Making a tenth 1979 Anniversary TA correct!???

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Hello all need some more guidance. I have a 10th 1979 Anniversary TA that I am trying to correct. It is a LONG story that I will not bother you all about in this post. Needless to say I have ow34 years.

I am thinking of taking two tenth anniversaries to make one correct. My question is are the engines, transmissions and drive trains serial numbered to the specific VIN numbered car? Or do the engine numbers have assembly or cast numbers only that allows a correct engine to be swapped from one car to the other without an issue. of originality?

If that id the case I have a lot more options. Will someone that knows clue me in???

Thanks a lot!!! Ike
 
partial VIN is part of each major component, engine and transmission
 
Melsg5 thanks for the response. Just to clarify if you do not mind, so one major component could not be transferred between the two cars without creating an obvious mismatch in components? Thanks Ike
 
Yes all the major parts on your car have a partial VIN stamped on the part. having all the numbers match for each part would make it a numbers matching obviously more valuable vehicle.
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Thank you all!! So much for that plan, I will have to figure out something else to restore this TA. I will repost a complete story about this car after doing some more research. on it and look up these numbers.

Thanks again all!!!
 
you may not be able to create a matching numbers correct but there is something else called a period correct restoration where you use transmission/engine from the same approximate production date.
 
Thanks all this car was mine from 1981 and it was originally stolen and what I call "vinned". It was recovered by me but New York State took the original Vin number from the dash of and assigned a generic number to it.

I have had it ever since waiting to restore it. The lack of a VIN number hurts its value. Now in saying that it is not for sale, nor am I thinking of restoring it to sell it, but I am not sure I can justify spending thousands to restore it. Can't decide. IKe
 
If you have an emotional connection with this car, and I cant see how you couldn't.

What really matters is doing what is necessary to preserve what you have.

If you go out and buy a new car the amount of money you lose just by driving off the lot is obscene.

If you just spent 1/2 of what you would lose buy purchasing a newer car on your car you would have one nice ride.
One that will go up in value while any new car will be going down in value.

Obviously Pontiac is no longer making cars this only will add to the value of your car.

If that is not enough justification to save the car you love I do not know what is.

With this in mind the VIN issue really is not an issue if the car is built right with the correct parts. take photos of the entire build keeping any and all receipts.

For example if I saw your car for sale online and the price was inline for the quality of the car, once I came out inspected the car test drove the car and fell in love with the car, sure I may question the VIN issue, but I wouldn't have much to complain about if I had in front of me all the pictures and documentation for the restoration.

Pictures going back from the date you originally purchased the car along with any and all records I think would go along away to ease a potential buyers mind because you can prove in other ways that you have owned and cared for this car since 1981. Not too may people can say that about anything they own these days.
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I agree with the above. As long as you can prove how the VIN change took place the impact is minimal. People spend lots of money restoring cars but it depends on what the motivation is. If they do it to sell it they can end up upside down financially, someone I know bought a Superbird or Daytona, large wing in the back from the 70's, no engine. He did this right before things sank in 2008 when these cars were going for lots of money. In the end he invested easily 100k and now since the market went down is sitting on it. He doesn't drive it so it has become a garage queen. If you want to do the restoration for the enjoyment of the project and you intend to drive it you can't try justifying things from a financial point only.
 
If you read the information found on the Haggerty website valuation report on your car,
for the top grade example of your car, in the description no where do they mention a number matching vehicle being necessary to reach this level of value.

Its all about condition and correct parts, where the claim of a numbers matching car can drive a buyers into a bidding frenzy is in an auction environment.
Many times a correct pebble beach ready 100 percent accurate perfect example of a survivor car can far exceed the value of the car being sold, to someone with plenty of money to burn.
On the other hand at the wrong auction with the wrong bidders that same car could be sold at a loss or not sold at all.

I just watched a 1969 Camaro valued at over 150K on the TV show whats your car worth get a hammer down price of 90k, imagine how heart breaking that was for the owner.

So in reality like anything the car is worth what someone is willing to pay. in today's environment and economy you cant sell anything worth a dollar without some idiot offering you a dime.

With all this said, what do you want from your car? do you want to drive it and enjoy it?
Or should you spend countless hours and endless amounts of money chasing what you once had and more than likely live in constant fear of getting a scratch on it or worse stolen again.

From my perspective If I was to be offered two identical cars one a perfectly restored garage queen or one that was a good reliable non rusted daily driver that was worth a 1/4 of the value. I would pick the daily driver.

Not because of the money savings but because I could drive the car and make new memories in it. the garage queen I would likely be a total a-hole and not let anyone near it.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do. The import thing is you picked the right brand and the right car when you purchased it originally.

After all these years the car doesn't owe you anything and if it could talk it would say lets just go for a ride.
 
I want to thank all that responded. It has helped me greatly in deciding what to do next.

She has too much history to let lie. I will restore her to driving condition and make here look pretty!!!!! My thought was to find a donor car and transfer all the important components to the car with the correct VIN. But since everything is numbered that would not make sense.
Here are some photos of the car. It has been sitting in the car for 20+ years but the house has been sold so it has to be moved.

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IMG_4898.jpg


Now to find the time to get it done!!!!! Thanks again All Ike
 
Nice car, I see why you purchased it so many years ago.

If that was my car , I would have a good Paint less dent removal company remove any of the obvious dents.

Replace the missing side molding and just fix or replace what you have to on the front end to repair the lower grills, and respray the black trim etc.

Also I would make the car mechanically reliable restoring what is needed . keep all the parts you take off of it.

Chances are you will drive that car for 10 years and not pass another anniversary TA in good as shape as your car is or at all.

I do not think I have ever seen an Anniversary TA unless it was resprayed and I didn't know what I was looking at.

Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress. Pictures and videos appreciated as always.
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Thanks Outlaw, this was my daily driver from 1980-1983. One of my closest friends had one as well. It was a sight to see both of them going down the street.
But in NY his was stolen and burned early on. Mine carried on until it too was stolen. In fact it was stolen a few times always some how coming back.

What we did not know was that the car when we bought used, had been previously "vinned". In 1983 the police came looking for it. I was in school and had to bring it back. The police confiscated the car and basically told us we had no choice but to surrender it despite the fact that we had bought it legally. I was crushed, but I had to get back to school.
My poor Dad felt so bad that he tracked the car from the insurance company to the auction dealer and bought it back. He had been told many times that he could not.
so the car comes back to me again, goes into the garage and there is where she has been sitting since 1983.

She has a long colorful history!!!! I should have taken much better care of her!!!!!! But I was just a kid!!! Ike
 
It is a shame where scumbags that likely haven't worked a real job in their life can so easily take something that isn't theirs.

They do not realize or care that a car is not just transportation that can be replaced through an insurance claim, its an extension of the owner, a part of the family, one that even if replaced with the exact car just isn't the same.

I sure hope the dirt bags that stole your car get what they got coming.

On the flip side, if things didn't happen exactly the way it did for you, its very possible you may not have the car today. So do not feel bad for neglecting it.

A lesser person would have gave up on it a long time ago. I know I regret selling many of the cars I had over the years.

The ones I miss the most were Pontiacs.

1968 firebird highly modified with a 428 gone because of too many eaten flywheels the last flywheel lasted a week after I had a fit of rage, I sold it for 1500 bucks to a dealer.

1978 Blue Trans am 400 with 4 speed. non t-top tossed a rod while killing a Camaro.
I figured is was totally shot so I sold it for $500 bucks!!

The new owner reported he pulled the pan and some how only needed to replace the two broken connecting rod bolts, he said somehow the piston never hit the head or sent any parts out of the block.
He even claimed the bearing was still good, ( I always thought he was lying because it is too bizarre to imagine )

I had many other TA's but those two Pontiacs I would do just about anything to get them back.

On a side note I sure hope you have some sort of anti theft system in place.

They used to make a ugly bulky aluminum clamp the went over the column that was held in place with epoxy and tamper resistant screws.

Today they have much better ones. either way If you haven't done so yet that would be my first project or purchase. Third time isn't a charm when it comes to having your baby stolen.
 
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