I am trying to establish originality of my trans to my car. I have a Muncie in my Chevelle with an assembly build date code of "P0D20C" but, there is no partial VIN stamped on the main case. The car's build date is 04E according to the cowl tag and 29 April according to the Build Sheet.

Is this (approx. 9 days) within "normal limits" wrt reasonable time allotted for delivering the trans from Muncie to Atlanta where this car was assembled?

Also, what is the consensus of experience with partial VINs not being stamped on the trans cases? How common place was this.

Thanks,
Sam :confused:

There was a man on the line who job it was to stamp the VIN derivatives on the engine and trans. Could he have not done it, sure but that would be the exception and not the rule. Someone was supposed to verify it was done.

Prior to 1968 it was not done to all of them but starting in 1968 it was mandated by law.

Many a time the trans is replaced. These car were hammered by many a owner. I had a new 1970 SS454 and I did it and everyone I know with a muscle car did it. I saw one guy who destroyed a 1970 Road Runner in a year, he had to buy new tires in less than one month.

So, you are in luck if there is no VIN derivative stamped, you can add it to match your car. 9 days from the trans date to the car date would seem very good IMO.

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 frame. 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).

El Camino,

Thanks for the good info and opinion. Not sure I want to stamp my trans. Just wanted to get a feel for how things were conducted back then. I am satisfied to leave things as they are and know that this "could" have been the original. Besides if they stamped the engine and trans with partial vins (as was stated in the excerpt in your reply) at the same time, stamping the tranny now would not match up to the engine partial vin.

Sam