Most Italian high performance cars have both a serial number as well as a body, (scocca) number.
My 1974 Longchamp has serial# 2067 and body # 26, this number is found in several places, such as gas filler door, door frame. Question is, does 26 signifie the 26th Longchamp body made? Has anyone else found similar numbers?

That is quite interesting as when I restored the Pantera I found the last 2 numbers of the VIN stamped on items like the hood and headlamp doors. The Mangusta has also the last 2 of the VIN stamped on every single item, even mouldings or chalk on the reverse of trim items. So with keeping with the same philosophy one would assume the last 2 of your VIN on items?

The difference is that in the early 70's the Longchamps were not attributed the 17 digit VIN code. The Pantera was to be sold in the US which means that they had to attribute a VIN number as soon as the US DOT requested it. Same goes for various Maseratis/ Ferraris etc.

Hi Longville,

I think it´s save to say that you are right. My deauville has the same markings inside the doors, fuelcaps and the grilles in the front fenders. All longchamp chassisnumbers ended ended with odd numbers. So yours must be productionnumber 34 (less prototype).

greetings

Chiel

Logic says that mine should be the 34th manufactured, but why then stamped 26? Your Deauville, what numbers are stamped on your car.The explanation could be that the body, manufactured by The Golden car company, 20 km south of Torino, was the 26th pressed, but when it came to the assembly, mine was attributed 2067, and being the 34th assembled.I visited the Golden Car Company last year, but unfortunately all their old records and files were damaged during a flooding of their archives in the basement. Today they make various stamped parts for Lamborghini, and in the past also bodies for Maserati Quattroporte III.

I´d have to look for the bodynumber since I never did previously. The numbers on my deauville are all the last four digits of the chassisnumber. As for as I know the golden car company also did the deauville bodies.
It wasn´t unusual for DT to move bodies up or down the productionline. Probably a matter, or lack of, planning.

It was not a matter of poor planning, but cash is king. With the deauville and longchamp, it was about the cash flow. I can recall several times being told to stop work on one car or another. It seems that some part of the payment process had stopped. I can recall a Blue Longchamp, that was there 1981-2 because the person who ordered it kept changing their mind about the seats. We would work a little on it and then stop.

It was different with the Pantera. We generally worked on their first come first served. In the summer of 1984, I was working on Three at a time. I would do the one part over the three and then start with something new and repeat it over the three.

There was also the customer cars that was kept at the factory and we would do work on them when things were slow or someones car came in for work. We had a Pantera with Nebraska plates, that we would get told the owner was coming and wanted to drive the car. We would all focus on that car, with Segadoni calling the shots.