Tweet
I am looking into buying a 66 BB car that is in Canada, British Columbia. Its advertised as a numbers matching car for 45,000. I have posted a pic of the engine pad on my website: http://www.freewebs.com/repruet . Would ya'll please look at this and let me know if it appears to be altered. It looks kinda fishy to me since all the ones I have seen have the numbers looking neater. Thanks
-
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
it looks like it has been ground. I do not see any broach marks. 6 looks funny to me, an I see some ghost #s in front of the T. but hey you need to have more look at it. it could be a factory repair an re stamp. I have not seen alot of those to make a call. I would think they would not give a sh#t an grind away with out trying to hid it. to me this looks like some one is taking there time with the grinding. just my PO. -
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
Rodney:
Check out The Corvette Restorer Magazine issue Vol 20, #4, Spring 1994. You'll find a very interesting article by editor John Amgwert on this very subject.
My opinion, for what it worth, looks okay.Comment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
Lyndon,
I thought the same things as you...but I am not an expert. I look for broach marks because they are hard to fake when they run the entire length of the deck. Weird looking "6". For some reason it dosn't look right. It doesn't look typical. Later, TerryComment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
It was a common paractice at Flint and Tonawanda to use the digit 9 stamp upside down for a 6.
From what I can see the stamp "looks" good.Comment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
As Al Grenning for his help.Comment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
If you right click on the photo and save it to your photo album, you can then enlarge it. After doing that, it doesn't look like all of the numbers from the foundry stamping are parallel.
GaryComment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
Dan,
I don't think the characters would fit in the holder upside down. They were keyed on one side only and had to be inserted that way, so a 6 couldn't be used for a 9.
The stamp tool had to be reloaded after each use to continue the correct numeric sequence. Many of the individual characters would change from hour to hour on the motor line because there were several of each character in little boxes at the stamp area. If the worker happened to reach in and pick a different character than the one that was used previously, it may have been slightly different than the one he used an hour before. That's why two cars build within a few hours of each other, can, and often do, have different style characters on the pad.
Typically, this was not the case as most of the characters were made the same but there were certain characters that were different, at times during the 50's and 60's. An example would be the flat top "2" used in 63. That style seems to be the most common but there are many very original 63 cars that have the round top "2".
My research on engine stamp numbers started way back in the mid 70's so I feel confident that the info that I collected is genuine. In 1975, almost no one even knew what all those numbers meant so the restamp industry didn't exist, for the most part.
MichaelComment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
Michael
I apologize, but I must respectfully differ here. I have owned two ’66 425-hp cars with what I believe have their original engines. I still own the one with the "6" anomaly in the Tonawanda build stamp. I am going to send you a file with photos. They aren’t the best pictures but all I have at this time. I’d post one if I had the ability. See what you can do. I know it’s the real thing. I also realize that just on my “say so” isn’t enough to make it definitive or the empirical truth. But I believe it is with the engine I’m sending you the pictures of.
Let’s see what we might learn about this 6 and 9 thing. Might be nice if Al Grenning would participate in this one.
DanComment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
Also the impression made per number isn't very evenly although the used font looks genuin to me. Looks like it is stamped per number (this could even be done at the factory I suppose).
greetings,
Rob.Rob.
NCRS Dutch Chapter Founder & Board Member
NCRS Software Developer
C1, C2 and C3 Registry DeveloperComment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
Thanks Dan. I'll post the pic for you if you'd like. Will be interesting to see. I like looking at engine stamps that are not what we would call "typical" production. I have quite a collection of these myself.
I still have one of the original stamp tools used in the 60's and another from the 70's. Both have a key that prevents the characters from being inserted in the holder the wrong way so if indeed your car has an uncommon or upside down character, I would have to guess that that particular character was made incorrectly at the source. That would be strange too tho, as the characters were indexed by the groove in the side of the slug before the character was stamped into it. Anything's possible though.
I know I have a few good pic's of the tool here somewhere and I think I still have some of the individula characters. I'll post if I find them.Comment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
Rodney - as Rick comments, you need to get Al Grenning involved. He is the authority on stamp pads and has taught classes plus has a huge library of stamps he can compare the same day. Let him know the complete VIN number not shown in your photo. His email is Algrenning@AOL.com. I would explain you are considering purchase and even call and discuss with him....he is a helpful and nice guy......and I would trust his judgement completely. CraigComment
-
Re: 66 Big Block Stamping
I see "broach marks" but they are at an angle to the crankshaft line instead of straight. Hmmmmmm.....Comment
-
Engine Stamp Tool @ Mill
Dan, this "working end" view of the stamp tool shows the lock pin and it's offset in the holder. It aligns with the notch in the side of the character slugs, so the slug can't be installed upside down.
Comment
-
Engine Stamp Tool W/Slugs @ Mill
This shot shows the notch in the side of the slugs which makes them directional. Also shows that there were several of each character in each compartment of the tray, which should prove that one engine stamp doesn't necessarily have to be exactly the same as one that went down the engine line an hour later. This was a much earlier design than the tool in the photo above. (I don't remember what year)
Comment
Comment