I'm a newbie with a '53 Special 4 dr Sedan and the VIN Code is odd...

[Ga Realist]

I really hope that someone can help me. I'm a newbie on the forum so please forgive me if I have written this in a wrong section or am asking help on a very over discussed subject. I bought my car a little over 2 years ago and have taken my time bringing her back to life. The VIN on the driver's door post is 47I704I3. (She's a Dynaflow car) I have tried using the decoding section information but it doesn't seem to help me with my car. I've just gotten her running in the last 2 months after she had what appears to be a 52 year nap. The car was last tagged in Nebraska in 1963, only shows 78k miles and has great oil pressure. (Oil pressure is 3/4 the gauge when cold and just above 1/2 after 15 minutes of a fast idle.) I had to remove the water pump today to have it repaired due to a vicious leak that started a couple of days ago. While scraping a lot of thick Nebraska caked on dirt off, I found a number stamped on the block right behind where the water pump sat. It is 7I38343. (There is no '4' at the end of the ID number stamped in this stamping spot.) Since I was already scraping/ wire brushing a lot of dirt off, I decided to find the ID code stamped just forward of the distributor cap. It is stamped 7I383434. Is this normal for the ID numbers to vary this much? I tried to attach a picture of the door post VIN but it would not allow me to attach any attachment.
What does all of VIN tell me other than the car was manufactured in Kansas City? Also, shouldn't the engine ID be kinda close to the VIN on the door post tag? Lastly, is it normal for the assembly folks leave off a number from one stamping spot to the next?
I really appreciate any insight that you guys might be able to share with me.
Thanks, J

[RodneyRiviera63]

I really hope that someone can help me. I'm a newbie on the forum so please forgive me if I have written this in a wrong section or am asking help on a very over discussed subject. I bought my car a little over 2 years ago and have taken my time bringing her back to life. The VIN on the driver's door post is 47I704I3. (She's a Dynaflow car) I have tried using the decoding section information but it doesn't seem to help me with my car. I've just gotten her running in the last 2 months after she had what appears to be a 52 year nap. The car was last tagged in Nebraska in 1963, only shows 78k miles and has great oil pressure. (Oil pressure is 3/4 the gauge when cold and just above 1/2 after 15 minutes of a fast idle.) I had to remove the water pump today to have it repaired due to a vicious leak that started a couple of days ago. While scraping a lot of thick Nebraska caked on dirt off, I found a number stamped on the block right behind where the water pump sat. It is 7I38343. (There is no '4' at the end of the ID number stamped in this stamping spot.) Since I was already scraping/ wire brushing a lot of dirt off, I decided to find the ID code stamped just forward of the distributor cap. It is stamped 7I383434. Is this normal for the ID numbers to vary this much? I tried to attach a picture of the door post VIN but it would not allow me to attach any attachment.
What does all of VIN tell me other than the car was manufactured in Kansas City? Also, shouldn't the engine ID be kinda close to the VIN on the door post tag? Lastly, is it normal for the assembly folks leave off a number from one stamping spot to the next?
I really appreciate any insight that you guys might be able to share with me.
Thanks, J

Hi, it looks like have got lots and lots of fun ahead of you. One thing I can add is that the "Factory" has workers and some don't always perform 100% of what they were supposed to do. Unlike today where there is a check sheet for everything, it is possible the number was missed ( went to lunch, went to the John, lit a cigarette, who knows.) If not the original motor, given it is only a 10 year old running history, it may be a warranty engine replacement, but that is only a guess. Keep cleaning, you will find out soon enough. Enjoy!
Rodney

[firstofeight]

J, welcome. I think we will wait and let Sean answer your question. But I will say that the serial number on the a pillar and the engine number have NO relation to each other. Buick did not match serial numbers and engine numbers back then.

Ben

[Ga Realist]

I look forward to the help and replies. J

[Buford26]

Not much for me to ad as Ben is correct that the frame serial numbers and engine serial numbers have different ranges. Here is how the numbers decode:


47170413
4 = built at Kansas City, KS
7170413 = sequential number, range was 6,783,001 to 7,224,950 for Kansas City, KS for 1953


71383434
7138343 = sequential number, range started at 6,950,620 for 1953 (last year for I8)
4 = Series 40/Special


The first year the engine and frame serial numbers match for Buick is 1957, so before that there is no such thing as numbers matching. For 1956 and earlier, if the numbers happen to be close, that is by serendipity only. Most 1953 I8 block stampings I've seen have the full eight digits, but it was definitely not unusual for different workers to to things differently. Also, in 1953 there was only one version of the I8 engine and it was found only in Series 40/Special, so stamping the series digit after the engine number didn't really matter and the V8 engines used a different serial number scheme. I've seen one I8 from 1950 that is stamped as yours with the number by the water pump missing the series digit but the number by the distributor has the series digit.

[Ga Realist]

Sean & Ben,

Thanks for the quick response. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to help educate me as to how Buick/ GM did things. This is only the second American car I have attempted to resurrect. I did 6 Triumph TR-6's in the late '80's through the mid '90's.( I was much younger then, making it a lot easier to get into tight cramped spaces. I also didn't wear glasses then so it was easier to see in the close up spaces.) Triumph's numbering was somewhat the same with the '74 to '76's being closer to complete numbers matching vehicles.
So looking at the sequence number of my car verses the ending production number (7,224,950), would you think my car was built in the last quarter of production for that year? Making her a autumn baby?
For the sake of sharing, I am attaching a couple of pictures of the block right after I removed the water pump. There's a whole lot of Nebraska still holding on to this car. I wire brushed a good portion of the afternoon yesterday.
One last question though, where will the frame serial number stamp generally be? I am now curious to see what that number is.

John

[Buford26]

The number attached to the door is considered the frame serial number. In earlier years that plate was actually attached to the frame, but its location changed over the years to the cowl, door frame, or door jamb. The same number should also be stamped on top of the frame at the very front of the driver side frame rail.

[Ga Realist]

Thanks Sean,

I will check the frame tomorrow while I am doing some more cleaning.

I have another question. Where were the engines manufactured? At the same plant of assembly? Did Buick keep any records on the numbers they stamped into the blocks? As in what month / year they were manufactured?
The more I learn, the more it makes me curious. I wish I had a way to find out who the original owner was. I would like to know the history of the car.

John

[Buford26]

Unfortunately, Buick did not archive production records so there isn't any information on build dates. As for previous owners, there is no centralized database containing that information. At a minimum you would have to go state by state, however many early records predate computers and the paper records were disposed of long ago. Plus, many states no longer release that sort of information. Thank the stalkers, crazy ex boyfriends/husbands, and road ragers for that. The best way to track the history is to start with the person you bought the car from, get the information they have on previous owners and keep working your way back.

[Ga Realist]

Thanks Sean.