From the Trifive Chevy site specific to 55-57 but should still be informative for your 58.
In 1956, the large tag (referred to in most GM Canadian literature as the Vehicle Serial Plate) only had the vehicle and engine serial number stamped on it, with the rest of the information, along now with B.S.O. (Body Special Option) numbers, recorded on the small tag (the Body Serial Plate). This held true for 1957 as well, although, as previously noted, the Vehicle Serial Plate was smaller than in the previous 2 years.
MODEL IDENTIFICATION BY SERIAL NUMBER
With the commencement of the 1956 production, the vehicle serial plate, located on the right front of the cowl, did not include the body serial, trim or paint combination numbers. A separate body serial plate, located on the left front of the cowl, now shows body type, body serial, paint trim and body special option numbers. 1957 production will be identified in a similar manner.
The information on these tags is broken down as follows:
Body Style
Model
150
210
B/A
Utility Sedan 12118
2 Door Sedan 1211 1011 1011D
Delray Club Coupe 1011A
4 Door Sedan 1219 1019 1019D
2 Door Wagon 1263F 1063F
4 Door Wagon 1062F 1062DF
Convertible 1067D
2 Door Hardtop 1037 1037D
4 Door Hardtop 1039 1039D
Sedan Delivery 1271
You will notice that the Nomad is not listed above. That is because none were produced in Canada. All Nomads sold by Canadian Dealers were imported from the U.S.
Vehicle Serial Number
Looking at the 55 tag shown in Fig. #1, the serial number 51011800967 can be broken down as follows:
5 1011 8 00967
5 = Model Year 1955
1011 = Body Style, 2 Door Sedan
8 = 8 Cylinder Engine
00967 = Vehicle Production Number
Although the 1011 in the serial number only indicates that it is a 2 Door Sedan, by checking the Model number on the same tag, the stamping 10-11D tells us that this car should be a Bel Air, not a 210.
Engine Serial Number
All Canadian-produced cars had their engine serial numbers also stamped on one of the tags. While this does make it a lot easier to determine if your car has its original engine, the engine codes were not broken down to the extent that the ones on American cars were. For instance, if your cowl tag indicates that your 57 came with an automatic transmission, there is no way of telling whether it was originally equipped with a Powerglide or Turboglide. Similarly, other than by checking fuel line routing, etc., if your car was V-8 equipped, you cannot tell for sure whether it was 2 Barrel, 4 Barrel, Duals or Fuel Injected.
Again looking at the 55 tag in Fig. #1, the engine serial number 9V17014 breaks down like this:
9 V 17014
9 = Automatic Transmission. If the engine serial number does not begin with a "0", the car was originally equipped with either a standard or an overdrive transmission.
V = V-8. If the "V" is not in the sequence, the car was originally equipped with a six cylinder.
17014 = Engine production number.
Listed below are the first Engine production number for each year and type of engine:
1955 6 cylinder = 52501
1955 8 cylinder = V2001
1956 6 cylinder = V30001
1957 6 cylinder = 199001
1957 8 cylinder = V50001
PRODUCTION FIGURES & OTHER TIDBITS OF USEFUL INFORMATION
Unfortunately the production figures available from G.M. of Canada are not broken down by model or even body style. I have listed below the production figures for each year and also the number of cars imported from the U.S. You will notice that the figures for 1956 differ substantially from those for the other two years. This was due to a bitter 4 1/2 month strike at the plant, lasting from September 9. 1955 right through until February 22, 1956 that very nearly resulted in G.M. canceling Canadian production for the 56 model year entirely!
Year Built Imported
1955 79,030 4,668
1956 48,556 12,017
1957 79,318 324
Totals 206,904 17,009
Besides the obvious differences that I have outlined in this article, there were a host of smaller, subtle differences that set the Canadian-produced car apart. These differences are far too numerous to detail them all now, but a few of the more significant ones included:
- Electrical components such as starters and generators were manufactured in Canada by McKinnon Industries of St. Catherines, Ontario and are identified by a green tag.
- Horns have a flatter profile with "Autolite" embossed on the cover. Some people swear they have a different tone as well, although I personally can't tell.
- All Canadian built cars had one piece bumpers and all 57 rear bumper ends were the blank variety.
- Many of the cast components (ie: Blocks, Head, Wheel Cylinders) were made in Canada and are easily identified by the "CANADA" cast into the piece.
Canadian Cowl Tags
Trim & Paint Codes and
Body Special Options
Trim & Paint Codes
The interior trim codes on Canadian produced Classics were the same as the ones on American cars, the only notable difference being that it appears that you could get some paint/trim combinations that were not available in the U.S. I have recently seen a Canadian produced 57 Convertible, paint code 1001, which is Onyx Black, with trim 677, which is the Ivory & Silver interior.
Paint, however, is quite a different matter. While there were some colours common to both sides of the border, there were also colors during all three model years that were available only in Canada. To further confuse matters, some colors available in both countries were known by a different name in Canada, and some colors known by the same name in both countries were two different shades of the same color. Two good examples of this are 56 Crocus Yellow, which has a decidedly greenish tinge to it compared to the U.S. colour and the 57 Highland Green, which is a much darker shade of green than usual. Also, all Canadian produced cars were painted in enamel, not nitiocellulose lacquer.
Last edited by Bob W; 10-26-2008 at 04:01 AM..
