Greg Reimer
Well Known Member
Decades ago, I bought a 62 Biscayne 2dr.post car, 409 and it had sat in a garage for 10 years before I got it. This was early 1977. Car was red,faded, but originally silver with red interior, I'm still sure the car was a legit 409. I very reluctantly let the car go,I didn't want to sell it, but I did. I had a bill of sale for the car, last owner lost the pink, but the transaction was legit. The guy that got the car from me never paid the last bit he owed on it, claimed one thing then another, etc. but in that timespan, he came up with a 62 Impala 2 dr. HT, a 283 car, which was a good parts car. He traded me the front fenders,hood, doors, front bumper,deck lid, etc, then he told me he towed it down and junked it. Wouldn't tell me where.Turns out he was a real shyster and a half. He brought the car down to one of our 409 Chevy Club drags in the early 1980's,and the car had new California license plates on it, etc, but I never gave him the paperwork. Putting two and two together, I suspect now that he registered the parts car, swapped the VIN on the Biscayne with the Impala, towed the Impala down and either abandoned it or left it outside a junkyard in Long Beach where he lived,and there was a '62 Biscayne with a VIN tag starting with 21847XXXXXX. The first number is the last didget of the year,13 is a 6cyl. Biscayne,14 is an 8 cyl. Biscayne, 15 is a 6 cyl. Bel Air, 16 is a V8 Bel Air, 17 is a 6 cyl. Impala, and 18 was a V8 Impala. No distinction is made in the VIN as to which V8, but if anybody ever got that car, check and see if your 62 Biscayne has a VIN starting with 21847. Last time I saw it about 35 years ago, it had a two tone metallic blue rather tacky paint job on it and it was lettered,The Ancient Rat with a cartoon figurine of a rat. That was in Long Beach,Calif. I haven't seen nor heard from him in over 30 years. He tried to join our 409 Chevy Club of America, I refused his entry, sent his check back with a short note why, never heard from him again. He had too many bad parts deals going on, and I cared about the reputation of our club too much to let him anywhere near it. This guy passed away five or six years ago, he's busy being dead, nothing else, but I still wished I wouldn't have let him have that car. Be careful when matching VINs and parts. Some stuff doesn't match up and never will.