Im going to look at a 1970 chevelle... I can get all the numbers from the car when i look at it, (tranny rear end engine vin trim tag everything) when i get all the numbers what is a way to tell if it is numbers matching? Any hints or anything? Cause when im there i have to make the decision of buying it ot not THERE. Help please

Numbers matching means different things to different people. As a minimum, the engine should have a partial VIN stamped on it like 10A123456 where 1 is Chevrolet, 0 is 1970, A for Atlanta and 123456 would match the last 6 digits of your VIN and make sure the engine date and suffix code is correct for the car. You can't have an engine assembled and dated after the car was built.

I don't THINK a partial VIN was stamped on the rear end but might have been in 1970. As a minimum, the date codes on the trans and rear should be feasible for the car, ie, before the car was assembled.

Although some might disagree, interior and paint should match the body tag, in my opinion, as well. If it was the ugliest color combination in the world (you pick one, not me) then it should be returned to that combination. If it was originally green with a gold bench seat interior and you changed it to red with black bucket seats, it may look nicer but it doesn't match the body tag.

Then you get to the really hard core stuff. Correct distributor, water pump, pulleys, plug wires, intake, carburetor, exhaust, hoses, vacuum fittings, body glass, etc. Well, maybe not original hoses and clamps, but there are easily obtained in the aftermarket with correct markings and numbers. It's all in how far you want to go.

You are welcome to compare all those numbers you find at my Chevellestuff (http://www.chevellestuff.com/index.htm) website. I have a ton of info there and photos of body colors, interiors, body tags, etc. that might be of some help.

The same partial vin# that is stamped on the engine should also be on the transmission, but not the rear. At a bare minimum, a numbers matching car is a car that has the original block and transmission with the cars partial vin stamp. To the best of my knowledge, these are the only two parts to the car that have the vin# stamped on them. If the car has these two items, you should be able to find the correct date coded heads, intake, distributor, etc. to make the car exactly like it left the factory. I have a '71 SS454 4-speed car that has the original engine, but not the original transmission. I am also going to change the factory interior/exterior colors when I restore it. I would call that a numbers matching engine, but not a complete numbers matching car.

Ok Thanks for your help.

Let us know what you come up with. smile.gif

ok its numbers matching... and i bought it, is the sequince nuber on the trim tag supposed to match the last numbers on the vin?

Originally posted by bluechevelless:
ok its numbers matching... and i bought it, is the sequince nuber on the trim tag supposed to match the last numbers on the vin? No, it'd be a fluke if they did match. The numbers on the body plate are not sequence numbers (like the VIN numbers are) but rather a body number used for tracking purposes. Although the body numbers usually followed some semblance of order, they had nothing to do with the VIN. I have numerous examples of Chevelle body plates where lower body numbered cars were produced sometimes 2 or 3 months later than higher body numbered cars.