pad numbers

[Tom S.]

i need to know what size are the assembly and vin numbers supposed to be on a 1965 vette 396 engine i was told three sixteenth on assembly and five thirtyseconed on vin.can anyone help thanks tom

[William C.]

Re: pad numbers

I believe it's called out in the judging guide, 1/4 and 3/16 is the generally accepted description

[Tom S.]

Re: pad numbers

bill how sure are you or do i need to look it up i am not questioning your knowledge i dont want but i am buying a block monday that is stamped three sixteen on the assembly. i dont have a judging manual tom

[William C.]

Re: pad numbers

That was taken from the 65 judging manual third edition.

[John S.]

Re: pad numbers

The Fifth Edition has 3/16 and 5/32.

[William C.]

Re: pad numbers

Hate to disagree with the fifth edition, but I have a number of original blocks that all measure 1/4 inch

[Tom S.]

Re: pad numbers

why does the fifth edition say tyhree sixteenths and five thirthseconeds which one is correct?

[Michael W.]

Re: pad numbers

why does the fifth edition say tyhree sixteenths and five thirthseconeds which one is correct?

Somebody used a metric ruler?

Tom, relying on the height of stamped numbers to confirm a virgin stamp pad might not be the best of the multitude of clues available. The restampers have good rulers too.

[Jack H.]

Re: pad numbers

Yes, the 5th edition says 3/16" font for the Tonawanda wack and 5/32" font for the St. Louis emboss...

This is a rather rare piece of automotive history you're working on (396 car). I think you'd be best advised to buy and read the NCRS JG book...

[Tom S.]

Re: pad numbers

mike how do you know if your block is origional or a perfect restamp tom

[Michael W.]

Re: pad numbers

The smart a** answer is that if it's perfect, nobody would know that it's a restamp . Fortunately, there's very few perfect ones around, especially if the passenger side head is off and the broach marks can be fully examined.

[Wayne M.]

Re: pad numbers

Anyone car to pontificate on why the (at least the '65) TIM&JG does not ALSO specify a length for the gang stampings ? I can understand that an assembly code containing and ending in the letter "I" may be shorter overall (eg. F1011HI) than (say) F0828HM [or is it ?]. ie. are all intermediate characters the same die width (so only the last "I" would result in a shorter gang imprint. Question applies to both engine assembly and St.Louis VIN stampings.

Let's face it; character heights of 3/16" (= 6/32") versus 5/32" is literally splitting hairs, especially for aging eyes, under poor lighting, without some optical crutch device.

[William C.]

Re: pad numbers

As a matter of fact, the stamps were supplied by the George T Schmidt company, and the individual characters are all mounted on the same spacing centerline so that they can be moved within the holder to allow the daily or minute-by minute changes needed to create a stamp for the next day (Engine ID or the next car (VIN) thus the center-to center spacing of individual characters is uniform.

[Chris W.]

Re: pad numbers

Anyone car to pontificate on why the (at least the '65) TIM&JG does not ALSO specify a length for the gang stampings ? I can understand that an assembly code containing and ending in the letter "I" may be shorter overall (eg. F1011HI) than (say) F0828HM [or is it ?]. ie. are all intermediate characters the same die width (so only the last "I" would result in a shorter gang imprint. Question applies to both engine assembly and St.Louis VIN stampings.

Let's face it; character heights of 3/16" (= 6/32") versus 5/32" is literally splitting hairs, especially for aging eyes, under poor lighting, without some optical crutch device.

5/32" and 3/16". The "Font" is different for the VIN and ENGINE STAMPS.

It may appear that an Engine Stamp ending in "I" is shorter overall then a stamp endineg in "M" but the center to center spacing of the chracters that were gang stamped are all the same. Understand, in some cases, the last one or two chracters in the Engine stamp may have been stamped individually. Note, the "gang" spacing for the VIN Stamp is not the same as for the Engine Stamp.

Chris

[John H.]

Re: pad numbers

George T. Schmidt stamp dies were gaged by what they measured from the top point to the bottom point of the character on the die. The impression they made on the pad would measure taller, depending on how hard the holder was hit, as each character created a bevel as part of the impression which made the stamped impression measure slightly taller than the character on the die.

It's my belief that the '65 JG shows the correct George T. Schmidt die sizes - 3/16" for the engine plant stamp, and 5/32" for the assembly plant VIN derivative stamp.