correct numbers on the block for restoration engine
05-20-2002, 01:32 AM
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correct numbers on the block for restoration engine
Howdy, need to know what all the numbers are on the stamping pad. I know the last ones are the last four or five ??? of the vin then the three letter suffix. How many vin numbers??? What are the prefix numbers??? Production date??? This was the shop that lost my engine, now need to try to find correct numbers on stamping pad...please help??
05-20-2002, 10:28 AM
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Re: correct numbers on the block for restoration engine (nolessthanblessed)
NLTB, I think you need to change to your handle to "BoilsandFrogs". It's hard for me to see any blessing in what has happened to you here.
I would be careful about providing this shop with too much information. It sounds like they may be ready to "find' your engine at a restampers. A restamp may fool you for awhile, but eventually a false stamp pad will be uncovered, and you run the risk of unknowingly getting involved in fraud if you sell the car.
Your shop should know from handling enough engines that the stamps on your engine are unique to your car. Since it is stamped with the VIN derivative, it is the ONLY engine that has that set of numbers. You aren't going to FIND another engine with a complete set of correct numbers. Maybe they are trying to determine the lowest threshold of your knowledge on the subject, or find out enough about the format to "roll their own"
There are two stamps on Corvette cylinder cases. The first stamp is applied at the engine plant after the engine is assembled but before it is painted. The second stamp, or VIN derivative stamp, was applied at the assembly plant before the engine was installed in the chassis.
For a small block, the engine plant stamp has the prefix "V" (or 'F' for early engines), then four digits that define the month and day the engine was built (example: 0630 for June 30). A big block has a similar stamp except that the prefix letter is "T". The year of engine build is determined by the suffix code, which is either two letters for 69 and earlier, and three letters for 70 and later. This suffix determines the displacement, horsepower, transmission (and sometimes other accessories depending on the year), as well as the year the engine was built.
If a counterfeiter is attempting to make a NOM car look original, one ploy is to find a complete engine of the right configuration with proper casting dates and engine plant stamp (no small feat), and restamp the VIN to that of the car being "counterfeited".
The format of the VIN derivative stamp varies from year to year. Typically it will include ALL of the serial number plus a preceding "0", making six the total number of serial digits. These digits will be preceded by some combination of alpha characters and digits depending on the year. For example, in 70, the VIN derivative would look like this "70S000001", where the "S" represented the assembly plant, Saint Louis. I don't know why they stamped the S except to follow a general corporate format for stamping the assembly plant...its not like they made Corvettes anywhere BUT Saint Louis.
Each stamp is gang stamped, which means that all the characters were held in alignment in a fixture while the stamp was struck. Therefore, all the characters should be on the same level and evenly spaced. There are exceptions to this rule caused by factory anomolies, and these anomolies generally cause the owners trouble when/if the cars are judged.
Nothing is more humorous in flight judging than to see a car where the nefarious amateur has attempted to restamp an engine and pass it off as something it is not. Some little fact he failed to know about pad stamps can make a faux pas so outrageous to most every Corvette buff there, that it will draw a crowd with knowing smiles. It is like that children's story about "The Kings New Clothes".
[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 7:32 AM 5/20/2002]
I would be careful about providing this shop with too much information. It sounds like they may be ready to "find' your engine at a restampers. A restamp may fool you for awhile, but eventually a false stamp pad will be uncovered, and you run the risk of unknowingly getting involved in fraud if you sell the car.
Your shop should know from handling enough engines that the stamps on your engine are unique to your car. Since it is stamped with the VIN derivative, it is the ONLY engine that has that set of numbers. You aren't going to FIND another engine with a complete set of correct numbers. Maybe they are trying to determine the lowest threshold of your knowledge on the subject, or find out enough about the format to "roll their own"
There are two stamps on Corvette cylinder cases. The first stamp is applied at the engine plant after the engine is assembled but before it is painted. The second stamp, or VIN derivative stamp, was applied at the assembly plant before the engine was installed in the chassis.
For a small block, the engine plant stamp has the prefix "V" (or 'F' for early engines), then four digits that define the month and day the engine was built (example: 0630 for June 30). A big block has a similar stamp except that the prefix letter is "T". The year of engine build is determined by the suffix code, which is either two letters for 69 and earlier, and three letters for 70 and later. This suffix determines the displacement, horsepower, transmission (and sometimes other accessories depending on the year), as well as the year the engine was built.
If a counterfeiter is attempting to make a NOM car look original, one ploy is to find a complete engine of the right configuration with proper casting dates and engine plant stamp (no small feat), and restamp the VIN to that of the car being "counterfeited".
The format of the VIN derivative stamp varies from year to year. Typically it will include ALL of the serial number plus a preceding "0", making six the total number of serial digits. These digits will be preceded by some combination of alpha characters and digits depending on the year. For example, in 70, the VIN derivative would look like this "70S000001", where the "S" represented the assembly plant, Saint Louis. I don't know why they stamped the S except to follow a general corporate format for stamping the assembly plant...its not like they made Corvettes anywhere BUT Saint Louis.
Each stamp is gang stamped, which means that all the characters were held in alignment in a fixture while the stamp was struck. Therefore, all the characters should be on the same level and evenly spaced. There are exceptions to this rule caused by factory anomolies, and these anomolies generally cause the owners trouble when/if the cars are judged.
Nothing is more humorous in flight judging than to see a car where the nefarious amateur has attempted to restamp an engine and pass it off as something it is not. Some little fact he failed to know about pad stamps can make a faux pas so outrageous to most every Corvette buff there, that it will draw a crowd with knowing smiles. It is like that children's story about "The Kings New Clothes".
[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 7:32 AM 5/20/2002]
05-20-2002, 05:41 PM
#3
Re: correct numbers on the block for restoration engine (Chuck Sangerhausen)
Here Doc, maybe I can help out our new friend.
Okay, what numbers would you like? :jester
[Modified by 67HEAVEN, 4:41 PM 5/20/2002]
Okay, what numbers would you like? :jester
[Modified by 67HEAVEN, 4:41 PM 5/20/2002]
05-20-2002, 06:45 PM
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Re: correct numbers on the block for restoration engine (nolessthanblessed)
