1980 Corvette VIN / Engine Serial
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
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1980 Corvette VIN / Engine Serial
Hi Everyone,
A long time lurker and Vette dreamer, I finally got my first car! It's a 1980 black C3. Something that's been puzzling me though is the serialization.
The VIN is: 1Z878AS401774
Which I interpret as: Chevrolet Corvette Coupe L48 engine produced 1980 in St Louis
The Engine Serial: T0214CKW
Which can be:
Tonawanda, February 14 1976 180hp manual transmission, or
Tonawanda, February 14 1972 200hp 4sp transmission
Obviously the engine doesn't match the VIN production year, so it may be the replacement. But, how do I determine if the engine is actually 1976 or 1972 version?
Thanks,
Shota
A long time lurker and Vette dreamer, I finally got my first car! It's a 1980 black C3. Something that's been puzzling me though is the serialization.
The VIN is: 1Z878AS401774
Which I interpret as: Chevrolet Corvette Coupe L48 engine produced 1980 in St Louis
The Engine Serial: T0214CKW
Which can be:
Tonawanda, February 14 1976 180hp manual transmission, or
Tonawanda, February 14 1972 200hp 4sp transmission
Obviously the engine doesn't match the VIN production year, so it may be the replacement. But, how do I determine if the engine is actually 1976 or 1972 version?
Thanks,
Shota
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,482
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
...The Engine Serial: T0214CKW
Which can be:
Tonawanda, February 14 1976 180hp manual transmission, or
Tonawanda, February 14 1972 200hp 4sp transmission...
Which can be:
Tonawanda, February 14 1976 180hp manual transmission, or
Tonawanda, February 14 1972 200hp 4sp transmission...
...how do I determine if the engine is actually 1976 or 1972 version?...
Congrats on your '80.
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Woot, no "Thank You" button? 
Thanks Mike!
Looks like the engine is dated '76. In itself it's fine. It is now obvious that the transmission is converted too. Would it be recommendable to keep the automatic transy on this engine or switch back to the manual? How much would I be looking at for such reversal?
Thanks Mike!
Looks like the engine is dated '76. In itself it's fine. It is now obvious that the transmission is converted too. Would it be recommendable to keep the automatic transy on this engine or switch back to the manual? How much would I be looking at for such reversal?
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
I don't know exactly as the car is still at the seller's, but he says he checked and it's 1976. Oh, I also got partial VIN that is on the engine: 141738, it definitely doesn't match the car's VIN, but don't really know what to make of it other than this...
