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Old Dec 25, 2024 | 10:13 AM
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Default Thoughts on these engine stamps

Hello all.

I don't own a Corvette, and maybe never will, but I'm trying to learn in case I ever get the opportunity to buy one.

Do these stamps look original or is it possibly a restamp? What about the broach marks?

Thanks.



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Old Dec 25, 2024 | 02:04 PM
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1971 LT1, characters look correctly stamped.
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Old Dec 25, 2024 | 02:07 PM
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1971 LT1, look at these to compare
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...d-correct.html
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Old Dec 25, 2024 | 02:27 PM
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Serial 6679 was a January 1971 production car so the 1230 stamp on the block fits in.

Agree with the others - looks legit.
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Old Dec 25, 2024 | 04:58 PM
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Appreciate the responses. And thanks for the explanation on the date code. That appears to correspond with what's on the trim tag.
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Old Dec 25, 2024 | 06:12 PM
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My 2¢:
  • There are definitely circular scratches (non-factory) from the V of the engine stamp continuing through the VIN stamp.
  • There's also something that looks like partial characters under the S and 0 of the VIN.
  • I'm not understanding the shallow depth of the V compared to the date characters.
  • The broach marks under the 230CGZ look decent, though light in depth.
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Old Dec 25, 2024 | 07:03 PM
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Originally Posted by 67:72
My 2¢:
  • There are definitely circular scratches (non-factory) from the V of the engine stamp continuing through the VIN stamp.
  • There's also something that looks like partial characters under the S and 0 of the VIN.
  • I'm not understanding the shallow depth of the V compared to the date characters.
  • The broach marks under the 230CGZ look decent, though light in depth.
I see what you mean about the S.
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Old Dec 26, 2024 | 10:14 AM
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My take on it - The pad has been machined lightly. The VIN derivative looks like it has a "bounce" when it was struck. Not a huge deal. It's an LT-1, so a lot of care was taken to minimize the deck cut to preserve the "numbers".

This would theoretically line up with a sleeved bore on the passenger side of the block. If it has a sleeve, it all falls into place.
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Old Dec 26, 2024 | 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by BladeRunner2019
Hello all.

I don't own a Corvette, and maybe never will, but I'm trying to learn in case I ever get the opportunity to buy one.

Do these stamps look original or is it possibly a restamp? What about the broach marks?

Thanks.

Alot of desirable engine were duplicated because of there value. 1 being the LT-1 and the trio power 427 .I personally don’t like it !!! Looks like there were other letters and numbers under the stamp especially under the S .. I think it was decked .
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Old Dec 26, 2024 | 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by stingr69
My take on it - The pad has been machined lightly. The VIN derivative looks like it has a "bounce" when it was struck. Not a huge deal. It's an LT-1, so a lot of care was taken to minimize the deck cut to preserve the "numbers".

This would theoretically line up with a sleeved bore on the passenger side of the block. If it has a sleeve, it all falls into place.
Overall, I agree with this conjecture. The characters look good for shape, base alignment, and spacing. In MelWff's link above there is a fainter V on another engine. The deck resurfacing that occurred was done very lightly across the pad, so likely is a real LT-1, as they were trying hard to keep the numbers and deck untouched.

There are members here who have collections of stamp pad pics - maybe they'll come along and provide examples of engines near this date and VIN.
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Old Dec 26, 2024 | 03:41 PM
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I've not had a chance yet to examine the car in person yet. All of the photos I've seen do indicate a 71 LT1. (6500 redline, correct emissions sticker) Of course, pretty much everything can be faked. I can check a few more things if I go see it in person such as the absence or presence of a return fuel line or a capped off nipple.

The price is more than reasonable assuming there is no major rust. The car has been repainted a different color. Another concern is that it's been listed for a while.

Appreciate the help.
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Old Dec 26, 2024 | 07:02 PM
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It is the original factory stamping. I have multiple V1230CGZ stamps in my engine stamp library. The LT1 engines were built in batches so it is common to see the same engine stampings within in a production date range.
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Old Dec 27, 2024 | 01:10 PM
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Originally Posted by DKM-106
It is the original factory stamping. I have multiple V1230CGZ stamps in my engine stamp library. The LT1 engines were built in batches so it is common to see the same engine stampings within in a production date range.
....I'm sure you're correct as I known you seen many of them, but the one pic of the original poster posted has such a "closed letter C" compared to almost all others that I've ever seen. Do you have others in your collection of pads with this "very closed letter C"??? Maybe it's the pic, but I don't like the broach marks and I've looked at a many hundreds of pads myself, but I'm not an expert either. JMHO
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Old Dec 27, 2024 | 04:13 PM
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I looked around at some pics of other pads and did see some supposedly real ones with the C fairly closed but also saw one where it was more open. Somebody with experience viewing more pads would need to chime in.

Just for fun, here is the engine in the car and supposedly the emissions sticker. Again, I've not seen the car in person yet. Just going by the pics I was sent.

Well, I just noticed he had marked the ad as pending. I might have missed out on a pretty good deal.




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Old Dec 27, 2024 | 05:08 PM
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Originally Posted by BladeRunner2019
I looked around at some pics of other pads and did see some supposedly real ones with the C fairly closed but also saw one where it was more open. Somebody with experience viewing more pads would need to chime in.

Just for fun, here is the engine in the car and supposedly the emissions sticker. Again, I've not seen the car in person yet. Just going by the pics I was sent.

Well, I just noticed he had marked the ad as pending. I might have missed out on a pretty good deal.
...one person that could be is Al Grenning through the NCRS. He has a Master Stamp Pad Library and I've attended many of his "pad classes" at NCRS events "back in the day". It was just my opinion about that "very closed C" character. Another great pad person for '68 to '72s is Stan Falinsky who is an NCRS Master Judge. Maybe he'll chime in on this thread soon.

...I'm 63yrs old and I've learned & have the attitude about fate. If you were meant to have this car, it would've found it's way to you. If someone else got it, it wasn't meant for you. Many other cars will be along, sometimes you have to be very patient.
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Old Dec 27, 2024 | 06:53 PM
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The white emissions decal is a poor reproduction. Regarding the stamped pad, if that is a restamp, I want to meet the guy who did it. It is dead nuts on in terms of misalignment, exactly like known originals. The “V” is often shallower/lighter, because it was the only character that was used in every stamp, so it wore more than any of the others. I vote original stamp.
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Old Dec 27, 2024 | 07:30 PM
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Originally Posted by 62corvette
The white emissions decal is a poor reproduction. Regarding the stamped pad, if that is a restamp, I want to meet the guy who did it. It is dead nuts on in terms of misalignment, exactly like known originals. The “V” is often shallower/lighter, because it was the only character that was used in every stamp, so it wore more than any of the others. I vote original stamp.
in sorry DKM 106. I don’t agree with you. The stamp pad did not look like that from the factory and I have seen many of them as well not just corvette either
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Old Dec 28, 2024 | 11:59 AM
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OP, were there particular reasons why you asked about the numbers? Did you have specific concerns?
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Old Dec 28, 2024 | 12:46 PM
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Originally Posted by vettebuyer6369
OP, were there particular reasons why you asked about the numbers? Did you have specific concerns?
I didn't have specific concerns, but I'm not very knowledgeably on the subject so I asked for opinions. The chances of my buying the car were always going to be slim because of financial reasons, but based on what I could tell in photos, the price was pretty good. Even more so if it did have the original engine.
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Old Dec 28, 2024 | 01:38 PM
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Originally Posted by BladeRunner2019
I didn't have specific concerns, but I'm not very knowledgeably on the subject so I asked for opinions. The chances of my buying the car were always going to be slim because of financial reasons, but based on what I could tell in photos, the price was pretty good. Even more so if it did have the original engine.
There is more to determining the likelihood of an original engine than just the stamps: look at the rear flange where the transmission bell housing bolts. There will be a block casting number and somewhere on the block will be a casting date – the casting date is in different locations depending on what engine you're looking at. Casting date should fall a couple days to a few weeks before the engine's stamped build date*. Blocks carried different numbers depending on use and design changes over time. There are reliable internet sources specifying the use and production years for different block numbers (below).

After that, the heads will have casting numbers and dates under the valve covers -- they should be within a few days/weeks of the block date. Same for the intake manifold, water pump, and exhaust manifolds. If a part is cast, more often than not, it'll have a casting number and date. Obviously, no date should fall after the engine completion date stamp as all of these major engine components were installed at the engine assembly plant.

https://nastyz28.com/sbchevy/sblock.html

https://nastyz28.com/bbcmenu.php

* NCRS says up to 6 months for engine components in relation to the car's build date, but that sort of span is far from typical.
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