1962 corvette rear axle id

[GREG FELNER]

What and where should the id be for a 62 vette with a 327/250hp, 4-speed, posi-rear be? My 62 vette has a casting number of 3789812 and some other stamping,
CW 5 01.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1962 corvette rear axle id

Greg-----

You've found the pertinent numbers. The GM #3789812 was a diffeerntial case casting used for, among other applications, 1962 Corvettes with positraction. Your "CW 5 01" stamping decodes to a 3.08:1 positraction axle originally used for a 62 Corvette with 4 speed trans and metallic brakes. This unit was assembled on May 1, [likely of 1962]. So, if it's original to your car I would expect that the car is a late build.

There's no gurantee that the "innerds" of the case are as originally built, though. In 40 years, someone could have changed the internal gears.