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I believe VIN #s on engine pads occurred during the middle of the 1960 model year.
I agree, probably phased into production throughout 1960 as the assembly plant(s) used up stocks of engines that previously were sequentially numbered by the engine plants. Noland Adams' Vol 1 shows an example Corvette engine stamping dated 1215 of 1959 with a VIN.
My guess is that the change probably occurred across the product line, but perhaps the Flint engine plant was the first to make the switch and ship engines with the new stamping (or lack thereof) and may have chosen the Corvette engine as their pilot candidate; the Corvette plant probably did not have a large stockpile of the pre-numbered engines to draw down before they began stamping the VIN on engines (Corvette was probably the closest thing to "just in time" parts supply in those days), thus they were the first to ship vehicles with the VIN stamp.
I don't know when they began on the other car lines, but I know my 1966 Chevelle (Flint assembly plant with Flint small block) does NOT have the VIN sequence. I know the engine is original and it does have the Flint engine code.
A friend has a complete ls6 engine out of a 1970 chevelle and it has a VIN# on the pad which seems to indicate it actually was in a car rather than a replacement engine.
When did Chevrolet start putting part of the VIN on all engines?
If I am not mistaking, it was a Corvette only thing at first.
Jim
..October 1959 cast date (1960 model year) is the earliest vette block witnessed with a VIN derivitive stamped by hand - no stamp holder ..numbers were typically crooked and looked like a clown/drunk stamped them on those early blocks.
..October 1959 cast date (1960 model year) is the earliest vette block witnessed with a VIN derivitive stamped by hand - no stamp holder ..numbers were typically crooked and looked like a clown/drunk stamped them on those early blocks.
I think you were looking at a bubba restamp. Chevrolet didn't start stamping VIN derivitives until the '62 model year; all Corvettes and hi-perf Pass cars (at the plants that followed the rule)
I think you were looking at a bubba restamp. Chevrolet didn't start stamping VIN derivitives until the '62 model year; all Corvettes and hi-perf Pass cars (at the plants that followed the rule)
VIN derivatives were added to the engine blocks in mid 1960 corvettes.
I agree, probably phased into production throughout 1960 as the assembly plant(s) used up stocks of engines that previously were sequentially numbered by the engine plants.
Sequential numbering of V-8's at Flint and Tonawanda (see example below) stopped at the end of the 1956 model year.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.