67 RS/SS Convertible possibly born with wrong engine

[67 rs/ss drop-top]

The serial numbers don't match but would have been on the assembly line in Norwood at the same time. I've owned the car for 37 years and the girl that owned it before me had owned it since the early 70s. Neither one of us replaced the engine. I've heard stories of the factory pulling engines with problems on the line, fixing it, and reinstalling it in the next car on the line that needed that engine. Anybody heard of such a thing? How could you prove the car was born with the wrong engine? The date codes on the engine match the car perfectly.

[Petes L48]

The experts will chime in, but I can't imagine the assembly plant would take an engine already stamped for a scheduled car, when they could go over to the racks and pull out one not yet stamped.  Seems that would also create warranty info issues.  Read this research article on the site - it may mention when and how engine repairs would be performed.

http://camaros.org/assemblyprocess.shtml

[Mike S]

 I think it would cause confusion and clash with the stamped information on the protect-o-plate.

Mike

[JKZ27]

How many VIN digits are off? Just one, like a typo?
Probably wouldn't have gotten another car's engine from the factory.

[69Z28-RS]

It's difficult to imagine them not catching it, and if I'm not mistaken there are documented cases where the stamped codes were *changed* in the factory.. basically by X'ing out and restamping...

[bcmiller]

The serial numbers don't match but would have been on the assembly line in Norwood at the same time. I've owned the car for 37 years and the girl that owned it before me had owned it since the early 70s. Neither one of us replaced the engine. I've heard stories of the factory pulling engines with problems on the line, fixing it, and reinstalling it in the next car on the line that needed that engine. Anybody heard of such a thing? How could you prove the car was born with the wrong engine? The date codes on the engine match the car perfectly.

There are rare cases of things like this happening.

If you want, send me a pm with the car VIN and a pic of the engine stamp. Then will evaluate and get back to you. 

[Mike S]

 I would be curious to know if this was a LOS car.

Mike

[Petes L48]

I would be curious to know if this was a LOS car.

Mike

The OP mentioned Norwood line, so apparently not.

[67 rs/ss drop-top]

JKZ27, the serial number has 3 digits that don't match. Can't imagine a typo.

[bertfam]

That wouldn't happen. Per John Hinckley:

An engine failure in the assembly plant resulted in the engine being pulled and returned to the engine plant for credit - there were NO repairs to engines in car assembly plants - they weren't equipped, trained, or authorized to that kind of work. A failed engine was in a rack and on a train back to Flint the same day it was pulled from the car (there was ALWAYS a Flint V-8 train arriving and departing every day).

When the failed/returned engine arrived at Flint V-8, it got a cursory inspection to determine whether it was worth repairing (in which case it got repaired, a "grind-out" and re-stamp); if not, it was scrapped. One engine to be repaired didn't get much attention in an environment that had an engine to be built and shipped every 12 seconds.

Note that a new engine would have been pulled from the dress line, stamped with the correct VIN and then installed in the car.

In your case, the engine that's in the car now started life in a different car.

Ed

[bcmiller]

Yes probably started life in a different car, but it probably doesn’t affect value a huge amount.

Here is a case of a stamping error around that time...

http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=7037.0;all