AutoducksVIN Decoder

Classic cars / General Motors

Corvette VIN decoder, 1953-1980

Before 1981 every maker used its own serial format, so standard decoders cannot read a classic Corvette. Ours reads each year's published format and shows the source for every rule, including where references disagree.

Type it exactly as stamped, with no spaces or dashes. We do not keep the numbers you enter.

Where's my serial number?

Example: 194677S100001 (a 1967 Corvette convertible).

What a Corvette serial looks like, by year

1953

Looks like E53F001001 (10 characters)

E = Corvette, 53 = year, F = Flint, then sequence

1954-1957

Looks like E54S001001 (10 characters)

E = Corvette, year, S = St. Louis, sequence (1955 V8 cars add a V prefix: VE55S...)

1958-1959

Looks like J58S100001 (10 characters)

J = Corvette, year, S, sequence

1960-1962

Looks like 00867S100001 (12 characters)

Last digit of year, 08 = Corvette, 67 = convertible, S, sequence

1963-1964

Looks like 30837S100001 (12 characters)

Last digit of year, 08 = Corvette, 37 coupe / 67 convertible, S, sequence

1965-1971

Looks like 194375S100001 (13 characters)

1 = Chevrolet, 94 = Corvette, 37 coupe / 67 convertible, last digit of year, S, sequence

1972-1980

Looks like 1Z37L2S500001 (13 characters)

1 = Chevrolet, Z = Corvette, body (37/67, 87 from 1978), engine code, year (A = 1980), S, sequence

Formats as described by Corvette Action Center, Vettefinders and Wikipedia. These are secondary references, not GM documents. Where they disagree, the decoder shows both.

What a serial number cannot tell you

It identifies the car's year, body, plant and production sequence (and, from 1972, the original engine type). It cannot confirm the car is original or numbers-matching, and before 1972 it does not encode the engine. For that, compare engine-pad stampings, the trim tag and documentation.

Sources