Independent · Source-led · American performance history Issue 01 · 1951–2023
American Muscle Car Facts

Showroom arguments.
Race-bred answers.

Scheme guide · 1955–1957

Chevrolet V8 passenger-car serial number, 1955–1957

What each character of a 1955–1957 Chevrolet VIN means, with the factory or regulatory source for every code.

1 source · 0 sourced codes · decode a VIN

Black-and-white photocopied photograph of a two-tone 1956 Chevrolet One-Fifty four-door sedan in side three-quarter view, captioned "1956 Chevrolet, One-Fifty four-door sedan, V-8 (AA)"
1956 Chevrolet One-Fifty four-door sedan with the V-8, from the cover of Chevrolet's 1956 vehicle information kit
Black-and-white photocopied photograph of a dark 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe in side view under a bare tree, captioned "1957 Chevrolet, Bel Air two-door hardtop Sport Coupe, V-8"
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door hardtop Sport Coupe with the V-8, from the cover of Chevrolet's 1957 vehicle information kit

This scheme adds model-specific positions to the Chevrolet passenger-car serial number, 1955–1959 (six-cylinder and 1958–1959 form). Positions not listed here follow that scheme.

Character by character

PositionsFieldHow it is read
1–2 Series (V8) See the code table below
3–4 Model year See the code table below
5 Assembly plant See the code table below
6–11 Unit number Production sequence number

Cautions for this scheme

  • The V8 form of the 1955–1957 Chevrolet serial: V plus the series letter, then year, plant and unit number (vehicle information kits, Serial Numbers section). Tables are those of gm-chevrolet-1955-1959.