Is there another place to look on a C3 to tell if it has the correct engine and trans, other than whats on the ID plate. I hear some have changed the ID plates to increase the value on some C3's.

 

it would help if you post a year. after 72 you can check the vin for the engine size

 

Year is 69

 

then home work and doing some investigation is your friend.

 

If you don't have the tank sticker the only thing you can do is look at the engine pad and trans for the VIN

 

So what you are saying is that the motor and trans are stamped with the VIN #. Is that what matching numbers really mean.

 

Another place? No. The VIN derivative is stamped on the engine pad and will match the vehicle's VIN if the engine is original. 74 shown;; 69 will be similar:


Corvette frames have the VIN derivative stamped in two places, but neither of these stamps will identify the original engine.

Matching engine and tranny stamps are part of the definition of matching numbers.

 

This should keep you busy for awhile....and the site's below should also answer any question(s) you have....have fun.

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/D.../matchnos.html

http://classiccars.about.com/od/find...a/nubmatch.htm

 

Hi Tony,
There is an incredible amount of discussion about 'matching numbers'
Some of the main drive-line parts (engine, transmission) and the frame, were linked to a particular car by a VIN stamp. Those parts are not only 'matching number' they are 'original'. They were installed on a certain car in St Louis. There are also date codes that need to be matching on some parts too. The usually accepted date window is 6 months before the date of the cars production
People now make up engines and transmissions with the right stamping and date codes to replace missing 'original' parts. People have very different ideas of how these cars should be looked at and valued. Is it restoration or fraud? Most people feel how the car is described determines which of those it might be.
Besides these big parts there are MANY other parts of the car that had part numbers and date codes that tie them not to a particular car but to a specific time/ point in production. An original car should have these parts too. A few of them are, starter, alternator, radiator, carburetor, rear differential, body panels, door trim panels, seat upholstery, glass, tires, and on and on. All those parts can be part of matching numbers too. A car COULD have its 'original' engine with it stamping, casting number, and casting date, but still have MANY parts on it that are not matching number. For instance the engine could have a carburetor that appears to be correct but has a part number and date from after this particular car was built.
In my mind it's up to the seller to become educated about all this or have someone who is knowledgeable about the car look at the car with him.
To sum up.... 'matching numbers' and 'originality' are 2 different things, and matter in different ways to different people.
Matching numbers is pretty easy to figure out, originality is a bit more difficult.
For many people it comes down to getting what they paid for.They don't want a matching number car if they paid for an original car, or a non-matching number car when they paid for a matching number car. For MANY people all this doesn't matter a bit. They probably have the most FUN.
Regards,
Alan

 

Thats why I am here and suffering from this sickness called "CORVETTEAHOLICISM"
Peace,,,Moosie

 

Few sellers will represent a car as having the "original" drivetrain. If they do, and if it is a particularly high value car, they better be sure. Many will say that it is believed to be original, but make no warranties or guarantees and tell the buyer to exercise their own due diligence. That probably takes them off the hook legally. With multiple owners over the last 40 years, who can really be sure what has gone on with any car?

A car advertised as "matching numbers" may mean only that...the numbers match. The car may have had the engine pad "re-stamped" with both the engine code and the VIN derivative. This is probably done on higher value cars as opposed to lower valuev cars, for the obvious reason of extracting a higher sales price. I've heard it said there are twice as many 427/435 C2s running around than ever came out of the factory.

Some re-stamps are done poorly and quite obvious, others look very good. Let's face it, there are a number of places on the internet that advertise re-stamping, as well as the sale of stamp kits. Experts over on the NCRS Technical Discussion Board may be willing to study and comment on a high resolution photo, if you are an NCRS member and have the ability to post. They know a lot about broach marks, placement and spacing of the numbers and letters, variations in the impressions, etc.