L78 VIN stamp photos

[Zedder]

Can any of the '69 gurus answer my questions on stampings like this? Where they gang stamped? Did they match the tranny stampings exactly? Where both hand stamped (hard to believe that might be the case, but I have no idea)? If they are gang stamped, how can they get so skewed and is that common? I am considering buying a '69 Camaro in the Spring and would love to have this knowledge before I start looking for a car

[Jeff H]

I think he has the '7' highlighted wrong. The top of the '7' is lower than where he highlighted and then that makes the numbers line up pretty good. But it also lookslike that area was sanded down a little in the attempt to read the numbers and that actually made it worse to read.

[Lynn]

I amy be way off on this, and you would need for John Z. Kurt S. or Mark C. to chime in, because of their specialized knowledge, but I believe that by this time, yes they were gang stamped. However the gang holder seems to have been pretty worn out by the time this one was stamped. Seems like the individual stamps could kind of wiggle up or down. It also seems to me (and again, I haven't seen nearly as many as the aformentioned guys) that on many of the Norwood stamps I have looked at, the second to the last digit appears to be higher than the others.

[Denis]

Here's another closer look.

Appears to me the "19N" part of the stamp is a slightly larger font but still top-aligned with the rest of the stamp. The "603675" is all aligned except for the "7" (second to last digit)

[Pacecarjeff]

Yes, they used a gang stamp.
The trans and engine were stamped at the same time.
Both those VIN stamps should be the same.

They where not always lined up perfectly, there was a little bit of play.
When they are stamped perfectly straight - I sometimes become suspicious.

John Z. had posted a picture of the gang stamper they used, way back. It is an interesting thing to see.

[Rixls6]

Here's a thread on Team Chevelle that shows some other VIN stamps on 69 big blocks.

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122053

[Tommy_Mathison]

Are you sure the trans and engine were always stamped with the same gang stamp? I have seen more then one example of legit vin stamps where the fonts (6's and 9's) on the block and transmission were different. Can this be explained?

[Pacecarjeff]

[ QUOTE ]
Are you sure the trans and engine were always stamped with the same gang stamp? I have seen more then one example of legit vin stamps where the fonts (6's and 9's) on the block and transmission were different. Can this be explained?

[/ QUOTE ]

There is only one explanation I can think of, and it is not a good one
If they are different, chances are very good one is a restamp.


Here is an excerpt from John Z's CRG report on the assembly process:

"Chevrolet Assembly - Engine Dress Line Operations Details
The beginning of the engine dress line was a sea of racks full of engines and transmissions; small-block V-8's from Flint V-8 Engine and Tonawanda, big-block V-8's from Tonawanda, and L-6 engines from Flint Motor, plus manual transmissions from Saginaw and Muncie and automatics from Toledo, Cleveland, Warren, and Willow Run.

In the engine schedule area, the operator grabbed the next Broadcast Copy from the printer, verified the sequence number, noted the engine code required for that car, and moved an air-powered overhead hoist on traveling bridge rails over the correct engine rack. The specified engine was hoisted out of the rack and transferred to the next hook on the overhead engine dress line conveyor, where the throwout bearing (on manuals) was greased and installed, along with the clutch fork boot. Another operator on the other side of the line repeated the process with the specified transmission, which was then installed and bolted to the engine; on automatics, an air tool was used to rotate the flexplate, and the converter bolts were driven, followed by the lower cover.

The VIN derivative numbers were stamped in the next operation on both the engine pad and the transmission, using a gang-stamp holder and a hammer. From here on, all the detail dress items were added (plug wires, coil, engine harness, battery cables, carburetor, pulleys, alternator, starter, fan and clutch, A/C compressor, power steering pump, transmission cooler lines and fill tube, A.I.R. pump, diverter valve and air manifolds, drive belts, dipstick and tube, oil filter, engine and transmission mounts, PCV plumbing, vacuum fittings, fuel pump and fuel line, radiator hoses, and (if applicable) the transmission-mounted 4-speed manual shifter and linkage was installed and adjusted (3-speed manual floor shifters were mounted on the cross-member and adjusted later on the Chassis line). Engine oil and transmission lube were added, and the completed engine/transmission assembly was conveyed to the Chassis Line for installation in the subframe. The engine line inspector wrote the engine, transmission, and carburetor codes on the Broadcast Copy and put the sheet in a box for pickup by a Scheduling clerk (needed to create the P-O-P at the end of the Final Line)."

[Jeff H]

Here's where I see the '7' and it lines up pretty well with the other numbers.

[Denis]

Jeff you're right. Here is corrected:




I still contend the "19N" is a slightly larger font, and with different spacing, than the rest of the stamp.

Where would I find the VIN stamp on a TH400?