C3 Corvette VIN Decoder
Chevrolet kept the same format for the Corvette VIN going from the C2 generation into the C3. It stayed that way for a few years before Chevrolet changed the VIN configuration around again in 1972. It was still 13 digits like in 1965-1971, but the order of characters and their meaning was switched around a bit. The basic information was still shown including year, body style and engine. There was also a third change to the C3 VIN set up in 1981 with the move to a 17 digit system that is close to today’s VIN organization.
C3 Corvette VIN Ranges (by Year)
C3 Corvette VIN Location
The VIN on a Corvette has always been stamped on a plate, although the location of that plate has varied over the years. From 1968 till 1982, the VIN number was located on the inner side of drivers side windshield post by the A pillar and was visible through window from outside.
C3 Corvette VIN Decoder (1968 – 1971)
The start of C3 production kept the same VIN set up as the late C2 models. There were 13 digits. The basic information was still shown including year, body style and order in the production sequence. The 3rd digit signified a V8 engine, but not which one.
C3 Corvette VIN Explanation (1968 – 1971)
Digit 1 – Make/Manufacturer: A one-digit make designation. “1” for Chevrolet
Digit 2 – Series/Model: A one-digit make designation which is General Motors identification/series code for Chevrolet Corvette. “9” for Corvette.
Digit 3 – Engine: A one-digit number for the V8 engine (all cars had the V8). “4” = V8.
Digit 4 & 5 – Body Style: “37” for Coupe, “67” for Convertible.
Digit 6 – Model Year: “8″ for 1968, “9” for 1969, “0” for 1970, “1” for 1971.
Digit 7 – Assembly Plant:“S” for St. Louis for 1968 to 1971.
Digit 8 through 13 – Production Number: This is the six-digit build sequence number. Each new Corvette produced being assigned the next number in sequence. Last sequence number should equal total production for that year in almost all cases. Below is how production numbers worked for each model year:
- 1968: Production number began with 4 (400001)
- 1969: Production number began with 7 (700001)
- 1970: Production number began with 4 (400001)
- 1971: Production number began with 1 (100001)
1968 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 194378S400001 – 194378S428566 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| 9 (Second Digit) | Model series. 9 – Corvette |
| 4 (Third Digit) | Engine type. 4 – V8 Engine (all types) |
| 37 (Fourth and Fifth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| 8 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 8 – 1968 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Seventh thru Twelfth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
1969 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 194379S700001 – 194379S738762 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| 9 (Second Digit) | Model series. 9 – Corvette |
| 4 (Third Digit) | Engine type. 4 – V8 Engine (all types) |
| 37 (Fourth and Fifth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| 9 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 9 – 1969 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 7XXXXX (Seventh thru Twelfth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits begin at 700001 and run thru 738762, accounting for all 38,762 Corvette Coupes/Convertibles built in 1969. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
1970 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 194370S400001 – 194370S417316 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| 9 (Second Digit) | Model series. 9 – Corvette |
| 4 (Third Digit) | Engine type. 4 – V8 Engine (all types) |
| 37 (Fourth and Fifth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| 0 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 0 – 1970 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Seventh thru Twelfth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
1971 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 194371S100001 – 194371S12180 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| 9 (Second Digit) | Model series. 9 – Corvette |
| 4 (Third Digit) | Engine type. 4 – V8 Engine (all types) |
| 37 (Fourth and Fifth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| 1 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 1 – 1971 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 1XXXXX (Seventh thru Twelfth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits begin at 100001 and run thru 121801, accounting for all 21,801 Corvette Coupes/Convertibles built in 1971. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
C3 Corvette VIN Decoder (1972 – 1980)
Chevrolet changed the VIN configuration around again in 1972. It was still 13 digits like in 1965-1971, but the order of characters and their meaning was switched around a bit. The basic information was still shown including year, body style and engine.
C3 Corvette VIN Explanation (1972 – 1980)
Digit 1 – Make/Manufacturer: “1” for Chevrolet
Digit 2 – Model/Series: “Z” for Corvette
Digit 3 & 4 – Body Style: “37” for Coupe, “67” for Convertible, “87” for Coupe (1978-1980)
Digit 5 – Engine: See below for list of engine codes by year
- Engine VIN codes by year
- 1972 – “K” for base (350 cid, 200 hp), “L” for LT1 (350 cid, 255 hp), “W” for LS5 (454 cid, 270 hp)
- 1973 – “J” = L48 (350 cid, 190 hp), “T” for L82 (350 cid, 250 hp), “Z” for LS4 (454 cid, 275 hp)
- 1974 – “J” for L48 (350 cid, 195 hp), “T” for L82 (350 cid, 250 hp), “Z” for LS4 (454 cid, 270 hp)
- 1975 – “J” for L48 (350 cid, 165 hp), “T” for L82 (350 cid, 205 hp)
- 1976 – “L” for L48 (350 cid, 180 hp), “X” for L82 (350 cid, 210 hp)
- 1977 – “L” for L48 (350 cid, 180 hp), “X” for L82 (350 cid, 210 hp)
- 1978 – “L” for L48 (350 cid, 175 hp), “X” for L82 (350 cid, 220 hp)
- 1979 – “8” for L48 (350 cid, 195 hp), “4” for L82 (350 cid, 225 hp)
- 1980 – “H” for LG4 (305 cid, 180 hp), “8” for L48 (350 cid, 190 hp), “6” for L82 (350 cid, 230 hp)
Digit 6 – Model Year: “2” for 1972, “3” for 1973, “4” for 1974, “5” for 1975, “6” for 1976, “7” for 1977, “8” for 1978, “9” for 1979, “A” for 1980.
Digit 7 – Assembly Plant: “S” for St. Louis
Digit 8 through 13 – Production Number: This is the six-digit build sequence number and starts at 5100001 in 1971. In 1972, the Production Sequence Number changed to 4100001 after 1972. Each new Corvette produced being assigned the next number in sequence. Last sequence number should equal total production for that year in almost all cases.
1972 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1Z37K2S500001 – 1Z37K2S527004 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| Z (Second Digit) | Model series. Z – Corvette |
| 37 (Third and Fourth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| K (Fifth Digit) | Engine type. K – Base Engine / L – LT1 / W – LS5 |
| 2 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 2 – 1972 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 5XXXXX (Eighth thru Thirteenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits begin at 500001 and run thru 527004, accounting for all 27,004 Corvette Coupes/Convertibles built in 1972. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
Engine Code (K for 350ci, 225hp, 185hp; L for 350ci, 255hp; W for 454ci, 270hp).
1973 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1Z37J3S400001 – 1Z37J3S434464 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| Z (Second Digit) | Model series. Z – Corvette |
| 37 (Third and Fourth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| J (Fifth Digit) | Engine type. J – Base Engine / T – L82 / Z – LS4 |
| 3 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 3 – 1973 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Eighth thru Thirteenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits begin at 400001 and run thru 434464, accounting for 30,464 Corvette Coupes/Convertibles built in 1973. 4,000 serial numbers were unused for the 1973 model year. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
1974 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1Z37J4S400001 – 1Z37J4S437502 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| Z (Second Digit) | Model series. Z – Corvette |
| 37 (Third and Fourth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| J (Fifth Digit) | Engine type. J – Base Engine / T – L82 / Z – LS4 |
| 4 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 4 – 1974 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Eighth thru Thirteenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits begin at 400001 and run thru 437502, accounting for 37,502 Corvette Coupes/Convertibles built in 1974. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
Engine Code (J for 350ci, 195hp; T for 350ci, 250hp; Z for 454ci, 270hp).
1975 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1Z37J5S400001 – 1Z37J5S438465 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| Z (Second Digit) | Model series. Z – Corvette |
| 37 (Third and Fourth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| J (Fifth Digit) | Engine type. J – Base Engine / T – L82 / Z – LS4 |
| 5 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 5 – 1975 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Eighth thru Thirteenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits begin at 400001 and run thru 438465, accounting for 38,465 Corvette Coupes/Convertibles built in 1975. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
Engine Code (J for 350ci, 195hp; T for 350ci, 250hp; Z for 454ci, 270hp).
1976 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1Z37L6S400001 – 1Z37L6S446558 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| Z (Second Digit) | Model series. Z – Corvette |
| 37 (Third and Fourth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| L (Fifth Digit) | L – Base Engine / X – L82 Engine |
| 6 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 6 – 1976 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Eighth thru Thirteenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits begin at 400001 and run thru 446558, accounting for 46,558 Corvette Coupes built in 1976. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car. There is documented evidence that the final VIN for the 1976 Corvette ended in 446567, nine more units than the published total of 46,558.
Engine Code (L for 350ci, 180hp; X for 350ci, 210hp).
Note that for 1976-1982 Corvettes, the 3rd digit is a 3 or 8 because there were no convertibles made.
1977 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1Z37L7S400001 – 1Z37L7S449213 |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| Z (Second Digit) | Model series. Z – Corvette |
| 37 (Third and Fourth Digits) | 37- Corvette Coupe / 67 – Corvette Convertible |
| L (Fifth Digit) | L – Base Engine / X – L82 Engine |
| 7 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 7 – 1977 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Eighth thru Thirteenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits begin at 400001 and run thru 449213, accounting for 49,213 Corvette Coupes built in 1977. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
Note that for 1976-1982 Corvettes, the 3rd digit is a 3 or 8 because there were no convertibles made.
1978 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1Z87L8S400001 – 1Z87L8S440274 (Corvette Coupe) 1Z87L8S900001 – 1Z87L8S906502 (Corvette Pace Car) |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| Z (Second Digit) | Model series. Z – Corvette |
| 87 (Third and Fourth Digits) | 87- Corvette Coupe |
| L (Fifth Digit) | L – Base Engine / X – L82 Engine |
| 8 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 8 – 1978 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Eighth thru Thirteenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits for the Corvette Coupe begin at 400001 and run thru 440274, accounting for all 40,274 Corvette Coupes built in 1978.
1978 VINs included a special identification for Special Edition Models. It was also the first time Chevrolet used a number instead of a letter to identify the engine in the VIN. The last six digits for the Corvette Coupe Pace Car begin at 900001 and run thru 906502, accounting for all 6,502 Corvette Coupe Pace Cars built in 1978.
Note that for 1976-1982 Corvettes, the 3rd digit is a 3 or 8 because there were no convertibles made.
1979 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1Z8789S400001 – 1Z8789S453807 (Corvette Coupe) |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| Z (Second Digit) | Model series. Z – Corvette |
| 87 (Third and Fourth Digits) | 87- Corvette Coupe |
| 8 (Fifth Digit) | Engine Type. L – Base Engine / X – L82 Engine |
| 9 (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. 9 – 1979 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Eighth thru Thirteenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits for the Corvette Coupe begin at 400001 and run thru 453807, accounting for all 53,807 Corvette Coupes built in 1979. 5,227 Corvettes were sold in Canada. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
Note that for 1976-1982 Corvettes, the 3rd digit is a 3 or 8 because there were no convertibles made.
1980 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1Z878AS400001 – 1Z878AS440614 (Corvette Coupe) |
| 1 (First Digit) | Make/Manufacturer. 1 – Chevrolet |
| Z (Second Digit) | Model series. Z – Corvette |
| 87 (Third and Fourth Digits) | 87 – Corvette Coupe |
| 8 (Fifth Digit) | Engine Type. 8 – Base Engine / H – LG4 / 6 – L82 Engine |
| A (Sixth Digit) | Model Year. A – 1980 |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 4XXXXX (Eighth thru Thirteenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits for the Corvette Coupe begin at 400001 and run thru 440614, accounting for all 40614 Corvette Coupes built in 1980. 5,020 Corvettes were sold in Canada. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
Note that for 1976-1982 Corvettes, the 3rd digit is a 3 or 8 because there were no convertibles made.
C3 Corvette VIN Decoder (1981 – 1982)
Starting in 1981 GM added several characters to the Corvette VIN to bring the total up to 17 digits. Thankfully this new longer VIN helps standardize the decoding process and has remained mostly the same for almost 30 years now. Those extra characters also allowed GM to give more information about each car. Special options like the ZR1 are now easily verified by VIN, which can be a big help when researching Corvettes for sale.
C3 Corvette VIN Explanation (1981 – 1982)
Digit 1 – Country of manufacture: “1” for United States
Digit 2 – Manufacturer: “G” for General Motors
Digit 3 – Make: “1” for Chevrolet
Digit 4 – Restraint System: “A” for Manual Belts
Digit 5 – Body Series: “Y” for Y Line Body
Digit 6 & 7 – Body Style: “87” for Coupe
Digit 8 – Engine:
- Engine VIN codes by year:
- 1981 – “6” for L81 (5.7L, 190 hp)
- 1982 – “8” for L83 (5.7L, 200 hp)
Digit 9 – Check Number: Random Security Number: This number varies randomly from car to car.
Digit 10 – Model Year: “B” for 1981, “C” = 1982
Digit 11 – Assembly Plant: “5” for Bowling Green, “S” for St. Louis (Only on 1981 Corvettes which were made at both plants).
Digit 12 through 17 – Production Number: This is the six-digit build sequence number and starts at 400001 in 1981. In 1982, the Production Sequence Number changed to 100001. Each new Corvette produced being assigned the next number in sequence. Last sequence number should equal total production for that year in almost all cases.
1981 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1G1AY8764BS400001 – 1G1AY8764BS431611 (St. Louis) 1G1AY8764B5100001 – 1G1AY8764B5108995 (Bowling Green) |
| 1 (First Digit) | Country. 1 – U.S. built / 2 – Canada built. |
| G (Second Digit) | Manufacturer. G – General Motors |
| 1 (Third Digit) | Make. 1 – Chevrolet |
| A (Fourth Digit). | Restraint System. A – Nonpassive/manual belts |
| Y (Fifth Digit) | Series. Y – Corvette |
| 87 (Sixth and Seventh Digit) | Body Type. 87 – Coupe 2-Door Plainback Special |
| S (Seventh Digit) | Vehicle Assembly Location. S – St. Louis, Missouri |
| 6 (Eight Digit) | Engine Type. 6 – 5.7L 4BBL |
| 4 (Ninth Digit) | Check Digit. This number will vary. |
| B (Tenth Digit) | Model Year. B – 1981 |
| S or 5 (Eleventh Digit) | Plant. S – St. Louis / 5 – Bowling Green |
| 4XXXXX or 1XXXXX | Twelfth thru Seventeenth Digits – Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits for the Corvette Coupe built in St. Louis begin at 400001 and run thru 431611. The last six digits for the Corvette Coupe built in Bowling Green begin at 100001 and run thru 108995. This accounts for all 40606 Corvette Coupes built in 1981. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
For all 1981 Corvettes, the location of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is stamped on a plate attached to the left front body hinge pillar.
1982 Corvette VIN Decoder
| VIN Range | 1G1AY8786C5100001 – 1G1AY8786C5125408 (Bowling Green) |
| 1 (First Digit) | Country. 1 – U.S. built / 2 – Canada built. |
| G (Second Digit) | Manufacturer. G – General Motors |
| 1 (Third Digit) | Make. 1 – Chevrolet |
| A (Fourth Digit). | Restraint System. A – Nonpassive/manual belts |
| Y (Fifth Digit) | Series. Y – Corvette |
| 87 (Sixth and Seventh Digit) | Body Type. 87 – Coupe 2-Door Plainback Special / 07 – Collector Edition Hatchback Coupe |
| 8 (Eight Digit) | Engine Type. 8 – 5.7L CFI |
| 6 (Ninth Digit) | Check Digit. This number will vary. |
| C (Tenth Digit) | Model Year. C – 1982 |
| 5 (Eleventh Digit) | Plant. 5 – Bowling Green |
| 1XXXXX (Twelfth thru Seventeenth Digits) | Plant Sequence Numbers. |
The last six digits for the Corvette Coupe begin at 100001 and run thru 125408 accounting for all 25,407 Corvette Coupes built in 1982. Each Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unique to an individual car.
hey,
You’ve got some mistakes here and i was tearing my hair out.
1978 corvette is 8 for L48, 4 for L82.
Then above for your 79 corvette, you have 8,4 in the image, but L/X in the description.
Hope this helps.
Thanks
Under 1981 you have 7th digit listed twice.