VE55S001001 through VE55S001700

The V stood for V8. The E is the Chevrolet indicator for Corvette. The 55 is the year. The S is the Assembly Plant Code for St. Louis. And the last 6 digits is the sequence manufacture number. There is no clear link to engine numbers and the serial numbers for 1955. Engine numbers were followed by the Plant identifier and the engine suffix code. The code can be found on a pad just in front of the cylinder head on the right front top of the engine. The VIN Plate is attached to the door hinge pillar just below the upper hinge.

3835911 L6 235 cubic inches

3703524 V-8 265 cubic inches

Rear axle codes are located by the use of a stamp on the front right side of the differential carrier housing. The code will be followed by the month of manufacture, (1-12 or 01-12) and then the day of manufacture, (01-31).

AE 3.55:1, Powerglide

AH 3.70:1, 3-Speed

AD 3.27:1, 3-Speed and may not have been used in 1955

3707064 Aluminum 6 Cylinder - see general notes about manufacture of this manifold

3711348 Cast Iron 8 Cylinder

L-6 engine 3836108

1st design - V8 engine - left side 3704791, right side 3704792

2nd design - V8 engine - left side 3837069, right side 3836968

For the L-6 engine - 3836241

For the V-8 engine - 3703523

The identification number will be found on a triangular metal tag attached to the air horn. There will also be a manufacture date code. It will appear with a letter, A-M, (I was not used), signifying the month followed by the last digit of the year of manufacture. This was followed by a number of the assembly line.

155 hp, All - Carter YH 2066SA - 3706989

195 hp - 1st design Carter WCFB 2418S - 3717687

195 hp - 2nd design Carter WCFB 2351S - 3724158

Located by a stamp located on the rear face of the case in the lower right corner. The C is for the Cleveland Plant. There would be 1 or 2 digits for the month of production, (January through December). There may be a suffix of D or N (for day or night shift). Note; for six-cylinder Powerglide Transmissions, there may be a VC as a prefix for a Powerglide instead of the C. (The VC is the Chevrolet code for Corvette Cleveland Transmission.)

The identification number is stamped on to a Delco-Remy tag. The tag is riveted to the starter motor housing.

1108035 4 coil design entered production in February 1954

1107627 1st design V8

1107645 2nd design V8 entered use between VIN 509 and 570 

A red tag that has been riveted to the housing will have the serial number, which is a date code. Date coding for this year is 6 followed by the month code (A-M, no I was used) and the day 1-31.

1102793 40 Amps L6

1102025 30 Amps - V8

1112314 L6 engine

1110855 V8 with vacuum advance

1110847 V8 without vacuum advance in some later models

1115394 L6 Engine

1115086 V8 Engine

Corvette radiators were manufactured by the Harrison Division of GM in Lockport, New York. This radiator has a Harrison Division identification tag soldered to the center, inlet side, of the upper core tank. The tag has the part number and a date code of the year and a letter A-L.

3130953 Copper - L6 engine

3133689 Copper - V8 engine

 Note: The heater, radio and tires were the only items that were not Must Order items.

Libby-Owens-Ford Glass Date Codes V is the code for 1956 and would be the 2nd letter in the code. The month code is below. As an example if the code on the glass was JV the glass was manufactured in May 1956. It is possible that GM used glass from other manufacturers, however, it would not be likely, (according to the NCRS Pocket Spec Guide) . Safety Plate glass was used for all of the windows. There will also be the American Standard specification code AS1 for windshields and the code AS2 for the rest of the glass.