Need info on where else besides windshield is the vin number on an 87 GN. Also is there any source to track a VIN number thanks

Ed, I don't have the exact data on the 87 models, but the engine serial number for the 3.8L V6 should be stamped on the lower left side rear edge of the block. The height is about even with the crankshaft. It will be a partial VIN, but the last 6 digits should match the last 6 of the car VIN.

Usual places for the so-called secret VIN frame numbers are: 1. on the left side frame rail, outer face, near the rear wheel kickup or a little farther back and 2. on the top of the rail beneath the driver's seat (must be viewed with a mirror unless body is off). Another spot used at one time was the opening in the firewall for the heater assembly. The number was stamped on the edge of the hole on the engine side (heater box has to be removed to view it). Not sure if these locations were still being used as late as 87.

The transmission should be stamped with a partial VIN number also. Location on the transmission varies, but it will be on the main body, usually near the lower edge. The transmission will have its own model and serial no. too.

Beginning in 1987, the Federal Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard required the VIN to be labeled on certain parts of selected cars. The labels will be attached to an interior surface of the following parts: F and R bumpers, hood, doors, quarter panel assys, trunk lid, and the front fenders. The certification label on the driver's door counts as an anti-theft label, so it may not have one on the inside.

If Buick placed these on any cars, that year, the GN should have been at the head of the list. These can be removed, defaced, or painted over if someone desired. That would sure bring the legitamacy of the car's ownership into question though. Maybe with luck, your car has these antitheft labels.

One way to trace a VIN is to go to the www.carfax.com (http://www.carfax.com) site.

[This message has been edited by TODD (edited 09-30-2001).]