jotto

Running the numbers, numbers matching and where are some of them!

As I promised she who must be obeyed I wouldnt do any...much work on the new project, I decide to look at some numbers and see what I have.

VIN 1Z8749S417195

Which I think decodes to
1 Chevrolet
Z Corvette
87 2 door coupe
4 L82 Engine
9 1979
S St louis
417195 in run started at 400001

Engine has
V0926ZBA
19S417195
So it looks like its the original engine, Built at the Flint plant, Sept 26th L82 Manual.

Carb is 17059504 2908CCS16 so thats a correct year carb, 170 prefix, 5 is 76-79, 9 is for 79, 5 - Quadrajet (4 bbl) California standards, 0 for Chevrolet BUT 4 is for an auto.

Trim tag shows F03, so January 3rd 1979, 13L Silver metallic ( Laquered? ) and 722 Medium Red.

Tried to find number on Diff but couldnt see anything...where is it?
Looked on transmission and all I could find was the following.
MLT7802
11.14.78/1
1304065903
W.G DIV F03

Any ideas?

Z-man

Here's what the number on the differential looks like. It's directly on the bottom facing the ground, so you'd need to jack it up or use a mirror. I had crud on mine that needed to be removed (wire brush) so the numbers could be seen. They are very faintly stamped. Mine says 2 CAM 3 26 70 W, which means 3.36 built on Mar. 26, 1970 - Warren plant.

Link to Diff Codes

jotto

Thanks for that, will clean up the diff to see what I can find.

Any ideas on the trans? only info I can find is on the passenger side.
MLT7802
11.14.78/1
1304065903
W.G DIV F03
Should it be somewhere here?

The info above was found right behind the exhaust here.

KapsSA

Your trans is the Borg Warner M21 close ratio.
With the L82 and that trans your rear end ratio is PROBABLY 3.70. That's what came standard with that combination. I imagine you could order different, tho.
If you're looking for the VIN, it's on the very top facing the pass side.

jotto

That pic, is it taken from underneath?

I have just looked through a couple of books and as you say, see that the M21 CR was indeed paired with the 3.70 rear.

If this is the case, with stock wheels, what kind of rpm would I be running at say 60mph.

Is this trans good for off the line performance? I assume being CR, acceleration would be good but high speed cruising may be a bit of a pain.

Easy Mike

Yep.

Check the engine date again. Usually an engine assembled in Flint at the end of September would have been installed during October.

Close. While acrylic lacquer was the original paint, the L stands for "lower" meaning the area below the belt line. If the car was two toned, there would be a paint code U for upper. Since most Corvettes were not two-toned, most don't need the L, but it's a holdover from GM practices.

The other numbers jive. Last unit built in December was #16891. Your car is 304 after that. They averaged about 120 cars a day, so #17195 looks good for January 3.

jotto

So its the V0926ZBA I need to check again? The air pump is in the way so I could have got it wrong.

KapsSA

You have ZBA and the correct VIN on the motor so I'd say you're OK.
My pic of the trans VIN was taken from underneath. I think I just stuck the camera up there and shot a few then picked out a good one.

BKarol

I have a close ratio M21 with 370 rearend. RPMs are high in 4th. About 3400 for 70mph.

Here is a pic from the drivers side to get the borg warner number. My reads WD2182 (I understand it to mean april 21, 78 2nd shift) and is right for the car. The number on top is stamped and has the last digits of my vin.
Good luck.



Guess I have to get some degreaser up there.

jotto

Karol, thanks for that pic, I can see exactly where I need to get to now...eek! Think I need some degreaser as well!

Thanks to all that replied, appreciate it.

Easy Mike

The engine has every appearance of being original. Just an odd date. Odd but not impossible.

jotto

OK, on the trans I found MW2082 and the correct VIN stamp so its the original trans.
WM2082
Warner (W)
August (M)
20 ( Day built )
8 ( year, 1978 )
2 ( second shift )

Still cannot find diff number but to be honest Im not 100% sure where I should be looking! doh.

in the pic of the diff earlier in the thread, is the number more towards the front or the rear of the car? I have a lot crud and Im not sure how close to the spring I should be looking....

Z-man

More toward the rear. Just above the numbers you can see the big gasket for the rear cover.

jotto

It helps if you remove the steel plate from under the diff!

Found OJ235 then what looks like 8E7.

The OJ would be correct for a 3.7 but there is no W for Warren plant? I guess the 235 is 235th day for build date.

Had trouble making out the last characters but looks like 8E7....does that mean anything to anyone?

BKarol

Do believe that M on your trans means December.

A=Jan
b=feb
etc.
Did not use the letter I
M=december
which is closer to you build date in January. Dont think your trans would have been around from August .

jotto

You are quite correct! I was looking at the muncie codes in my book.