I recently purchased a claped out 65 malibu. and I have used some of the decoders on the internet, and I am a little confused, the vin tag reads 137375g**** whitch depending onwhich decoder you use means ss 6 cylinder. BUT the cowl tag reads 65-13837 fra 2949 which I think means ss v8, I think I have sorted out most of the other numbers on the cowl tag, but on the interior of the car, the emblem on the glove box seems to be incorect.
I received the car in many peices, but the conflicting numbers got me concerned. Any help would be appreciated.


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you have a 65 ss with a 6 cyl. the cowl tag only tells you the body style. they are all shown as 8s there. the vin number is the specific number for your car. thats what you have to go by. pretty rare car there.
js

I've heard of numerous cases (particularly with 65's) where the VIN and body plate didn't match on the Chevrolet model number (13737 VIN vs. 13837 body plate) but the VIN should be the correct one. Any VIN "decoder" that says the 13737 VIN is a V8 is incorrect.

What's the number on the interior? You can decode that at http://www.chevellestuff.com/65velle/65interior.htm. When you say the glove box emblem is incorrect, what do you mean? It should be Malibu SS whether V8 or 6-cyl if it's a SS. In 1964 and 65, SS was primarily a trim option package and both models got the same Malibu SS emblems.

THE VIN RULES IN BASE ENGINE DETERMINATION, NO MATTER WHAT THE TRIM TAG SAYS.

The 3rd digit of the VIN determines which engine the car had from the factory; this VIN digit has a different meaning than the 3rd digit of the Fisher Body firewall TRIM tag. A VIN engine digit of 3,5 OR 7 indicates a L6 engine, while a VIN engine digit of 4, 6 OR 8 indicates a V8 engine.

Though seemingly similar, the 3rd digit of the Fisher Body firewall TRIM tag style did not have the same meaning. Fisher Body didn't need the type of engine coded on the cowl tag, and so stamped the Fisher style code differently from the VIN.

Just for an FYI, my 64 has 45867 on the cowl plate and 45767 in the VIN. It is a 6 cyl.