Dated 60 shocks on 62, possible from factory?

[Terry B.]

[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']The rear shocks on my 1962 are stamped 5554593 and 7A60. They have the correct part number but the July of 1960 date is two years too soon. My car is amongst the last four hundred built so I'm wondering if it is possible that, because the shocks for 63 were different, they were running down shock absorber stock and I wound up with a pair of brand new 1960 shocks from the factory?! The shocks have been on the car since at least 1993.[/FONT]

[Terry D.]

Re: Dated 60 shocks on 62, possible from factory?

Terry
In those days anything is possible but in your case highly unlikely. From 62 to 93 a lot can happen to a car. Sell the shocks to someone who needs them and find a pair for your car. Just my 2 cents
Terry

[William C.]

Re: Dated 60 shocks on 62, possible from factory?

As the part number is unchanged, given the last-in first out nature of most GM assembly plant storage areas during this timeframe, it is certainly not impossible.

[Loren L.]

Re: Dated 60 shocks on 62, possible from factory?

Somewhere between 1960 and 1992, found at a Swap Meet New in the Box and a new NCRS member who had just been judged said to himself They're closer than what I have now and the correct part #......"

[William C.]

Re: Dated 60 shocks on 62, possible from factory?

Which car did you put them on??

[Jack H.]

Re: Dated 60 shocks on 62, possible from factory?

Yes, not impossible but highly unlikely... Two comments:

First, when parts fall outside the norms of 'typical factory production' (date in this case), the burden of proof falls upon the owner. So, the ball is in your court and it's a STEEP uphill climb!

Second, shocks (like battery, WSW blades, clutch) were high wear items and frequently replaced by the first owner(s). Typical life was something like 24K miles or so. That means it wouldn't have been uncommon for the factory original shocks to have been replaced within the first 2-3 years of the car's life and the odds would have been reasonable for random draw from service inventory to have produced 1960 dated parts...

[Terry B.]

Re: Dated 60 shocks on 62, possible from factory?

I suspect that they are replacements. The car was garaged (purportedly) from 1969 on and as it had 91K miles it probably did have the shocks replaced. Back then I'm guessing it would have been relatively easy to acquire a pair of 1960 dated original shocks. Still it was worth asking, maybe it was a well known fact that the last 500 produced in 1962 had shocks dated 1960 (oh well, there goes another pipe dream).

I wonder what the shocks would bring on Ebay, I recently saw an original jack and handle for a 62 Vette for $3800? If my car turns out to not be a truly viable BowTie candidate I could fund a lot of "correct" reproduction parts with $3800.