bucharli

looking for info on vin- 194379s738059. final stages of resto and looking for build info. corvette museum has no info. I changed the tank in '85 when I knew nothing about vettes

Alan 71

Hi b,
Welcome!
First Post!!
From the VIN you posted it seems your car is quite a late built 69. Is that right?
The best source for what options your car was originally assembled with is really the Build Sheet on the tank, it's too bad yours is gone.
Of course the interior and exterior colors are easy since they're on the Trim Tag.
Other information takes some detective work.
The original engine and transmission stamp pads will be an indication as if they're original to this particular car, and therefore what the original drive train likely was.
During the assembly of the car there were various crayon marks put on the underbody indicating if the car had for example power brakes, (PB below the master cylinder on the toe board), or air conditioning, (A/C on the surface of the rear compartment floor in the interior) for example.
Did you notice any marks like those during your restoration?
Close examination can also help you determine if a car had a radio, alarm, or side exhaust, by looking at the body and underbody for certain holes or lack of holes that various options may have required.
I think that's about it?
Regards,
Alan

bucharli

Yes, Dec 69. Side pipes I added. Original a/c. Looking for reared info. Got 4.11 but it's a 350/300. Before I do the rear over I wanted to see if gears different from 3.08 were ordered.standard radio. Of which I have a modern replica. No way a 100 pt car but I want it as close as I can afford.

Revi

There should be a stamping on the bottom of the differential indicating which gears were installed.

Here's a site with the info, and copied & pasted here.

http://www.corvettefever.com/feature...ray/index.html

1969 Rear Axles
All 1969 Corvette rear axles are stamped with an alpha-numeric identification code. The 7-digit code contains the axle code prefix, the month and day build code, an axle plant letter suffix code, and, on positraction axles, a letter code stamped below the axle code to provide source information. (Some Chevrolet documentation shows McKinnon Industries as a rear axle source, but Metz's has not been verified.)

On the 1969 Corvette IRS rear suspension, the differential code is stamped on the bottom of the differential carrier housing just forward of the rear end cover. The axle code reads from left to right. The two-letter prefix designates the gear ratio and any other specific information about the axle. The calendar month is designated by a two-number code from January (01) through December (12)

Plant Codes
G =Detroit Gear & Axle
B =Buffalo, NY
K =McKinnon Industries (unverified)
W =Warren, Michigan

Posi-traction Codes
D =Dana posi-traction
differential
E =Eaton posi-traction differential
W =Warren Motive
Example: AL-04 09 W E
AL=Axle Prefix: 3.08:1 Corvette standard positraction axle
04=Month: April
09=Day: 9th day
W=Assembly Plant: Warren
E=Posi-traction Source: Eaton
1969 CORVETTE REAR AXLE CODES
Gear Ratio Code
3.36:1 AK
Posi 3.08:1 AL
Posi 3.36:1 AM
Posi 3.55:1 AN
Posi 3.70:1 AO
Posi 4.11:1 AP
3.70:1 AS
Heavy Duty Posi 3.08:1 AT
Heavy Duty Posi 3.36:1 AU
Posi 3.08:1 AV
Heavy Duty Posi 3.08:1 AW
Heavy Duty Posi 2.73:1 AY
Heavy Duty Posi 3.55:1 AZ
Heavy Duty Posi 3.70:1 FA
Heavy Duty Posi 4.11:1* FB
Posi 4.56:1 FC

This 1969 Corvette used this rear axle ratio.

From Corvette By The Numbers by Alan Colvin, published in 2002, used with permission of Robert Bentley Publishers.

ed427vette

Welcome to the forum.
And a fellow Long Islander to boot.

Here is a picture of typical 1969 Corvette differential stamp.




Going from left to right. The number 2 is most likely the shift number that made the rear at the plant. The FA is the ratio code (3.70), the 1-14-69 is the date (Jan 14, 1969) and W is the Warren plant.

As you can see, this does not actually correspond completely with the Colvin information but its typical on every 69 rear end I have seen to date.

Also there is a casting date for the carrier itself located on the drivers side by the front near where the drive shaft is connected. That will be in the typical configuration as found on engine blocks where the month is a letter (A-L, A being January) then the day, then the year as one number (8 would be 68, 9 would be 69, etc)

Ed

jim in oregon

Well, ..get a copy of the original GM-dealer invoice showing what your '69 came originally equipped with.You can get a copy of the invoice from them..HERE'S a link to the GM Archive folks...Jim

vehicleinvoice@gmmediaarchive.com
There is a $50 charge.
Jim

ed427vette

They do not have anything for 1969 Corvettes. Nobody does, except Canadian delivered cars. The only other exception is some private person may have information on your carin there own personal paper collection. i have GM paperwork or a few Corvettes from 1968 and 1969 that I hope to somehow find in the future. Any records that came out of St. Louis in 1969 no longer exists with GM or any official archive.

You might get lucky and find a second build sheet under your rear carpet or maybe behind a kick panel or behind the dash or somewhere else. But it does not happen often so don't get your hopes up, but it is possible.

jim in oregon

Sorry for the misinfo ..My C3 is a '78..and they provided one for me..Jim

bucharli

Just did frame off. Nothing else found. And thanks for the help