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how do you know if your truck has matching eng to s/n? should the numbers be the same? I have a 1951 chevy with a 216 and was told it has matching numbers but obv I didn't believe him but I was wondering how to check that to see if it actually is matching?

There are no exactly "matching" numbers. However, the engine serial number and vehicle serial number should be correct for 1951. Also, the date casting codes for the head and block should be relatively close to each other (and should be in 1951 or late 1950).

Is it a Canadian Chevrolet truck or a USA Chevrolet truck?

Post the codes that the seller says are "matching".

locations of engine codes

1951 serial numbers

more examples of serial number locations

Ok so I have checked the engine block and s/n of the truck and both are matching just wasn't sure if it was suppoed to be in the vin somewhere.

it would be super surprising if the number on the engine block matched the number on the door [firewall] tag, that's not the way it was done, maybe you mean the number on the block matches the number on the paper title?

Bill

Hi, Bill, My 1949 pickup has the plate on the driver side door post ( Built on July 15 1949 in Oshawa Ont ) and it lists the following, Model #, Serial #, Engine # (that matches the number stamped on my engine ) Body#, Trim #, paint # (it will tell you the original colour name). It is registered in BC on the Serial #.To misfits contact GM Canada and see if they still do the restoration packages , it will tell you the build date of the truck and maybe the selling dealer. It will cost a little money, but I think it is worth it to find it's birthday. Check your registration and see if it is using the serial number.

yes, hippy, your truck may well have been titled using the vehicle serial number as the vin on the paper, but is your vehicle serial number and your engine number the same? that's what I'm hearing misfits as saying with the "numbers matching" idea

Bill

Hi, Bill I see what you are saying, My serial# and the engine # are totally different but the engine # matches the plate so it has the same engine that it had in it when it was made so to me it is a numbers matching truck. On a side note, has anyone cleaned there Canadian truck frame and found the serial number and if so where is it. Thanks, Brian

"matching numbers" is really meaningless until the muscle car era, when a lot of the numbers actually 'matched', and is relevent to special equipment, for these old trucks you just know you have the original engine .... frame numbers weren't added until after 55, Canada or US

Bill

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is news to me. So on my 55 first series, as long as the engine is a 55 first series, it could be the original engine to the truck? (This is a hypothetical question).

On 54 and 55 first series the VIN tag only has the one number.

Thanks,

Joe

yes, if the date code on it, and the stamped number, are appropriate for a 55.1, it could be the original engine, probably rebuilt unless it's fairly low mileage .... the numbers listed by hippy are on CDN tags, which are quite different than the US ones

Bill

"Not to beat a dead horse, but this is news to me. So on my 55 first series, as long as the engine is a 55 first series, it could be the original engine to the truck? (This is a hypothetical question). "

Of course, as long as your truck is a 1954 or a 1955-1st series and the two codes match the codes for a 1954 or a 1955-1st truck.


"On 54 and 55 first series the VIN tag only has the one number."

Presumably, you are referring to the Vehicle Serial Number (either code might have been used as a registration/title "VIN")?

The Vehicle Serial Number code is a different code from the Engine Serial Number code. However, both codes are unique for a 1955-1st series truck or a 1954 truck; and, the codes for each year should therefore be "matching numbers" at least for the year-series.