find what number your car was on the production line?

I noticed a lot of people on here know their corvette was #456 of 2xxxx made in whatever year, etc.... How do you find that info? I just bought my first corvette today, a 2002 Black Z06 and would like to learn what number it was, etc...

Any other advice you corvette and Z06 owning veterans out there might have for a new Z owner, lay it on me, I'm all ears

 

It's the last 5 digits of your VIN #

Congrats on the new ride!

 

And if you have a coupe, lift the driver side rear compartment cover. It will have the job number.

 

There is not a quick and easy answer to your question. While VINs for each of the model years are most usually assigned in order, you really can't go by the VIN to tell what number off the line that your car was. Keep in mind that during each of the C5 production years, a number of containment, prototype and pilot vehicles for upcoming model years were built on the assembly line alongside with the current model year cars. These containment, prototype and pilot vehicles were assigned a VIN for their respective model year and a number of these cars were later made into saleable vehicles. James Schefter wrote about this in his book, "All Corvettes Are Red." Also, I've read and heard tell of current model year "build-out" cars and the next model year's cars being built together on the assembly line at the end of a number of the C5 model years. I also read where this happened with the 2005 C6 and the model year 2004 C5 "build-out" cars at the end of model year 2004.

I read an interesting letter on this subject that was sent to the editor of Corvette Enthusiast Magazine several years ago. The letter's author did not provide his credentials, but it was obvious that he was quite knowledgeable of the assembly plant's build and sequencing processes. He spoke briefly about how differently cars are built today versus back in the St. Louis days and the use of Job Numbers or Sequence Number as they appear on the C5's build sheet. He went on to state that the VIN is an Identification Number and not a "plant sequence number." He went on to say, "That is why VIN 00001 for 2005 can be built on the 2004 assembly line and have that ID number attached." He finished by saying, "So, plant sequence number or job sequence number has everything to do with the car assembly process and nothing to do with the VIN other than the two have a relationship, but do not match." You may be able to find a copy of this issue of Corvette Enthusiast at one of your local libraries. (See "Those Crazy VINs", in the "Enthusiast Notes" department, Corvette Enthusiast Magazine, October 2004, page 10.)

Your car's build sheet will contain the Sequence Number in the lower right corner. Build sheets if you do not have one are available from the National Corvette Museum: Order Forum

As you can see, the build sequence involves much more than what it may first seem.

 

That vin # idea, can't be right because my last 4 digits are 7652, and weren't their only 2025 Z06's made each year? Please correct me if I'm wrong, for some reason that number just sticks out to me. Thanks for all the help guys!

 

If you go to this site you can type in your VIN and get details of the born on date.

http://www.c5registry.com/MembersOnlly/production.htm

 

DeeGee:

One cannot determine their car's build date or "born On" date with 100% accuracy using the info from the C5 Registry website. This has come up several times in the past on this Forum. Note the caveat at the top of the first page for each model year that states: "Numbers Reflect Start Of Production Day".

This information came from and was originally posted (but no longer) at the assembly plant's webs site, http://www.bowlinggreenassemblyplant.com/. The assembly plant web site used the following caveat for the info they posted: "Vehicle Identification Numbers are taken at the start of General Assembly Trim Department." Thus, the information that you're looking at really only shows the VINs that started through the Trim Department that day, NOT the ones that actually came off the assembly line or had that day as their build day. (The definition of build date that I've most often seen is the date that the car was first started and was able to run/move under it's own power.)

I think the majority of the people will find that their actual build day is the next day or the second day after the date shown at that C5 Registry site. However, if the day after the date shown at the C5 Registry site is a non-production day (week end, holiday etc.) then they may find that their build date is the next production day or the production day following that. I've seen a few build dates that were two weeks or more after the date shown at the C5 Registry site when the date shown was just prior to the start of a vacation break.

Any GM dealer can inquire the GM Vehicle Inquiry System (VIS) for your car's service history and build information. The build information portion of the VIS inquiry will show your car's actual build date. Also, several members here on the Forum have access to GM's VIS. For those who can't get a local dealer to do this, start a new post requesting a GM VIS history/build info inquiry for your car and include your VIN in the post. Hopefully one of these members will come along shortly and run this for you.

Hope this helps.

 

Good info. Didn't know that thanks. maybe I should have read the rest of that thread

Edit:

Just checked my build sheet against the figure the C5 Registry site gives and you're absolutely correct.
It gives my date on the registry as May 6 02 and the born on date from my Build Sheet is May 7 02

 

Sorry, but I did get somewhat verbose didn't I?

Also, while we're on the subject and I'm being verbose, I think there may be one other point here that requires clarification. A number of people refer to the Build Information portion of GM VIS as the "build sheet". While the GM VIS Build Information does contain much of the same information as the factory build sheet there is at least one significant difference, that being that the factory build sheet does not show the car's build date. Keep in mind, that the factory build sheet is produced sometime prior to the build start and accompanies the car down the assembly line as it is being built.

There is a machine printed date and time at the very top right and this is the only printed date and time that appears on the factory build sheet. I asked Adam Boca, the NCM Events and Vendor Coordinator, some time ago if he knew or could find out about the significance of this printed date and time. Adam's reply was that it is the projected production date and not the car's actual build date. Most people will find this printed date on the factory build sheet to be a number of days prior to their car's actual build day. In the case of our car, the printed date on its factory build sheet is 13 days prior to the car's build date.

Again, the only way I know for one to find their car's actual build date is from the GM VIS Build Information data. However, there may be others of which I am not aware.

Factory Build Sheet:

 

Can you get your build sheet out easy or does the front fascia have to come off?

 

Gotta take off the front fascia. Don't expect it to be in any kind of "frame-able" condition.