The TA is a secret number that says the car is really a T/A in disguise :)
Onward!
The stamps in the trunk have no relation to secret vin numbers. I used them as an example of why no one addresses secret vin numbers. The point I was trying to make:
If no one takes a $5 harbor freight stamp kit, and spends 15 seconds stamping numbers everyone can see, no one is going to worry about duplicating numbers no one can see.
The second picture set is ONE secret vin number; the stamped side is filled and painted. I choose not to disclose the location because I’m posting in the public domain, and discussing the location creates a conflict of interest.
Forget the first set of pictures. Look at the second set of pictures, one secret number, and 730 the last three digits of my car’s vin number.
You’re looking at the back side of the stamp, with the numbers right-side-up, and the last three numbers are 730
Start at the right side of the picture: the far right bulge is the 0 the center bulge is the 3 the left bulge is the 7
The second picture works best for the limited visibility. As you play with the zoon, but not full zoon, there is a point when you can see the left bulge is a 7. Then again, perhaps it’s because I have looked at numerous times throughout the years and with different light sources and angles.
Also, in the second and fourth picture, if you look closely, you can see 7 distortions, the build plant, and 6 digit vin number.
The first 4 digits were stamped with a master stamp, allowing 1000 cars to have the last three digits hand stamped without changing the master stamp. Notice that the last 3 are over-stamped.
They are intentionally over-stamped because it allows a non-invasive inspection of the number. An inspector, who suspects a secret vin number, files some metal off the top of the bulges, then hammers it lightly. The metal molecules shift up into the void of the stamp, and the last 3 numbers become visible, without punching through the metal.
The reason for varying the locations: you cannot take two bodies, chop them up, and make one car without it ‘wearing’ a secret vin from the other car. If the inspector is working on the grounds of reasonable suspicion that the car has a splice from a stolen car, the three hot numbers, uncovered by the non-invasive inspection, create enough probable cause to dismantle the car, most likely requiring a search warrant, and removing the filler in the vin, exposing the complete vin number.
Sidebar: it would be interesting to see how anomalies play into the game. For instance, pmd’s car would be interesting.
I would also like to mention that the information come from my professional automotive experience.
I was a certified GM & Lexus technician at Sewell Village Cadillac, 7310 Lemmon Avenue Dallas, TX, technician # 272. I became GM certified by attending various professional classes at General Motors Training Center, 3635 S. Shiloh Rd. Garland, TX.
My job titles were: TX state vehicle inspector #135889, chassis tech, glass tech, and theft recovery specialist. During one of my theft recovery training classes at the GM Training Center, we glazed over secret vin numbers, including how to read one. We didn’t go into how many or where they were because it was confidential information. Even though we would never ‘read’ secret vin numbers, the instructor explained the inspection process as trivia. The conflict of interest is the conflict with my personal integrity.
When I read something on the internet, I like to see an indication that the information came from a credible information source. I wasn’t allowed to take my GM and Lexus certificates with me because ‘my certification’ was the dealership’s property so, technically, I’m not GM certified. But I do have an honor’s award, given to technicians who rise above the rest. (If it were a lottery, the odds were 823 to 1 at receiving the monthly award.) It’s not certification, but it shows some type of professional technical relationship with GM.
