Looking at an original 1959 Chevrolet parts manual I found the following note regarding engine serial numbers.
"After October 1, 1956, past model service engines will show the latest year of application immediately preceding the source letter."
The source letter = 'F' means it was built in Flint, 'T' = Tonawanda
In 1954-56 serial numbers were a straight numeric serial number followed by a suffix like these used to indicate 261 engines:
1954 5000 Series F54Q, T54Q
1954 6000 Series F54N, T54N
1955 5000 1st Series F55Q or F54Q55
1955 6000 1st Series F55N or F54N55
1955 6000 2nd Series F255N, T255N
1956 6000 Series F56TA or F56TD
The book doesn't give any further information on the form of serial number that you have (like what the 'N' means).
Last edited by OlBlue; 11/26/2010 9:00 PM.
