Why are the early 308 VIN numbers out of order? It seems like the 76' and 77' numbers skip around a bit.
You mean VIN not continuous or you mean there are later VIN listed as 76 while earlier ones listed as 77?
The 17-digit VIN for a vehicle wasn't standardized by the NHTSA until the early 1980's. Before then, the manufacturers just made them up so are more scattered - especially for the small boutique automakers
And it must be added, like always... - That all cars irrespective of their type, where numbered "in the queue" (no spécial séquence for 308 and BBs, for instance, although you might find batches of seqencial numbers for some groups of the same car) - This Is a bit of beating a dead horse, but Ferrari used only odd (uneven) châssis numbers until châssis 75000 (end 1987). Until That, even numbers were for race cars only, and the "Dinos" Rgds
Do you have examples? Cars destined for countries other than US have several methods for assigning a model year. Model year in those countries have nothing to do when the car was made. That alone may be the cause of your observation. The US required the manufacturer to declare a model year and at the time, as far as I know was the only country to do so. That is why either the ID plate or the emission plate had a model year on it. That's not seen on non US versions. Once the 17 digit VIN was standardized there was a model year designator digit for US cars. Every other version sold world wide had a "0" in that space.
The VINs listed on this website seem to run in order until they get to the mid 20,500's. Welcome to the 308 GTB Register
Very simple. For some time about all they built were 308's. When BB's, 365GT4's, 208's, 400's were being built they were taking those numbers.
In addition to what Brian said about other models than 308, it is worthwhile to note that register is for GTBs only. In 1977 the GTSs started production as well so making the serial numbers jumping more frequently and less continuous as it seems on that register.
Different part of world would have different interpretation about the "year" in question. Some use the US manufacturing year, some use the factory production year, some use the local vehicle registration year, some use the importation year... That will cause a lot of confusion if you just look at the year without knowing the exact meaning of it. My 308 has factory production date on 2 Sep 1982, imported to UK in Nov 1982, registered in Mar 1983, falls within the US MY period of 1983. So it's a 1982 or 1983?
There is actually no mystique whatsoever in the numbering of chassis: chassis are numbered consecutively, in odd numbers until 75000, after which even and odd numbers were used. Cars of all different models built are numbered without type distinction, so you might have a number for a 308 GTB, followed by another for a 308 GTB, followed by one for a 365 BB, followed by one for a 308 GTS, etc... although a tendancy can be found, sometimes, for grouping ("batches") small series of numbers for cars of the same configuration (for instance, the "batches" of US vetroresinas). Now...should we talk about assembly numbers, or engine numbers...and their correlation with the chassis number; THEN here you would enter a world much more difficult to understand... Rgds
I'm talking specifically about 308 GTB Vetroresina built in 1976 and 1977 that jump around between years. VIN 19945 is a 1976. VIN 19959 is a 1977. VIN 19965 is a 1976. I think piezo has the right answer.
What you are discovering is why in the Ferrari world, especially the early cars they are referenced by chassis number. Model year means very little.
No, the chassis numbers are consecutive since the first car built, which was # 1 (only odd numbers until 75000, then even and odd number after that) and are still consecutive today: I think that the chassis numbers are now in the "210.000" range today (?) which means approximatively 172.500 Ferraris of all types built as such, to which you would have to add the 7.000 or so "Dinos" (246 and GT4). The chassis number of today is simply the last six figures of the 17 position VIN, as it has been since Ferrari began to use the 17-position VIN in the spring of 1980 (at the time, it was the last five positions of the VIN). The assembly number is really a building number in a sequence, which may vary from model to model, and during the time periods. Usually, for a given model, there is one serie of assembly numbers for the standard continental "european" variant (= starting from zero), another serie for the "north american variant" (= starting from "zero"), another one for the "Right Hand Drive" variant (= starting from zero), etc. The assembly number might for some variants be reset at "zero" for each year of production, or for an important change that cannot be guessed from the outside (different variant of engine for instance) It should be noted that on "old" Ferraris, until the end of the eighties, the assembly number was more or less an "internal reference for the factory only", so was not overtly displayed, but could be discovered in hidden places if you knew where to look for it (under a paint "flap" on the left main chassis bar in the engine compartment of 308QVs for instance; on a specific small square of paint on the same chassis bar, but on the vertical part of it, and upside-down on 328s...). It is also repeated on many other places (Inside the doors on the carburated 308s, etc...) If my memory serves me well, it became to be officially and overtly displayed for the first time on the build plate of the 348s? My April 1989 328 GTB plates hereunder: Her full VIN is ZFFWA19B000081085, as stamped on the chassis bar; chassis number, as displayed on the importer's plate, is "81085" (= last five digits of the VIN). She is, more or less, the 50585th Ferrari built: 37500 up to chassis 75000 - only odd numbers used - and 6085 after 75000 up to 81085 makes 43585 cars built, to which you would have to add about 7000 Dinos. But we know that some chassis numbers may have not been used... Her assembly number, seen on the poor picture below, stamped inside a red square on the left chassis bar, vertical side in the engine compartment reads "80" but is reversed, so is in fact "08"; in her case, I have not yet understood why it is "08", as the car is about the 1250th 328GTB built... Rgds Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Neofers explanation about Ferrari's early use of internal numbering is what we have so far deduced about it. I am not sure Ferrari ever used the term assembly number for that. I never heard the term used until 1991. I think you were asking about the official Ferrari assembly number that has it's own plate and started in 1991. The VIN system was getting complex and evolved to meet various government requirements. Ferrari wanted a simpler, internal system to track the cars. Much of our parts ordering and technical information for tracking changes and applicability used only the assembly numbers. On internal documents the cars are referenced by assembly numbers. The VIN and assembly number are different and have no correlation until the day one is stamped on, one is riveted on and both are recorded, one for internal use and one for regulatory requirement. In 1991 I believe the assembly numbers started at 1 and ran continuously. There was no separate system for USA cars, no separate system for 355 as opposed to 456. Nothing like the earlier systems Neofers spoke of.
