QuestionThis may sound dumb, but I need to know where to locate the VIN and what I'm looking at for a 55 Clipper I bought and plan to restore. I know it has the 322ci V-8 and ultramatic transmission. It is the Deluxe model.
AnswerIt's not a dumb question at all. Older cars were not as sophisticated as the modern cars with the fancy plate inside the windshield with all the digits on it.
Your VIN is an 8 or 9 digit number stamped on a plate on your driver's side door opening, on the front "A" pillar, between the hinges, facing you as you sit in the seat with the door open. It is a shiny stainless steel plate, and the number will begin with 55XX-XXXX, in otherwords, the body style number (5522, 5542, or 5547 depending on whether your car is a Deluxe 4 door sedan, a Super 4 door sedan, or a Super 2 door "Panama" hardtop, in that order. The last 4 or 5 digits are the sequence number.
If the car still has the original engine, that same VIN is also stamped on the top of the engine block above the water pump, just to the driver's side of the oil filler pipe, usually this one is very hard to see.
There is also a stamped VIN on the chassis at the rear crossmember, but it cannot be seen without a tiny mirror and a strong light, and usually these are obscured by rust and crud.
The two groups of characters below the VIN on the door plate give the paint and interior codes. If you give me the paint and trim codes, I can decode them for you.
There are other possibilities for the model codes, but since you mentioned that your car is a "deluxe" model, I'm assuming it is not a Custom Clipper - but if there is some other two digits after the 55, tell me what they are and I'll decode that for you too. I don't need the last group of numbers, they just identify the production sequence number.
A very high percentage of these cars had automatic transmission, power brakes and steering, and automatic levelling, but there are a few of the "Clipper Deluxe" models that do not have those accessories.
By the way, the engine is a 320, not a 322.
As you might already know, I have a lot of these cars myself - so any further questions - ask away!
Dick
