1953 VIN tag material change

[Edward M.]

A recent discussion on another forum about the type of metal used on C1 VIN tags brought up a question.

Apparently the "first few" 1953 Corvettes had a stainless steel VIN tag. We know that 1953 #009 had a stainless steel VIN tag.

Sometime during the 1953 production, the type of metal used was changed from stainless steel to aluminum.

The question is: when did this change occur? Between what and what VINs.


Disclaimer: My apologies in advance, but it seems like any discussion about VIN tags raises questions about the intent of the question, and possible use of the information. Therefore, let me state that the question is being asked solely for education purposes, and no further activity beyond the question is intended.

[Edward M.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

Please disregard any reference to VIN #009. That was not the purpose of this thread, and I don't want to open that can of worms. My only interest is determining when the transition occurred from stainless steel to aluminum.

I seem to recall hearing that it occurred around VIN # 020.

[Chris S.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

Correct
First "several" 1953 VIN tags were Stainless
Then all the rest of 53 and up were alum
I know it is documented by real cars up to around 20 or so....

[Edward M.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

Surely we know more that "around 20 or so".

As I recall, VIN #18 was recently under restoration. Does anyone know what material the VIN tag is made out of for # 018.

I located pictures of the VIN tags for # 003 and # 039. # 003 is stainless steel (no surprise) and # 039 is aluminum (also no surprise).

What about the VIN tag for # 029 that was in FL at the Winter NCRS meet about 4-5 years ago. What is that VIN tag made out of?

Seriously, we can't narrow this down any further than "around VIN 20"?

[Edward M.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

OK, I found a picture of the VIN tag for #018. It is aluminum.

So, we can change "around VIN 20" to "VIN 017 or less".

I also recall that VIN 013 was for sale many years ago. Anyone know anything about the VIN tag on it?

[Edward M.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

Found pictures of # 005 and # 006. Both tags are stainless steel.

So, we are now at "Change occurred between VINs # 006 and # 018".

[Edward M.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

OK, got some more data on this subject.

# 008 is a stainless steel VIN tag. # 013 is an aluminum tag. There is also some information that # 009 is or was a stainless steel tag. I am not able to confirm the status of # 009.

So, we can now say that the change occurred between VIN # 008 and VIN # 013.

[Chris S.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

#9 has a SS tag

Question - why all the digging on the tag ? - just asking
So what happens if a real 53 is found with a SS tag in the 20's ? or 30's?
Just askin
What about 14, 15, 16?
IN 53 - there were so many production changed - I am sure so many are undocumented - it would be hard to know for sure.

Chris

[Edward M.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

#9 has a SS tag

Question - why all the digging on the tag ? - just asking
So what happens if a real 53 is found with a SS tag in the 20's ? or 30's?
Just askin
What about 14, 15, 16?
IN 53 - there were so many production changed - I am sure so many are undocumented - it would be hard to know for sure.

Chris

The question actually started as a thread on another forum about when VIN tags changed from aluminum to stainless steel during the 1960 model year. That change corresponds with the moving of the VIN tag from the door jam area to the steering column.

That got me remembering that early 1953 VIN tags were stainless steel, and changed to aluminum early in the production run.

When I asked the question, the answer I got was "around VIN 20 or so". That didn't sound right to me. All of the research that has gone I into 1953 Corvettes, and the best we could come up with was "around VIN 20 or so".

It became another one of my historical research projects.

So, we can now say with a high degree of confidence that VIN # 008 has a stainless steel tag, and VIN # 013 has an aluminum tag. There seems to be some debate about the authenticity of VIN # 009. I don't know the issues involved, so I will stay away from it.

#003, #005, #006, #008 are stainless steel
# 013, #018, are aluminum.

Lets assume that # 009 is stainless steel. I expect # 014, # 015, # 016, and # 017 to be aluminum.

That would mean (most likely) that the change occurred with # 010, # 011, or # 012.

Beyond finding out (for my own personal knowledge, if nothing else) when this change occurred, I have no further plans for this information.

Having said that, I would be skeptical of a 53 VIN tag with a VIN greater than #013 that was made out of stainless steel. I would also be skeptical of a 53 VIN tag with a VIN less than # 009 made out of aluminum.

I cannot say with certainty that once the change occurred, it was done forever, but I would take a hard look at a VIN tag made out of a different metal than expected.

[Chris S.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

The "real" #9 is stainless - this is documented and the real owner - car and tag are known....
There was a "certain individual" that claimed a car at Bloomington Gold was #9 - the real owner of #9 approached the person and the conflict was put to bed very quickly

[Edward M.]

Re: 1953 VIN tag material change

I don't know the story on #009, and that is not the focus of my research. I have had enough knowledgeable people tell me that # 009 is a good tag, and it is stainless steel, that I can accept it.

So, # 009 is a stainless steel tag and # 013 is an aluminum tag.

My working hypothesis is that the change occurred between 009 and 013, and that the change was absolute. Once the change occurred, it stayed that way for the rest of the model year.