draab29

I recently purchased a 1984 FTL coupe that appears to be in great condition. Compression, leak down, PPI all check out. No accident history. 3 owner car 144,000 miles. After I got the car home I noticed that the VIN tag is on the drivers side door and not on the A pillar. The VIN tag was issued by Illinois State Police. Any idea what this means? Thanks in advance.

Dave

Peter Zimmermann

In CA it would indicate salvage title, better check with your state's DMV!

jester911

You might also check with the Illinois DMV as well.

Amber Gramps

The 935 around the corner from my house has a VIN issued by the California DMV. It too is on the drivers side door frame. Previous owner claimed it was an R.O.W. or Germany destination car that had been "Federalized"

UberXY

Are there three Z's together in the VIN?

Steve

Amber Gramps

Steve, That's the thing, the original VIN# is gone and a new one has been issued. no WPOZZZ, not even a WPO...strange.....

Graufuchs

It may be a recovered stolen vehicle that was missing vin#s or had mismatched vin#s and was auctioned by the state.

Graufuchs

Pull up front carpet under hood, there may be a vin stamped on the sheetmetal above the spare.

Amber Gramps

I also found one on the option code sticker on the front deck lid.

draab29

The VIN is WP0AB0913ES121918. Researched it back and forth and it comes up as a clear title. Didn't go as far as checking with Illinois DMV. Will try that tomorrow. Did talk with Porsche North America and they have the above VIN as 1984 White FTL. No obvious signs of accident damage. My first thought was maybe it was a repo of some sort. Previous owner has no knowledge of previous title, etc. Thanks for the info.

Dave

draab29

Sorry, was typing while other replies were ccoming in. I looked under front carpet. Number stamped is WES121918. Not sure what that means, but seems to be missing some numbers. ???

ked

the chassis is stamped w/ the sequential production # before the car's ultimate market & build-out is assigned, when it gets the complete VIN (conforming to gov standards), so it is fine - your chassis matches the vin. ISP should be able to tell you if they have been manufacturing Porsches or what. An early TL Coupe is pretty nifty - enjoy!

IamSMC

Usually a State Police VIN tag means a stolen recovery and not a salvage title.
May or may not have any damage.
And IIRC it supercedes the original VIN for registration and insurance purposes.
Salvage titles keep the original VIN but must be stamped salvage on the title certificate.

Its best to check with Illinois DMV first to see if its legit State Police VIN tag and then with the state you ultimately register the car in just to make sure if any other procedures are required.

POA of course will show the information on the original VIN, but they probably will not update their database to show the State Police VIN tag associated with the original VIN.

draab29

Thanks for all the info. It makes me feel a little better knowing that it was not a salvage (title clear, vin match, etc.). The end result is the fact the car is fun to drive, and will be even more fun to tinker with after reading all those tech articles.

Canysmc- How does the 993tt compare to your 930?

theiceman

bottom line .. go enjoy your new car .. congrats..