I have a 69, but am very confused about exactly what is is/was.

The VIN number (according to the little black book) shows it is a 69 coupe (at least that part makes sense), built in St Louis (duh!), and was number 10606 built that year. The trim tag tells me it was originally gold.

The issue I have is that in some cases, it has the early 69 part (accelerator pedal assembly for example), in other cases it does not.

Question 1: What designates early or late? Is unit number 10606 early or late. Is there some other way to determine the "born on date". It is already frustrating trying to get the correct parts. Could it be mine was last of the early or first of the new and wound up with a mix of both using whatever was on hand? (which would explain some of the strange bubba modiifications I have found)

Question 2: I know the engine is not original (the block code matches a late '70's GMC 350 truck engine, as does the Q-jet that Lars is rebuilding for me) Looking underneath, the car has the somewhat rectangular cut-outs in the nose that my reading says was a feature on big-block cars. So, how can I tell if the car was originally a big-block car, or if the front end was just replaced. There does not seem to be any evidence of body or frame repairs.

Thanks,
Richard

 

The VIN tells you the original engine size. I did a quick look on the net but could only come up with C4 years. The 8th digit tells engine. Check out the web.

Posting this sort of messed with the alignment.. Be carefull.

VIN Number Decoding
The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) decodes as follows for the C4 Corvette:
(The last five positions (shown below in yellow) show the car's position in the build sequence for the model year).
1 G 1 YY 3 1 8 9 K 5 1 0 0 0 0 1
| | | | | | | | | | |_____ Plant Sequential Build Number
| | | | | | | | | |___ Factory Code (5 - Bowling Green, Ky)
| | | | | | | | |___ Model Year (See chart below)
| | | | | | | |__ Check Digit
| | | | | | |__ Engine Code (8 = L83, L98, P = LT1, 5=LT4, J=LT5)
| | | | | |__ Seat Belt System (1 = Manual Belts)
| | | | |__ Body Type (2 = Hatchback, 3 = Convertible)
| | | |___ Carline and Series (YY = Std Corvette, YZ = ZR1)
| | |___ Division (1 = Chevrolet)
| |___ Manufacturer (G = General Motors)
|__ Country of Origin ( 1 = USA)
Model Year Chart
Designator Model Year
E 1984
F 1985
G 1986
H 1987
J 1988
K 1989
L 1990
M 1991
N 1992
P 1993
R 1994
S 1995
T 1996

 

Your trim tag has a code with the date that the body was assembled. With 28000+ 69 Vettes, your car was built roughly one third of the way through the production run. There is no engine code in the vin for 69. (see attached link).

http://100megsfree4.com/corvette/1960/vet69.htm

If your car was originally a big block, it would also have rear sway bar and (I think) a 6500 RPM Tach. The build sheet may still be on your gas tank, and should say what options were original equipment. Early/late designations typically mean that changes occurred during the production run, not necessarily at the same time. NCRS may have date or serial number specific, or serial number/date ranges for certain changes (like your accelerator pedal).

 

VINs do not tell you the original engine size on 1969 Corvettes. Infomation for later generation Corvettes are often not applicable on early models.

You can get "cues" as to whether it might have been a big block originally (tach redline, GM big block hood, radiator, etc) but it is mostly detective work and not really verifiable without documentation.

Your car was built in December '68.

Refer to the NCRS guide re: different parts at what time of production... often "early" and "late" cars of different years have different parts at different points of sequence. Doesn't mean they weren't changed at some point in the last 38 years.