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I think and hope Burning Brakes is correct. Here's the stamp with the paint removed.
It's definitely been restamped and believe the faint remnants of most of the original are still there.
Get out your magnifying glasses.
...I think Stan is on to something. That underlying number is/has to be 42321 . Well, since only 28566 1968 Corvettes were built, there could NOT have been a "42321" I believe the first mistake was putting a second 4 after the first 4 following the S. They had to have realized this and maybe the car went to final repair or QC did catch it and was corrected. A tricky point here is how the "42321" characters are so faint, but the very, very original appearing broach marks are there. Again, would like to see Al G.'s take on this one. Really interesting.
Picture of left side of pad would help if OP can't find casting.
Previous owner stated the block was period correct and rebuilt. Transmission might have been pulled and replaced also.
The previous owner may have thought that based on how bad the stamp is. I certainly would have many years ago. It may indeed be fake. It’s just very odd to go through all the very correct steps, correct fonts, etc only to leave the really crazy stamp.
I think the last 42 stamp was done to “fix” the sequential which looks like it was 42321 and should have been 4232”42”. In addition, it looks like the stamp was very light especially up top (18S4) leading me to believe the stamper realized as he was stamping there was a problem. To fix they stamped the 18S. Then they didn’t like how that looked and threw in the 42324. Maybe in reverse order even, who knows. But they did several fixes and it all came out bad.
Or somebody just did a bad restamp on what might have been an over the counter original unstamped block.
Last edited by ed427vette; May 7, 2025 at 05:28 PM.
I played with layering the numbers in PhotoShop but couldn't really produce a pic that would show well.
The "foreground" 4232 stamp fits perfectly on the "background" 4232 -- character shape and spacing. The left 4 of the two 4s fits right where the background 1 is located.
I'm not sure what happened but I think both stamps are factory.
I would not be worried about the stamp. Bounces and double hits happen. Grind outs happened. Fakes with mistakes are not that good IMHO.
The OP said he wants to sell the car for original drivetrain money, because that is what he paid the dealer. If I had to choose between his car and another identical car with an undisputed stamp for the same $....I know which one I would go with.
The OP said he wants to sell the car for original drivetrain money, because that is what he paid the dealer. If I had to choose between his car and another identical car with an undisputed stamp for the same $....I know which one I would go with.
This is really what it comes down to…
While I believe this is a real stamp, would this be a car that I would want if I wanted a “real” car? Probably not. I’m a numbers guy and I really don’t care to own a car that requires an explanation to support it. Nothing against the OPs car (as I said, I think it’s real), it just requires a longer story than I’d want to have. For others, it might not matter as much.
Looks like both the engine and trans were stamped with the sequential 423241 before they were attempted to be corrected to 423242.
I agree with Stan (as usual) in that although I suspect it to be legit, it will ALWAYS have to come with an explanation. That will reflect in the selling price no doubt.
Present owner bought the car with numbers in that condition. Let's see if he can sell them with numbers in that condition (for the money he wants, anyway). If the car is legit, it will be a hard sell for MOST buyers. For his sake, I hope he is able to get the money he wants for it.
Just curious: What would be the scenario where BOTH the engine block AND the transmission get stamped the same, but then get Re-stamped with a different number at the factory???? Also, what does the frame VIN stamp look like???
Present owner bought the car with numbers in that condition. Let's see if he can sell them with numbers in that condition (for the money he wants, anyway). If the car is legit, it will be a hard sell for MOST buyers. For his sake, I hope he is able to get the money he wants for it.
Just curious: What would be the scenario where BOTH the engine block AND the transmission get stamped the same, but then get Re-stamped with a different number at the factory???? Also, what does the frame VIN stamp look like???
I agree it will be a hard sell because of the stamp.
As for both the block and pad stamped wrong it makes total sense to me, if it is in fact legit, that it’s possible they just forgot to make the vin change and stamped both parts then saw the mistake. It’s only off by 1. But add to it the engine stamp got a poorly done first stamp on top of being wrong. The mistake sequential is 423241 which was supposed to be 423242. However they just massacred the engine stamp trying to fix it but just did a better looking single hit for a 2 over the 1 on the trans.
Like I stated, I have seen a 69 stamp that Al G has stated he believes is real that had two numbers transposed on the pad and was fixed by 2 single strikes over the numbers. Very rarely seen and always a problem to have to explain.
I firmly believe the stamping was done at the factory. Like most cars with engine stamp anomalies, there is a reduction in value when it's time to sell.
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.
....I thought this same thing in post #14.
