Ken Sungela

If a 59 has a VIN ending in 2332, what are acceptable date ranges for the parts on the car which are date coded?

Panama 58

Ken, looks like your car was assembled approximately on December 22, 1958. Using this as your base, which "acceptable" numbers are you talking about; block, heads, intake, transmission or other less "matching numbers" of importance such as voltage regulator and generator? Also, when you say "what is acceptable", who are you referring to; NCRS, Bloomington, potential future buyers, market in general?

Ken Sungela

Good question. I'm trying to determine if the parts on the car could have been the original born with parts. If they are outside the date range, then I can be certain they were not. If they are within the date range of what most likely happened during production, then I can get some degree of certainty.
I'm referring to the block, heads, intake, trans. and generator. The rear too, if there is a date stamp, but I don't think there was a date code on the rear. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks.

Panama 58

Considering that your car was about three months into production makes it a little easier to answer your question. Typically you would see the casting date on the block anywhere from one day to two weeks prior to car assembly. Heads are usually the same month as assembly and both within a day of each other if not the same day. Intake is same month as assembly month. I too don't recall if there was a date on the differential. Most all of components that were dated within a month of assembly; generator, voltage regulator, etc. NCRS allows engine blocks to be cast dated up to six months prior to car assembly date, but everything else should be within a month or so of assembly. BTW- your December casting date should be L218 or earlier. L=December 21=day 8=1958. If I recall correctly, the foundry ran pretty much 24/7, so weekend dates are included in this assessment.

Ken Sungela

Thank you. Does the assembly date indicated the day assembly was started or finished? How long did it take to build a car?

Panama 58

Ken, the engines were built usually within one day. The chassis was assembled within one day and the bodies would also typically be one day. Keep in mind that they produced several hundred cars per day. The question I think you are asking is how long did it typically take for all of these pieces to come together with an assigned VIN? Knowing that once the engine was built and stamped with the date and engine displacement suffix, it made it down the line to the body drop area where the VIN was stamped into the frame and the body was positioned on the chassis. Based on known original engines to bodies, the time it takes for this to happen can be anywhere from the same day to several weeks. The most accepted span of time seems to be roughly 2-10 days from when the block was stamped and what day the car was assigned a VIN. Many things can be attributed to the delay of final assembly of a particular car.

If you are trying to determine if your car and it's components are original to the car, provide us with a list of dates for each item and we can help.