posted 10-03-2012 10:30 AM                  

I read somewhere on this site that the cars were together in the lot and Dr Ru simply numbered them as he striped them.

A Black Tie with an earlier V.I.N. may have a higher sequence number than a later car.

Example

VIN 00504 may be numbered as 096

VIN 00509 may be numbered as 001

VIN 00564 may be numbered as 101

VIN 00573 may be numbered as 074

VIN 00604 may be numbered as 097

VIN 00628 may be numbered as 011

VIN 00635 may be numbered as 161

VIN 00645 may be numbered as 099

The lowest VIN I see according to the registry is 00110
this does not include any Pilot cars that may have been built from 2000 model Prowlers.

The highest VIN I see according to the registry is 01199

posted 10-03-2012 08:59 PM                  

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page

To expand on what Catfish said about the check digit, it tells what type of body, engine size, etc so chop shops can't make a GTO out of a LeMans, for instance. A convertible will have a diff. number than a 4 door sedan, which would be different from a 2 door hardtop. It changes with each year and manufacturer.

posted 10-04-2012 07:43 AM                  

The number on the Woodward's and Black Tie's is the sequence that Dr. RU pinstriped them in. A large number of cars would be built and set aside for him to stripe. He could have started with the last car built.

The tub numbers are just that, the tub number. The VIN's are mixed with Vipers and even that doesn't ensure they went down the line in order. In 1997, the lowest VIN's were held for the top executives and do not represent the first cars built.