3. Vehicle receipt and documentation

A crash test vehicle is only as trustworthy as the paper trail behind it. Before a single part is removed, weighed, or instrumented, the preparation team must convert a delivered vehicle into a documented, configuration-controlled asset. This chapter covers the receiving workflow: incoming inspection, configuration recording, part number verification, and the construction of a traceable baseline that every later mass property measurement will reference. The goal is simple to state and demanding to execute — at any point in the program, an engineer must be able to answer "what exactly is this vehicle, and how do we know?"

Why the Baseline Must Precede Preparation

Mass property verification depends on comparability. Curb mass, front/rear distribution, center of gravity height, and yaw inertia are only meaningful when the measured object is precisely the configuration the test matrix intends. If a vehicle arrives with a non-production battery pack, a dealer-installed accessory, or a mismatched tire specification, every downstream number inherits that error. Worse, the error is often invisible: a 12 kg difference in curb mass may look like measurement noise rather than a configuration deviation.

The receiving stage therefore has two jobs. First, it detects and documents deviations from the intended build. Second, it freezes the vehicle's identity in a way that survives disassembly, instrumentation, ballast adjustment, and the inevitable weeks between receipt and test. The baseline is not a single document but a linked set: a vehicle identity record, a configuration snapshot, a verified parts list, and a photographic and dimensional record, all tied to one identifier.

Incoming Inspection

Incoming inspection begins at the delivery point, before the vehicle enters the workshop. Record the arrival condition with date, time, mileage or hours, transport mode, and the condition of seals, covers, and protective film. Transport damage is common and must be separated from test-relevant condition: a scuffed bumper cover is cosmetic, but a bent suspension link or a displaced subframe is a configuration and safety issue.

A practical inspection sequence moves from the outside inward:

• Exterior and underbody: panel alignment, fluid leaks, tire brand/size/date codes, wheel part numbers, ride height at all four corners.
• Interior and cargo area: seat configuration, trim level, presence of non-production brackets or temporary shipping hardware.
• Powertrain bay: battery or fuel system labels, high-voltage service disconnect presence, coolant and oil levels, ECU part number labels.
• Documentation check: VIN plate, build sheet or configuration report, certificate of origin, and any deviation notes from the build or logistics team.

Photograph each finding against a visible identifier — a placard or the VIN — so that images cannot be confused with another vehicle. Any deviation is logged with a disposition: accept as-is, correct before preparation, or escalate for engineering decision. Do not silently correct deviations; a corrected deviation is still a record.

Configuration Records and Part Number Verification

The configuration record is the vehicle's specification at receipt. It should capture, at minimum: VIN, model and variant, powertrain type, battery or fuel tank specification, transmission, drive configuration, tire and wheel specification, seat and interior trim, and any options that affect mass or structural behavior. Where the program defines a "target build," the record should state the target and the as-received condition side by side.

Part number verification turns the configuration record from a claim into evidence. Select the mass- and structure-relevant components and verify their identifiers physically: battery pack label, front and rear subframes, suspension arms, brake calipers and rotors, seats, and any ballast or mounting hardware. Compare against the released bill of materials for the intended build. A compact verification table keeps this auditable:

In this illustrative example, the rotor deviation is exactly the kind of finding that matters: a superseded rotor revision may differ in mass by a few hundred grams per corner, which propagates into unsprung mass and rotational inertia. The correct response is not to swap the part quietly but to record the deviation, quantify its mass effect if known, and obtain a disposition. If the program permits the deviation, the baseline records it; if not, the part is replaced and the replacement is itself verified and logged.

Building the Traceable Baseline

The baseline is established when four elements are linked under one vehicle identifier: the identity record (VIN, program ID, receipt date), the configuration snapshot (as-received specification and deviations), the verified parts list (with evidence locations), and the reference measurements (ride height, tire pressures, fluid levels, and an initial weigh if available). From this point forward, every change — instrumentation added, ballast installed, seats removed, fluids drained — is recorded as a delta against the baseline, not as a replacement of it.

The figure below shows how the receiving workflow produces a frozen baseline and how subsequent preparation activities attach to it as traceable deltas.

Practical Execution Notes

Two habits make the baseline reliable in practice. First, use a single vehicle identifier consistently across the inspection form, the configuration record, the parts verification table, and every photograph; a mismatch between a photo filename and a VIN is a traceability failure waiting to surface. Second, record reference measurements with the same method that will be used later. If ride height will be measured from wheel center to fender arch at a specified tire pressure, measure it that way at receipt, not with a different reference point that cannot be compared.

When a deviation is found, quantify its likely effect before disposition. For a superseded brake rotor, the mass difference per corner and its rotational inertia contribution can be estimated from the two part specifications; for a non-production bracket, the mass is simply weighed. This converts a qualitative "we found something" into a decision input: accept with a recorded delta, replace and re-verify, or escalate. The baseline then remains honest — it describes the vehicle as it actually is, with every known difference from target explicitly attached.

With the baseline established, the preparation team has a defensible starting point: a vehicle whose identity, configuration, and reference state are documented and whose subsequent modifications will be tracked as measurable deltas. That foundation is what allows the later mass property measurements to be interpreted with confidence rather than qualified with uncertainty.