To Find Build Sheet For 63

[HOWARD K]

PURCHASED 63 CONV. SEVERAL YEARS AGO (NOT # MATCHING) AND I'M ABOUT TO START REPARTATIONS. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE ORIGINAL BUILD SHEET FOR THE CAR JUST TO SEE HOW SHE STARTED LIFE, AND HOW MUCH OF IT REMAINS INTACT. IS THERE A PLACE I CAN GO WITH THE VIN # FOR THIS INFORMATION?

 

[WayneC]

I'm afraid not, Howard. It seems that the factory was only required to keep paperwork for something like 7 years, and when the archives got too crowded, they got rid of the old stuff. That was before anyone dreamed that Corvettes would become such a restoration phenomenon. I believe the National Corvette Museum in Bowling green KY has them for 1981 and later, but no one has them for midyears. There have been several exhaustive searches by Chevrolet for the midyear records without success. In 1967 they began pasting that sheet atop the gas tank, so some owners of 67 and later cars got lucky. Otherwise the onlt possibility is to track down the original owner and hope he might have kept records, but that's REALLY a long shot. Another exception is Corvettes delivered new to customers in Canada... it seems the Canadian government kept import records on all foreign car imports, and that info apparently included copies of the invoices that showed options.

 

[HOWARD K]

BUILD SHEET & DRIVE TRAIN INFO.

WAYNE C, THANKS FOR THE INFO. I WAS AFRAID THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE. IT DOESNT STOP ME FROM GOING FORWARD WITH MY PROJECT, BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO GET SOME INSIGHT INTO THE CARS BACKGROUND. AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, THE CAR PROBABLY STARTED OUT WITH THE 327/340 MOTOR. THE REASON I SAY THIS IS BECAUSE IT HAS THE TACK THAT RED-LINES AT 6500 RPM. THAT ONLY CAME ON CARS WITH THAT MOTOR OR THE F.I.
BUT SINCE MY CAR DOESNT HAVE F.I. BADGING I HAVE TO ASSUME IT HAD THE 340HP ENGINE. I THOUGHT THE TRANNY WAS ORIGINAL BUT CAN'T BE SURE. IT'S A BORG-WARNER UNIT (I THINK). BELL HOUSING IS MARKED "TD-1B" WITH CASTING NUMBER 3840383. THE TAIL HOUSING IS "TD-7D" WITH CASTING NUMBER 3813490. TAIL HOUSING ALSO HAS "R-2" MARKED ON IT?
THE REAR END SEEMS TO BE A "4:11". IF YOU (OR ANYONE OUT THERE) CAN SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
ALSO, IF ANYONE CAN HELP I.D. THE ENGINE I'M ABOUT TO DROP IN THE CAR- CASTING NUMBER IS 3782870, WITH SERIAL NUMBER F0823HCH. ON BACK OF BLOCK IS NUMBER H22852 WITH THE LETTER S UNDER THAT NUMBER. THANKS.

 

[WayneC]

Bellhousing is from 67-69 Corvette (or another vehicle in that era). 63 would have part# 3788421 on it.

The engine casting you have was used for all 62 to 64 Corvette engines and most 65 , as well as other 62-65 cars & trucks... yours was assembled august 23 although the suffix "HCH" stamped on it means it wasn't from a Corvette, but I can't find a listing for HCH, nor can I decipher your casting date except for August 22 date (H22) prefix... I am only familiar with 4 or 5 character dates whereas you listed a 6-character code in which the year coding does not match my references.

Transmission tailshaft casting part number is consistent with a 63 T-10, but I would have expected the "TD-7D" to read "T10-7D" and there should be a casting date on it somewhere that starts with a letter and 2 digits followed by a 2-digit calendar year and optionally a letter... that would tell us if it was likely from a 63. The side plate also should have a date code.

 

[HOWARD K]

WAYNE, THANKS. YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT NUMBER ON TAIL HOUSING, IT IS "T10-7D". GUESS I WAS TIRED LAST NIGHT WHILE SITTING HERE. THERE IS A NUMBER 6 26 62A ON TAILSHAFT. I HAVE STARTED COLLECTING THE PARTS FOR THE PROJECT. WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR, THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD ALREADY REPLACED THE ENGINE WITH A JUNK-YARD 350, HAD THIS REBUILT 327 SITTING IN THE GARAGE. HE GAVE ME THE 327 WITH THE CAR AND IT'S BEEN SITTING IN MY GARAGE. BUT NOW ONE OF THE HAMPSTERS IN THE 350 DIED, SO I'M PUTTING THE 327 IN. I FEEL THAT'S THE MORE APPROPRIATE ENGINE FOR THE CAR ANYWAY. GOING TO DO SOME OTHER REPAIRS AS WELL. SHE'S A SURVIVOR AND DESERVES IT. JUST WANT HER TO BE A DEPENDABLE, FUN DRIVER.
BODY, INTERIOR, ETC. IS IN GREAT SHAPE. FEEL LIKE I'M THE CARETAKER OF A PIECE OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
ANYWAY, THANKS AGAIN.