When it comes to knowing the concrete details about your car, there is only one place you can look, the VIN number. It doesn’t matter what engine is in the car now, and it doesn’t matter what the previous owner told you, all that really matters is what the VIN tag reads. Since your car has been around for a while, odds are good that someone modified it to suit their taste. That big-block 396 cubic-inch-powered 1968 Nova SS you found, may have actually started out as a four or six-cylinder grocery getter.

That isn’t to say the previous owner was lying when he told you it was original, they may not known themselves. After so many years have passed, who’s to say how many different names have been on that title. As we lined out in a few articles that came out last month, decoding a VIN is not always an easy task. Not only that, but it is completely unique to every car, every year, and can sometimes get complicated.

Decoding a VIN takes a little figuring out, and if  you’re are reading something wrong, you might get an answer that doesn’t make any sense! Now however, if you have an Impala, a Nova, or any Tri-Five Chevy, there is a much simpler way to figure out what the VIN on your car really means!

H&H Classic Parts for Chevrolets, now offers a “Classic Chevrolet Vin Decoder” for your Impala, Nova, or Tri-Five. Using it is as simple as reading the VIN on your car, typing it in on their website, and clicking the decode button. Voila, the original specs for your car. We checked the VIN that we made up for our Chevy II By The Numbers article, and tested our investigative skills, and the decoders capability.

The VIN that we used, and feel free to input this yourself, is “117377W100527.” At first we received a VIN error because we included the spaces that appear on the tag. After removing the spaces, and putting all of the characters together, we are presented with this:

• Engine: six-cylinder
• Type: Nova SS two-door coupe
• Plant: Willow Run
• Year: 1967

An exact match to the results in our article! It seems like a cool, easy to use, and extremely helpful tool for anyone working on a car. It is also fun to see the computer do the work for you on something that would usually take just a little more effort. We do see this being very beneficial when you’re looking at a a car to possibly buy, especially if you have your smartphone in your hand. That being said, we don’t have the time to go through and test VIN combinations for every make, model, and year Chevy available, that is up to you! Do us a favor though, and try your VIN in the H&H decoder, and tell us how it worked! Was it spot on, or a little off? We think this is a pretty cool feature, and would really like to hear your thoughts on it.