54 stamp pad

[Doug L.]

I looked at a 54 Corvette today and am now evaluating what I saw in an effort to determine what to offer for it. I recorded the block casting number as the correct 3835911. The stamp pad shows 0 3I82IIF54YG. Could that be a correct number? The JG indicates to me that the numbering starts over each model year with 001001, so I would expect no more than 4 positive digits, no higher than 003480 or whatever the total 1954 production was.

Is this a re-stamp or a passenger car block?

Thanks,
Doug

[John S.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

correct block. the number that starts over with the 001001 is the vin#, not the block pad #.

[Doug L.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Thanks John. That definitely isn't what the Judging Guide says. Page 103: "All 1954 and 1955 model-year six-cylinder engines were serial numbered in sequence starting with 0001001 at the beginning of each model-year." C1 judging chairman are you reading this?

[Joe L.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Thanks John. That definitely isn't what the Judging Guide says. Page 103: "All 1954 and 1955 model-year six-cylinder engines were serial numbered in sequence starting with 0001001 at the beginning of each model-year." C1 judging chairman are you reading this?

Doug-------


The engine serial number and VIN serial number were not the same. I believe the engine serial number was likely the sequential build number for the Flint engine plant rather than a sequential build number for the "YG" suffix-coded Corvette 6 cylinder engine. At that time, all they were building at Flint was 6 cylinder engines. I don't know why they started at 0001001 but I suppose they had some reason for that.

[Chuck G.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Here are a few 54 engine stamps.

[Doug L.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Thanks Joe and Chuck. Chuck's examples seem to confirm that the number on the pad I wrote about is in line with these examples. It seems that the JG has confused the VIN number sequence with the stamp pad block number sequence. The VIN on the car I wrote about is 001334, or the 334th car produced, so that makes sense.

I sent an e-mail to the C1 judging chair last night asking him to review this post.

[Chuck G.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Thanks Joe and Chuck. Chuck's examples seem to confirm that the number on the pad I wrote about is in line with these examples. It seems that the JG has confused the VIN number sequence with the stamp pad block number sequence. The VIN on the car I wrote about is 001334, or the 334th car produced, so that makes sense.

I sent an e-mail to the C1 judging chair last night asking him to review this post.

IIRC, the "0375086" block was cast C-1-4.

The 0555I95 block was cast D ?? 4

Chuck

[Bill K.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Doug - Both the VIN and the 6 cylinder Engine Serial Number reset at the beginning of 1954. The VIN reset to 001001 and the Engine Serial Number reset to 0001001 for Flint and to 0001001 for Tonawanda. Note that the Engine Serial Number is 7 digits (and that is what the judging manual has). The Engine Serial Number is intended to be an engine foundry specific unique, ascending number for engine castings that are destined for trucks, passenger cars, equipment, and also Corvettes (the YG part). All Corvette blocks came from Flint.

There is a rough correlation between the ascending VIN numbers and the ascending Engine Serial Number. There's an anomaly in some of the late 54s (VINs E54S0044xx) where the Engine Serial Number jumped from a 07xxxxx to 09xxxxx for a while! Another 54 enthusiast and I have put together a database of the 54 Corvette VIN numbers and that car's Engine Serial Number. We have 165 1954 Corvettes in the database. These entries have known original engines (or the claim to be original). We have as many pictures as possible. Others have undertaken a project like this as well.

Your car's VIN/Engine Serial Number is right in line with the pattern in our database: E54S001334 and 03I82IIF54YG. Here are some examples on both sides of your car:

E54S001010 and 0057980F54YG (these are 2 very early cars suggesting that the number did in fact reset to 0001001)
E54S001030 and 0075734F54YG
.
.
.
E54S001234 and 0273255F54YG
E54S001306 and 0299I4IF54YG
E54S001334 and 03I82IIF54YG (your car)
E54S001381 and 03I8502F54YG
E54S001429 and 027334IF54YG
E54S001443 and 0342654F54YG

The stamp pad is judged for authenticity but it is not judged against a database like this where there is any attempt made to verify that the Engine Serial Number is "in line" with other VINs.

Look at the pictures Chuck posted. The stamping was done in 4 parts (this is judged):

Strike number one - the first 5 digits. See how they are the same depth and all in line?
Strike number two - the 6th digit. See how this digit is skewed and a different depth?
Strike number three - the 7th digit. Again, see how this digit is skewed?
Strike number four - the F54YG. Again, since these characters were "ganged", see how they are the same depth and all in line?

Doug - If you don't mind, I would like to add your car to my database. Would you do me a favor please and send a picture of your stamp pad and also the casting date (there's a correlation there too!) of your 911 block to: tim.ehlers@att.net? Thanks, Tim

[Tim E.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Doug the previous note looks like it came from Bill King (another Texas Chapter member).....I was logged on with his credentials at the time!

Tim

[Doug L.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

I didn't look for the casting date on the block I looked at yesterday. The only dated item I saw was the side curtains and carb tags which were both "A". The VIN would put the car fairly early in production but I have not seen a chart estimating the build dates of any C1s. I know such charts exist for C2s along with the exact assembly date on their VIN plate, but there's nothing on the 54 VIN plate except the VIN number. It is also my understanding that the model year of 54s started in January, rather than in the fall of the preceding year as is the case with my '64. With 3640 54s built, the average is 303 per month, which would put this vehicle's build date in the second week of April. If the 6-month rule on components is in effect for C1s, a January side curtain would be OK.

[Doug L.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Hi Tim, Bill,
Thanks for explaining this. It makes sense now that I understand that the blocks were destined for not just 54 Corvettes but for any Chevy 6 cylinder application.

What still bothers me is the starting over with block IDs each year at 001001 (this number seems to be the starting VIN number for all years from 1953 through 1956). Given this block is stamped 0318211 minus 1001 means there were 317,210 6 cylinder blocks cast between January 1, 1954 and this block. I find that hard to imagine.

To clarify, I was inspecting this car before making an offer on it. I do not own the car. I saw it on eBay where it was a no-sale. I wasn't willing to bid sight unseen so I kept in touch with the owner and went to see the car yesterday. Now I'm trying to evaluate what to offer for it. My only other Vette restoration was the '64 L84 that I have now. I learned in spades that one never does a restoration without getting upside down financially, thus my desire to inspect this one thoroughly before I made an offer. What I seem to have found is that it is un-restored and basically original with a few exceptions (coil, radiator cap, distributor cap, oil cap, master cylinder, windshield, shocks, etc.), all items I would have expected to have been replaced. The main items, block, head, valve cover, transmission, wiper motor, radiator, generator, carbs (missing 1 tag) seem to be original. The car was apparently Pennant Blue originally but has been re-sprayed red. My effort now is to estimate what it may cost to restore it and subtract that cost from what I see nicely restored cars selling for. Unfortunately I didn't take photos of the stamp pad. Sorry. My concern now is your statement about the multiple strikes. The thing that seemed odd to me was that the leading zero was separated from the rest of the number by a space that would have accommodated maybe 2 additional digits. In my original post I separated the zero from the rest of the number because of this.
Doug

[Chuck G.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Doug - If you don't mind, I would like to add your car to my database. Would you do me a favor please and send a picture of your stamp pad and also the casting date (there's a correlation there too!) of your 911 block to: tim.ehlers@att.net? Thanks, Tim

The 0375086 block came from my old 54, VIN E54S001659

[Tim E.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Doug - It's neat that your looking at a 54 to restore, I think they're neat cars. What you'll find is that the parts that are common to all the C1's are reproduced and easy to get. However, the parts that are unique to 53-55 are a different story! We need to find restorable original parts and pay the price. They're out there....just more difficult to find.

I wondered why you had separated the leading 0, now I understand. Do you think the owner would send you a clear picture of the stamp pad (don't care about the resolution, it just needs to be in focus!)? If so, let's look at those first 5 digits....perhaps the leading zero is there but very faint and was touched up later.

If you can get the owner to let you know what the casting date is, we can see if that is in line as well. According to my birthday calculator, the car you're considering was assembled on or about February 11, 1954. FYI...This is only approximate since the production information is not available and there is only one 1954 assembly date known.

Here are some casting dates:

Car number 1444 has a block casting date of B224 (February 22, 1954).
Car number 1429 has A284 (January 28, 1954).
Car number 1179 has A194.
Car number 1147 has A64.

Based on that, we would expect to see an Ax4 (or Axx4). It certainly needs to be within 6 months prior to February 11, 1954.

Tim

[Tim E.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Chuck, any idea what car the 0555I95 engine belonged to? I don't have that one! Tim

[Chuck G.]

Re: 54 stamp pad

Chuck, any idea what car the 0555I95 engine belonged to? I don't have that one! Tim

I do not. I bought that motor DECADES ago from Roger Williams, now deceased. He did business as R L Williams. Sold 53-55 stuff and was located in Easton, PA. I was going to use it in my 54, but it was cast too late. IIRC, it was a D xx 4 casting.

Knowing Roger, it probably came from a parted out car.

Chuck