Chevrolet Corvette VIN Decoder

If you wonder how to read a Corvette VIN number, you are on the right track. Stay with us for a Chevrolet Corvette VIN Lookup. Chevrolet VIN Decoding is essential, especially when you are doing research or looking for cars for sale.

The first question that comes to mind is where the VIN number is located on the Chevrolet Corvette.

Through the years its location has changed slightly. Mostly, it has been stamped on the plate. In early models, it was on the driver’s side door. Later, it was placed under the driver’s rear end.

Corvette VIN Decoder for different models

The first Corvette VIN was relatively simple. It was made of 10 digits. For all the models, every digit or the group of them stood for some information (like the production year). In years this number has increased. Today the most common format is the one with 17 digits.

So, let’s just see what each of them indicates.

At the very beginning of the journey, still in 1953, the car had 10 identifying characters. It ranged from E53F001001 to E53F001300. β€œE” in these examples stands for the model of the Chevy Corvette. The next two numbers show the year of production. β€œF” is indicating the assembly plant location and the last 6 numbers show the overall number of the model built in 1953.

Later, in 1955, with the installation of the V8 engine, the VIN had an extra letter β€œV” which was added at the very beginning of the code.

Since the 1960s VIN changed from 10 to 12 digit style. The two extra characters indicated the difference in the car body style – β€œ37” for coupes and β€œ67” for convertibles.

It was in 1972 that Chevy Corvette changed the configuration of VIN into 13 distinct characters. It could be found on the inner side of the windshield – on the driver’s side. This way it was visible from the outside.

Explanation of digits

The 1968 Corvette VIN decoder, for instance, looked the following way:

194378S400001 – 194378S428566

So, here is what each of them indicated:

  • 1 – Manufacturer
  • 9 – Model/Corvette
  • 4 – Type of the engine
  • 37 – Body styles (coupe/convertible)
  • 8 – Year of the model (e.g. for 1969 this digit would be 9)
  • S – Location of the assembly (in this example it stands for St. Louis, Missouri)
  • 4XXXXXX – Sequence number (this shows the number of the same model produced in that particular year)

It stayed this way until 1981. Then, from 1981, the 13-digit VIN number switched into 17 characters. This is, in fact, almost what we have today for all vehicles.

The Chevy Corvette VIN decoder for the latest models

The Chevy Corvette VIN decoder for the latest models consists of 17 characters.

The numbers for coupes and convertibles ranged from 1G1YY2257T5100001 to 1G1YY2257T5120536. Here is the meaning for each of them:

  • 1 – indicates the United States
  • G – is for the manufacturer (General Motors)
  • 1 – stands for Chevrolet
  • YY(also YZ, ZR-1) – YY is for convertibles, YZ and ZR-1 for coupes only
  • 2 (can also be 3) – 2 is for Two Door Hatchback Coupe, 3 – for Two Door Convertibles
  • 2 – indicates the restraint system
  • 5 – is the engine type
  • 7 – is the check digit
  • T – stands for the model year
  • 5 – indicates the location of the assembly. In this case, 5 means Bowling Green, Kentucky
  • The last digits (there are 6 of them) show the sequence numbers. For 1996 cars it ranged from 100001 to 120536. This shows the number of Corvettes produced in this particular year.

Above is the basic information that will help you decode the numbers of a car and find valuable information! Good luck with your endeavors!