Comments on: Corvette Restoration Tip: Understanding Numbers & Codes

By: Zip Corvette Parts

Zip Corvette Parts — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:43:18 +0000

Eddie, The best book to decipher numbers and codes for a Corvette is this Corvette by the Numbers Book.

By: Eddie

Eddie — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:34:50 +0000

I’m buying a 1977 Corvette. I was told it’s a number matching car is there a book for this?

By: Corvette Parts

Corvette Parts — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:31:47 +0000

Alan,
The VIN# clearly marks this Corvette as a year 1979. “ZAJ” indicates that this is a 350-195hp, which also states it as an Automatic transmission with California Emissions!

By: Corvette Parts

Corvette Parts — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:57:49 +0000

Nick,
The engine plant abbreviations, obviously differed depending on the letter designation given. “F” indicated Flint, Michigan. “T” indicates: Tonowanda, New York. Sounds like you do have a Corvette engine!

By: Alan

Alan — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 19:10:43 +0000

I have a 1979 Corvette. I was told the engine was the original. VIN#1Z8789S424955 Engine is stamped ZAJ. Is the engine a 350-195hp?

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:16:38 +0000

@Jimmy C. Phillips The first number (1) is the country of origin. The second (G) is General Motors, the third (1) is make chevrolet, the fourth (yy) is corvette, fifth is (3) for convertible, sixth is (2) for automatic trans, seventh is (5) for the LT4 engine, the eighth is (O) varies, the ninth is (T) is the year manufactured 1996, the tenth is (5) Bowling Green Kentucky, and the final sequence of numbers is the production number beginning with 100001. Hope this answers part of your question.

By: Nick

Nick — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 18:19:39 +0000

I have a 1966 big block 427-425 HP Corvette. The engine stamp begins with the letters TO which indicates that the engine was not built in Flint. I was told that this means it is not a Corvette engine since they were all built in Flint. It is a Top Flight car with the original engine. Is this true?

By: Corvette Parts

Corvette Parts — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:38:12 +0000

Yes and No, it will fit but you will not be able to use any of the ignition shielding and your Tachometer will not work unless you purchase a tach drive HEI. We suggest an Electronic Conversion Kit for your factory distributor, that way it will look stock but it would be an electronic unit.

By: Corvette Parts

Corvette Parts — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:31:27 +0000

There is no real solid answer to this. Just as someone could have installed that 427 in place of a 350 all of the other components could have had the same thing done. You can start by looking at the radiator, if the Corvette is a 4 speed w/o air a SB had a small 19” radiator, however if it was an at or a/c car it would have had the bigger radiator. You can look to see if it has the rear sway bar, the big block Corvettes had rear sway bars. You can look at the tachometer to determine what horsepower the car was and that alone could determine. The issue is most of the parts were the same but a select few, and those could easily be changed. It was not until 1971 that the engine became a digit in the VIN number.

By: 1966STINGRAY

1966STINGRAY — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 17:11:55 +0000

Will a HEI distributor fit in a 1966 Corvette 327?

By: Don

Don — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 01:02:42 +0000

George,
I have a customer that has a 1969 Corvette that has a 427 in it and it is not a matching numbers car. How do I tell if it came with a small block or a big block? Is there any differences in the suspension or raidiator?

By: Corvette Parts

Corvette Parts — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:14:33 +0000

Barry,
It depends on where it comes from and what is damaged on it before you start. You can’t get a new 1973 Corvette 4 speed transmission so purchasing a rebuilt transmission or rebuilding your own is the only option. You can pick up a used transmission for around $500 if you are not looking for specific dates. You will likely pay at least that to have it rebuilt.

By: Barry

Barry — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 01:42:24 +0000

How much would a new or rebuilt 1973 Corvette 4 speed transmission cost?

By: Corvette Parts

Corvette Parts — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:51:25 +0000

George,
I do not know why they had a different casting number. I have had many of them side by side and everything looks the same, however I have never taken a 1984 Corvette intake and installed it on a 1982. I also have not had one in at least 10 years.

By: George Frederick

George Frederick — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 01:11:26 +0000

The casting number on my 1982 Corvette is14031372 and the one on eBay for the 84 is 14057017…Why do they have different casting numbers if they are the same? I just want to make sure everything bolts up correctly.

By: Corvette Parts

Corvette Parts — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 20:23:34 +0000

George,
Assuming the intake is what the seller says it is then yes it should be an exact match.

By: George

George — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:35:06 +0000

I have a 1982 Corvette and the thermostat housing bolt is broken. I found an intake from a 1984 Corvette on eBay for $130. Would this be an exact match?

By: Corvette Parts

Corvette Parts — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:29:20 +0000

Barry, It is not hard, we actually have a 1973 Corvette Power Brake Conversion Kit that comes with all parts needed to convert your Corvette's manual brakes to power brakes. As for the manual brakes being common they were not. From the total production numbers about 24,000 of 30,464 Corvettes built left the factory with power brakes.

By: Barry

Barry — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:21:40 +0000

I just bought a 1973 Corvette with manual brakes. Is it hard to convert to power brakes and was it common to put manual brakes on a 1973 Corvette?

By: Corvette Parts

Corvette Parts — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 01:50:20 +0000

Lolan, According to Corvette By The Numbers, This was a Chevrolet Corvette, 2 door sport coupe with a 350ci. 220 horsepower engine. The Corvette was assembled at the St Louis, MO. plant.