Chassis v's VIN on 76 Safari - Hecho en Mexico

Hello!

My husband and I bought a 1976 Safari in Bali to use while we lived here for a few years - of course we have fallen in love with it and are getting it reconditioned before organising to ship back to Australia.

However, we have found the VIN listed on the paperwork is different from the Chassis No on the plate under the hood.

We are lucky to have inadvertently met the owner listed on the paperwork (in Bali, the paperwork can be laborious, and many Balinese don't bother with updating the ownership papers due to the cost associated) and we asked him about the discrepancy.

He has told us that the Chassis number is different from the VIN, which we can find under the back seat - however, this number has already been scratched off in the recondition (!).

Does anyone know if Safari 181 made in Mexico had different Chassis to VIN numbers? And where else on the vehicle I might be able to find proof of the VIN?

Thank you for any advice you might be able to give!

Chassis and VIN are the same thing. They just changed the name when they changed the format in the 1980s. Yours will have a chassis number only 1862040950 according to the plate.