OK Joel just let me know I do not have the original tranny in my car. The engine #'s match the VIN, but the tranny tag indicates another year. Is this a BIG negative. Runs good and shifts nice and crisp, so I am happy with that but, I was wondering if all thm400 are the same or are some geared diffrent for diffrent aplications. Mine has 75P480 on the tag and 75cp 40309  if I am reading it correctly (very hard to see). I bought the car as matching #'s car and only checked the engine...thats all I knew to do, so I am just wondering if the non matching tranny makes a big value difrence and if the engine matching is more important.I realize this may be an "opinion type question" so feel free to chime in. I am suspect that either a car is 100% matching or not at all, and there is very little "middle ground"

You are absolutely correct in stating that there is no middle ground. It either still has the transmission that was installed on the line or it doesn't. It will have a significant impact on the value if the car if you are planning to sell it to a purist. If you have read the number correctly and Joel says it doesn't match, I would bet on Joel. I don't know what you paid for the car but I hope it was reasonable.

Scott

I think I paid a little on the high side ....$22K, howecer I did get hung up on the fact that I looked at a lot of cars with rustier frames than I would feel comfortable with and this one had a title. When I was looking I seen a lot of cars from CT and NH, that just had registrations because older cars did not need a title ,....MA requires a title no matter how old the car is...this just made me a little more comfortable. As far as price is conscerned I feel that time will drive up these cars, and in the mean time it is realy fun to drive! 4 Years ago we spent twice the $$ on my wifes S80, and now it is worth about $10K...if we got lucky, so, all in all I feel my $$   is pretty safe...it would have been a lot better if I had realized it was not the correct tranny. BUT, this does bring a question to mind....if a car is #'s matching...or is claimed to be, is that generally accepted that even things like the distributor and alternator are correctly coded.....I assume after 40 years some other things MUST ahve been changed out, Differential, alternator, tranny, radiator, air compressor, carburator etc??? IF any one part is not correct then it is not #'s matching Correct........if so I BET THERE ARE A LOT OF CLAIMED NUMBERS MATCHING CARS OUT THER THAT ARE NOT??!! OH Well, guess I'll just wax it up again and take it out for a spin!!

The engine, transmission, and frame all have the VIN stamped on them. There are MANY other parts that have a date stamp on them. If you're missing any of those items (radiator for example) you can either try to find one with the appropriate date for your car, or in many cases you can by an exact reproduction - with dates and all. I replaced my radiator with a Dewitt's exact replacement, and went ahead and paid a little more for the correct date stamp (even though my car isn't numbers matching).

You are right, there are a lot of parts that need to be original to be a true "numbers matching" car, but the phrase is used primarily to mean having the original engine.  It is fairly easy to find a correct date and stamped transmission, and then have the VIN number stamped on by a professional.  As long as you make it clear to a prospective buyer that you did that, it is considered perfectly acceptable.  All of the other parts that have been replaced over the years can be replaced with originals or correct reproductions if it is important to you. 

Or you could be happy with the car you have, and enjoy it.  You might not feel you can drive and enjoy the car if you get it too perfect.

Larry

Dammit I just spent 20 minutes on a reply to this thread, and them promptly push the wrong dang button, and dumped it! aarrrrrggggggggggggggg!

Anyway....
"Matching Numbers" is no longer used to validate the originality of a Corvette...the term is now used simply to pry more $$$$ from anyone looking to buy a "Matching Numbers" car. Unless you spend several hours pouring over/under in/out of the car, you'll never know for sure what the heck it has.
The engine numbers are easy to see...and fake. The trans is a different story, as you need to have access to the underside of the car to check them.
In general, "Matching Numbers" would mean engine/trans/distributor/differential/alternator/starter/glass were all installed at the factory on that car. These days, anyone can "build" a "Matching Numbers" car, so...the term is useless, IMHO.
"Factory installed" is my term for an original car/component, meaning the parts are the very ones installed at the factory on that particular vehicle.

Does not having the original trans hurt the value of your car? Depends. If you want to sell it as such, then, yeah, it will devalue it somewhat. Otherwise, who cares? Drive it and enjoy it!

A lot of cars had major components replaced under warranty, some even before delivery to the owners. Dealers didn't give two poops about "Matching Numbers". Then, there were other situations, such as on my '74, where the numbers/dates on some parts are NOT "correct", but....the parts are the ones installed at the factory. How? My car was a strike victim...it sat on the assy line for a couple of months during a labor strike in '74. So...my trans, smog pump, and one of the headliners have dates that are after the build date of the car but...still withinin the month of final assembly, which was August '74....the build date for the car is June 27th '74. Useless trivia, I know...

I say drive your car, and have fun...don't put too much stock in knowing the trans is not original...chances are it doesn't have the original oil in the engine, or air in the tires, or gas in the tank, either. You might be able to find a trans someday that is close enough date-wise, to install. It still won't be original, but it'll be a little closer.

No matter what its still a chrome bumper 1970 Corvette convertable.

How cool is that?

The tranny deal would be a bigger deal if lets say it was a big block 4 speed, 1 of 1368 ever made that year and the tranny wasnt correct.

Besides what a car is worth only matters if one sells said car and why would one sell a 70 Vette anyway?

($22,000 aint a bad price if the car isnt in need of a bunch of work).

Thanks Guys, Ya made me feel a little better, I bought the car because the frame was realy a heck of a lot nicer than ANY others I have seen, and I realy did not want to get involved w/ frame repairs So I bought this car even though I realy wanted a 4speed. However, I have to say that the auto is pretty handy...I am a big guy and I remember when I had my 79' my left leg was always getting cramped, so, I guess that worked out. The car as it was needed a couple low dollar repairs, parking brakes about $60.00* and a lot of post's here, and a wiper motor...rebuilt from advanced auto...also under $60.00*...so NOT TO BAD. It came with Brand new tires and new set of brake pads and front calipers, as well as a new top, The paint although not the correct color is a decent job and looks realy gorgeous from about 5' so I realy cant get to upset over that.All in all I am happy.........although I was told it was numbers matching and I trusted the guy so I guess I learned a little something......and not nessesarily about the guy I bought it from, he may have believed the engine # ment it was a #'s matvhing car and that was that.  My original plan was to keep it and drive it till I retire(10 years) and then do a complete restoration and get date coded parts like alternator, radiator, and the like at that time....plus....do a strip and repaint back to the original Daytona Yellow. I think MY PLAN NOW is to just leave the paint on it as it is, drive it , enjoy it, and not torture myself with looking up any other numbers!! PLUS, MAYBE get a matching coupe someday with the $$ I may have sunk into doing a complete restore.  (maybe this worked out better???!!!!)

[QUOTE=VetteSpecialties]... It is fairly easy to find a correct date and stamped transmission, and then have the VIN number stamped on by a professional...it is considered perfectly acceptable....[/QUOTE] 6880Mike2008-06-17 10:29:03

I think you are fine at 22k. A 1970 is a low production and it sounds like yours is very nice. I agree with Joel regarding what "matching numbers" really means. I also agree with 6880Mike regarding the re-stamp.  I don't think it is ever acceptable. Why would you do that unless you were trying to defraud a prospective buyer or a show judge? If you eliminate those two scenarios, what other reason could there be to re-stamp a number on non-original transmission. I am disappointed that anyone here thinks it is "perfectly acceptable".

You have a great car. Drive the heck out of it and enjoy every minute.

Scott