P6 Chassis / VIN Numbers

darth sidious

darth sidious

New Member
I today found an old MOT certificate for our old 2000Auto from 1992. On it, of course, is the car's Chassis / VIN Number; 44105582B (at least I think the last 'digit' is the letter "B" anyhow!)

Out of pure interest, does this help/indicate anything notable about the car? (date of build, location, etc)
 
the first three numbers - 441 - indicate the model no. 400 would be a series 1 2000 manual. 436 a series 2 2000 manual. 441 is, of course, a 2000 Auto series 2. These numbers go up to 869 for a Nigerian markeet 2200SC, of which 100 were built in the '74 model year.

The remaining numbers are then the commission no, in rough terms, the build no within that model sequence. Starting at 00001 and climbing in rough date order. Note that cars are not necessarily built in sequence. If some awkward options were ordered, the commission no would have been generated in date order but perhaps not built for a while until all the optional parts had been drawn together. This is particularely true at the very end of production in late '76 /early '77 when commission no's are all over the place in terms of date sequence.

The final letter, in your case B, indicates the spec status of the car. For instance the change from an 11AC alternator to an 18 ACR is accompanied by a different wiring loom and other changes, so the suffix letter advances by one. As yours is a B, that is exactly the change that has taken from place from a suffix A. Sometimes the change of suffix letter is much more significant. On a series 1 V8 (425 model number) the change from suffix A to suffix B comes with different spring and damper specs, a different diff and revised bush sizes in the rear trailing arms.

The best reference to fully understand all of this is the James Taylor book on the P6 that Nick Dunning and I assisted him with updating recently.

If you would like to see the factory record book containing your car - which will tell you what day it was built (ie when it went down the line0, what colour it was originally and when it was despatched from the factory to what dealer - you can apply to Gaydon for a reading room ticket. Then you will be able to book a week in advance to visit and exmine the actual factory record ledger in which this is recorded. But you won't be able to take a copy of it, because Gaydon would like to sell you a posh certificate that contains this information.

Chris York
 
Chris, just curious about the suffix letter. You say the change from A to B is a different alternator, my number is 40006864B and has what looks like a dynamo.
 
But yours is a 400 model series, ie a series 1 2000, not a 441 model series S2 2000 Auto.

On a 400 model series the transition from suffix A to suffix B represents the following spec changes:

Sept '64
Revised cam chain wheels and cam followers
Revised crank rear oil seal
seperate steering idler and damper replaced by Armstrong combined idler and damper
wood veneered aluminium door and dash trim replaced by Formica
piston skirt shape altered, revised piston rings and bore honing process changed from diamond to silicon carbide
revised cylinder heaad gasket
plug type changed to N9Y with revised distributor advance curve
de dion lower link bushes changed from natural rubber to voided butyl rubber
longer rear springs and revised bump stops
watts linkage bushes enlarged
Nov '64
courtesy light fitted behind rear view mirror
Dec '64
hollow tubular drive shafts replace solid type
clutch lining friction material changed
clutch release arm mechanical advantage increased
revised valve springs
Feb '65
front seats fitted with longer cushions and stronger runners
120mph speedo replaces 110mph
Jun '65
fuel filler lock added
radiator cap pressure increased from 5 lb to 7 lb
rubber face added to timing chain tensioners.

Not a lot really!

In fact so much that the changes were phased in over the full currency of the suffix B production run from Sept '64 to Sept '65! So your car won't necessarily have all of these.

And this list excludes the ongoing programme of gearbox modification, which justifies a book in it's own right!

Your commision no probably puts the car into the first month of '65 - note this is the build date, not the registration date. To check, have you got a 110 mph speedo or 120 mph? And are your front seats noticeably different to any other P6 front seats you've seen?

Chris
 
You don't see much value in reading a book that walks you through the development and history of an amazing car, along with the various iterations of said model?
 
I have the original manuals for 3500 S and automatic, that is much more value,
have papers with the car who say 1976, but did have doubts, I use the money
for repairs in stead of a book who I do read once to find history of mine car.
I understand that this book is for some people of much value.

The manual do not give me this information.

regards
 
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