silkscreen the original black printing back on the original plate! (could be done from a good original but probably more prohibitive in cost than the alternative!!)

I have seen a few VERY deteriorated ones (for reasons noted above) that I see no problem with replacing with a new one. If you have the title and the numbers match you are restoring what has deteriorated! It's not like there's a landmark business in hot BEs! In fact, I would rather see one of "dubious" origins be restored and put back on the road than have it languish and rot away somewhere for lack of documentation (Boy, now there's a hornets nest!!!). /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif

 

[jlaird]

States have no clue as to what to do with cars from old barns and fields. What ever works to get a title is good.

 

[Jer]

All valid points,I agree whatever saves an old car from rotting further into the ground / being crushed & instead being driven & enjoyed has to be a good thing, no doubt !

 

[racingenglishcars]

Sorry to bring up this old post, but it seemed a good place to put it.

I ran across yet another number on the body of my BE.
Any idea what it is? I don't think I've ever heard of a reference to it.

It's not the body plate number or Chassis ID number which is 38024.

 

[tony barnhill]

Appears to be the "Commission Number" - a number used by the factory dring the build process.

 

[bugimike]

Does the "commission number" have any hidden info encoded into it, does it mean anything?

 

[tony barnhill]

I know how to decode MGB commission numbers but, now that I look at the tag in your photo, it's probably just the tag that the body manufacturer put on the body while they were building it - before they turned it over to MG. MGB's had one like that riveted on them also. After the body was finished & assigned a commission number by the factory to guide the final build, that body number became irrelevant.....& finally, the commission number gave way to the VIN.

Don't know what I was thinking at 2:30 this morning!