VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1961-1964 chevy super sports

Hi I am very new to restoration ,just started this year , I am currantly looking for super sports .Some of the old ones around dont have much left to identify them . How can I tell by the vin# if it is a real SS , Is there a book or site I can find to check vin# to see what the car is supposed to be . My fried recently had a 59 caddy convertable that turned out to be on a coupe frame . I am told you can check all this by vin . Where can I get the info . Thanks for any help B

There is a book "Chevrolet by the numbers" by Alan L. Colvin. It tells you how to identify and verify all V-8 Drivetrain parts, for small and w-blocks, on all passenger cars, including Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala, Chevy II, Chevelle, and Corvette.

For the 1961 Impala Super Sports, only those that were manufactured in LA are identified. "SS" is on the trim tag under Accessories. The '61 is probably the most cloned of all the Super Sports because there were only 453 manufactured. It is considered a very rare car and highly collectible. There were a lot of manditory options on the '61 Super Sport.

If I remember correctly there is no serial number or trim plate number way to identify the 1962 and up SS. The SS was just and Impala option and the build sheet or window sticker would be the only easy proof.

Gene,

From reading much info thru the years on Chevytalk, I believe there is an accessory code that designates bench seat or bucket seats. (For the general readers out there, buckets equals SS)

Bill

The trim number is different on the SS cars (62 and 63)because of the different interior, bucket seats. In 64 they were given their own series 1300 and 1400. I am not sure after 64 if this carried through
John

From the 1962 Price and Facts book,
Super Sport Equipment(bucket type front seats required),models number 1847-1867 only, option #240, $53.80 factory suggested list price ,delivered.

Seat, bucket type front, With "Super Sport Equipment only" no option number listed, Suggested list price $102.25.

Strange that no option number is shown for the bucket seats. The only way buckets were available is with the S.S. equipment and the only way S.S. equipment was available is with bucket seats.
The model numbers listed are the convertible and 2 door hard top....The models 1847-1867 were 8 cylinder, the 1747-1767 were 6 cylinders, and the S.S. option was the same number and price for both them.
This is from the October 1961 price list.

I would say one way to determine if the car is an actual S.S. would be to see how the console and inner seat tracks are mounted to the floor. The inner and outer tracks would have been mounted the same way.

Gene,
An actual SS will only have one of the following trim numbers on the cowl tag
hardtop: 867(fawn),854 (aqua), 843 (blue),827 (green),891 (gold),812 (black),874 (red)
convertible: 856 (fawn),845 (aqua),879 (red),831 (blue),821 (green),890 (gold),815 (black)

These numbers were the numbers used to indicate bucket seats, non SS cars used different trim codes.
John

John,
I was trying to find something that would not be fake like Body number plates, etc. I would suspect that the plates are being reproduced like every thing else in the hobby. Do they make serial number and body number plates for the cars of the '60's?

The serial numbers are against the law to remanufacture. If someone were to replace the cowl tag, most likely they covered all of the bases, and it would be pretty hard to tell. I have looked at many of these cars over the years and the converted ones either are done so well you can not tell, or something is wrong right away.

The grab bar on the 62's had a reinforcement that always seems to be missing on the converted cars. This would be behind the dash
John

Hi Everyone,
Newbie Checking In.

Welcome Hellcat,
You'll love the friendly chats and if you ever have any questions, feel free to ask. Also, I'm sure you'll be able to help us at times.

:vcca:

i have a 63 ss nova. the tag on the firewall has a X on it, i was told it was a okland california ss.. if it had a Z03 on it it was made in norwood ohio. it is Granny Gold with tan interior, buckets and ss trim 194 6 and a powerglide. am i correct with this information?

The proper way to determine as to where the car was assembled is by decoding the serial number.
The first number will be a 3 indicating thae year-1963.
The next two numbers indicates the series-04= Chevy II Nova 6 cylinder.
The next two numbers indicate the body style=37=two door hard top.
Next will be a LETTER that indicates the assembly plant.
Oakland would be O and Norwood a would be N....plus several others.

The Chevy IIwas only made at a few select plants so you may not have either of these letters.

1963 Chevy IIs were built in Norwood, Willow Run, Oakland, Kansas City, and Framingham. Z03 is the RPO for Super Sport cars. In my experience, only Kansas City cars come with the Z03 stamped on the data plate. For some unknown reason, Oakland SS cars had X stamped on their data plate. Norwood cars only had the RPO letter stamped on the data plate. The 1963 Nova SS I owned had M for powerglide (RPO M35), and Z for Super Sport as well as comfort and convenience package (Z01) which included two speed wiper with washer and day/night mirror. I'm not sure what they stamped in Framingham or Willow Run, I haven't seen an early Chevy II from one of these assembly plants in a long time. As mentioned in an earlier post, the bucket seat trim code is a good way to tell if the car is a true SS. Bucket seats were a "mandatory" option for 1963 Nova Super Sports.