OK I am puzzled y'all- I have decoded my VIN ten times over and it still says its a Berlinetta-Has an S in the 5th spot. It came factory with a 305-My husband took it to the chevrolet place in Goldboro NC and they ran the #'s on it and said it is one of about 10 mess ups that year when they switched from building Z's to berlinettas in Norwood.The motor is numbers matching also he looked over my car and told my husband that all the body parts including the fenders, Z hood and all were factory and had never been removed, even the U14 gauges.It even hasd the factory Z stripes under all the coats of paint. Judging by the tag it was white with red interior factory t top-rear dfrost, clock, power windows-LS differential.I can tell it was indeed white with red interior during my rebuild-so I doubt the tags could have been swapped by a crook- Could this be true?? Ive never heard of this before-Could it really be a mess up?

magic 8 ball says "highly unlikely" . i mean what year are we talking about here . it went from type lt to berlinetta not z28 to berlinetta. post some vin info and trim tag info and some picts of the car for a proper evaluation from the "experts"

Horn button?
Power window door panel plugs?
Rope textured steering wheel?
Dash Bezel color?
Rear sway bar?
Aluminum block under the front bump stops?

If ALL of these things are the proper Z28 pieces.... You may have a Z28 with a Berlinetta VIN.

What does the trim tag say?
Have you found a build sheet?

It had the power window door panel plugs-they are shot though-the rope steering wheel with the Z28 horn button is there (was laying in the back seat)-dash bezel housing is silver-gauges were in the trunk when I got it-they are the u14 ones-the hook ups in the dash were for those gauges-the alum block is there too havent found the build sheet anywhere-I posted the trim tag up here a while back it tells all about the white car with red seats, power windows, t tops, but no Z28 anywhere. Thats whats got me frazzled-if its a base-someone did a hell of a job makin a it a Z-Cars in the shop in Goldsboro right now. I just started to wonder about it-cuz everything Ive seen looks like a Z-and I really dont see why someone would have went so far as to clone it into one?? Beats me Anyway VIN is
1G1AS87H2BN125444

The dash bezel for a Berlinetta was silver..... The Z28 got a "bronze" toned bezel. (Berlinettas got the gauge cluster standard, IIRC.)

The 79 cluster should have a 130 MPH speedometer with long orange needles. (One year only.)
I don't remember if the 79 Z28 got a Z28 horn button but it did get the rope wheel.

Factory stripes buried under paint seems very odd to me.
I don't know why someone would clone a Z28 from a Berlinetta and then paint over the stripes.

I'm not sure what else to look for at the moment.... I'll post up if I can think of anything else.

Sorry Twisted Metal- Mine is a 81- I used to have the 79-oops! Thanks for the info. While sanding the car I found a huge spiderweb on the side of it-painted on the doors-My husband told me it was like some movie "catch me if you can? Im guessing this car has had about 3 coats of white paint on her within the years-the stripes were bright red a medium red and a lighter red color- they were hell to get off!! The last coat of white-they painted lights and all. One thing I also noticed while sanding is on the scoop it said air induction-the scoop was black and had red stripes around it too. Dang I bet this car was sharp back in the day!!

That explains the number of digits in the VIN..... They went from 13 digits in '80 to 17 digits in '81.

I should have noticed that earlier. :screwup:

Sorry, but I'm pretty sure it's a Z28 clone.

The U14 gauge package was a standard option on the Berlinetta, limited slip (G80) was an available option for $63.00.

If you can't find the build sheet, I believe there's a number you can call in the US to get it from GM (1977-1981).

1G1AS87H2BN125444

1 - USA
G - General Motors
1 - Chevrolet
A - Non-passive restraint system
S - Berlinetta
87 - Sport Coupe
H - 5.0L 305ci V8
2 - Check digit
B - 1981
N - Built at the Norwood, Ohio assembly plant
125444 - Sequential production number



B 03D 1FS87 N 197294
75N 11L 11U
A51 CC1
BER A31 BL2

B - 1981
03D - Built the 4th week of March
1FS87 - Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta Sport Coupe
N - Built at the Norwood, Ohio assembly plant
197294 - Sequential body number
75N - Red Vinyl deluxe interior
11L, 11U - Upper and lower white paint
A51 - Bucket seats (standard on all models)
CC1 - T-tops
BER - Berlinetta
A31 - Power windows
BL2 - Black steering column

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM.

Crazy camaro- If in the tag it says 1FS87-Chevrolet berlinetta Hardtop- then on the same tag it says CC1-t-tops What does that mean? It can't have both??:confused:

For $50 you can get a copy of the original invoice and they you will know.

Never believe anything the dealer tells you, they are just offering opinions.

Anytime you buy a used car you never know what you are getting.


Go here to for forms links http://www.chevelles.com/vis/

For copies of a GM vehicle invoice (for Chevrolets since 1977), please email the attached request form to vehicleinvoice@gmmediaarchive.com

Word Document: available for download here.
Save the file, open and enter your information in the word document, save and email to the address listed above.

Adobe Printable Form: available for download here.
Print, enter your information and send via regular mail to the address below.

As of March 1, 2005 the cost for this service is $50.00 per invoice.

If paying by credit card, your account will be charged within two business days of fulfillment. Fulfillment is expected to take 2 to 3 weeks.
If paying by check or money order, please mail your check or money order and a copy of this form to:

Allied Vaughn
11923 Brookfield
Livonia, MI. 48150
Attention: GM Vehicle Invoice

Check or money order payments may cause a delay in fulfillment, as it must clear before your order is shipped.



info.gif - 3292 Bytes Invoices are available for vehicles in the following model years:

* Chevrolets since 1977
* Pontiacs since 1987
* Buicks since 1982
* Cadillacs since 1980
* Oldsmobiles since 1977
* GMC since 1976
* **Fleet and exported vehicles excluded



longdistance.jpg - 3300 Bytes Contact Us:

Please feel free to contact our local management team with any suggestions or concerns.

Email or call:
Chris Barkoozis, General Manager
Allied Vaughn (800) 462-5543 ext 105
Chris.Barkoozis@alliedvaughn.com

Crazy camaro- If in the tag it says 1FS87-Chevrolet berlinetta Hardtop- then on the same tag it says CC1-t-tops What does that mean? It can't have both??:confused:


A t-Top car is a coupe. Only 2 types, coupe has a rigid roof, convertible does not.

btw - Hard top is slang, its sport coupe.

Oh OK i got it- I guess Im a lil slow today??

A t-Top car is a coupe. Only 2 types, coupe has a rigid roof, convertible does not.

btw - Hard top is slang, its sport coupe.

Whoops, sorry, edited my post.

For $50 you can get a copy of the original invoice and they you will know.

Never believe anything the dealer tells you, they are just offering opinions.

Anytime you buy a used car you never know what you are getting.


Go here to for forms links http://www.chevelles.com/vis/


Has anyone on this site ever used this service? I have an 80 Z28 that I would love to have a copy of the original invoice to.

OK I am puzzled y'all- I have decoded my VIN ten times over and it still says its a Berlinetta-Has an S in the 5th spot. It came factory with a 305-My husband took it to the chevrolet place in Goldboro NC and they ran the #'s on it and said it is one of about 10 mess ups that year when they switched from building Z's to berlinettas in Norwood.The motor is numbers matching also he looked over my car and told my husband that all the body parts including the fenders, Z hood and all were factory and had never been removed, even the U14 gauges.It even hasd the factory Z stripes under all the coats of paint. Judging by the tag it was white with red interior factory t top-rear dfrost, clock, power windows-LS differential.I can tell it was indeed white with red interior during my rebuild-so I doubt the tags could have been swapped by a crook- Could this be true?? Ive never heard of this before-Could it really be a mess up?

Since this thread is a few months old, what did you find out? I'm curious now :bowtie:

I'm still saying it is a Berlinetta cloned into a Z28.

Did anyone use that service. Seems interesting.

I agree id be interestested in it also

Did anyone use that service. Seems interesting.

The one WS6 posted? I will be using it in the summer for my moms '78 Z28, if you do a search on here there are quite a few examples posted.

Has anyone on this site ever used this service? I have an 80 Z28 that I would love to have a copy of the original invoice to.


Absolutely, worth every penny. It confirms your VIN tag and also provides information on the original options. As an example, my car was ordered by a Chevy dealer in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Cool town with some history behind it.

You can also use it to have a window sticker built from it. Great information.

Thanks, I will definitely do this then.