SAAC Forum

i once had a couple try to buy my car from me at a local car show (great offer but I wasn't ready). Similar to your car i suspect. One i drive and enjoy. They had just finished a concourse restoration of their coupe. He said it cost huge dollars for whatever that is worth. Anyway, he wanted my car because he said his is a piece of art work that hangs on a wall. cant use it just look at it. His wife wanted a convertible which i have. Any place i go with my car its like being with a celebrity even though its mostly original and not perfect. By the way 99% of all folks who stop to speak with me say do not touch this car its great to see originality, chips and bruises.....

I appreciate your thoughts... I personally am of the opinion that matching numbers is great, but period correct is enough for me so that all elements appear as they did from the factory. I'm a stickler for that. VIN on the block in a location that cannot be seen from the naked eye isn't terribly meaningful, but given the chance I'd rather have it of course. That said we will see what happens here, and quite frankly should it be the one i would leave the car alone and put it in the corner of my barn since my car runs great as is! 

With all of this talk what does the market have to say about numbers? Is there really a great difference in value? I assume the following scenarios impact value from less (decrease) to more but by how much do you think?
1. wrong engine (year) -XX%
2. Correct year wrong month - XY%
3. Correct year and correct month, wrong VIN- YY%
4. Matching VIN- N/A

Or is it black and white Original to car vs. Not?

with other makes and models I don't see a big difference and that difference seems to be fading with all of the LS swapping going on.....

the 69 seem to have been stamped all together as a gang.. The 68 seems more free hand to me.

thank you great info. I appreciate the new pics

thanks very much. no"8" before the T in the samples you provided? I would have thought there would be one?

very cool i did not know that. Based on the date range you suggest it certainly seems worth my time to confirm the other numbers. Thanks!

What is the Y indicating? How close to the build date should the assembly date be? thanks

thank you i actually though it was further down behind.

I know where the other numbers are I wasn't familiar with the assembly date stamping. What is the Y indicating? How close to the build date should the assembly date be? Thanks

I got a call from the original owner (his son) that I bought my 68 350 from. He is claiming to have found what he believes was the original motor (short block) to my car in their barn. If true its been there since 1971 and is very corroded! Anyhow its in a very difficult location (fell through floorboards) to get at so I cannot see the VIN stamping or castings without a real commitment and half a day. I can see the stamping on the front surface near the water pump which 8C4Y. My car was built 4/23/68. I certainly hope it is the block, but before I commit my time digging it out and I suspect a lot of $$, I want to be sure based on these numbers it seems right. Thoughts?

here is a picture of the car

sorry 69 firebird trans am not a race car. thanks

Sorry to offend my Shelby friends!!! But i would be willing to swap or make a deal.

thanks Bob. Anyone ever do a side by side comparison to determine accuracy?