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VIN Tag Question

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G

grandson

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The serial number on my '62 BT7 tri-carb is HBT7L/13855 according to the tri-carb register and the Heritage Certificate. However, ever since I bought the car in 1983, the plate on the firewall shows HBT7L/2/13855. Could this possibly be "official" in any way? Or, is there a legitimate reason why someone would do this as an after market thing other than to denote the car as a Mark 2 perhaps or a 1962? The number "2" is not aligned with the other numbers so it seems someone has done it after the fact and it wasn't me. Would this affect the value of the car in any way? I've always been curious about it.

A number of years ago, I asked one of our favourite parts suppliers across the pond and they said it designated the car as a Mark 2 but somehow I don't think so.

Would welcome your thoughts and comments.
 
Hi grandson (?),

I did some research on "Car Numbers" (what we call VINs here in the USA) when I authored the Austin-Healey Resource Book several years ago, and I never ran across anything like what you describe. However, over the decades I've seen many variations and anomolies related to Austin-Healey production, and I would not want to completely dismiss the possibility that someone added the "2" to denote a Mark II, although I would rate it as very unlikely that it was done by the factory. A clear, close-up photo of your Car No. Plate ("VIN Plate") would be helpful; could you attach one to a reply? Thanks.
 
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