vin # decoding 1963 Hawk

[billjharris]

can anyone here decode this vin #63v16923 on a 1963 studebaker hawk?

[rockne10]

Sure, but more information is to be gained by decoding the body tag on the right side firewall under the hood.

Now...you are looking for three different numbers to decode what you have: Serial number from the door post, body tag from the firewall and engine number from left front boss on the block.

[StudeRich]

can anyone here decode this vin #63v16923 on a 1963 studebaker hawk?

All the Studebaker Serial Number tells us is; this is the 16,923rd. 1963 Studebaker Eight Cylinder car built for the '63 Model run.
Only the Production Order copy from the SN Museum gives Transmission type, factory supplied optional accessories, Body, Engine number, Ign. & Door key #, Trunk & Glove Box key #, date ordered, built and shipped, shipped to City, sometimes Dealer name, type seats, color and type of seat upholstery, color of car etc.

The Body Tag will tell us that it is a 63= year, V= Eight Cylinder, K= long wheelbase Hardtop (Hawk), 6=Trim Level and the number below is the line sequence on the Body Line, not final assembly.

In other words, probably nothing you really wanted to know.

[Jim B PEI]

VINs as we know them, which have encoded information about the car which can be deciphered, didn't come into effect until quite a few years after Studebaker ceased operations.

The number is a serial number, as the 16,923rd V8 car built in South Bend that year of all body types as StudeRich says. (if it had started with 'VC', it would have been built in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with a much lower number portion) The Production Order will give you the original engine number, and if your car doesn't match, it could have been replaced at some point. I once had a rare-ish 1960 Canadian built Hawk (only 220 built, and all produced during the month of March 1960) and in that year only those 220 Hawks had the 289 V8 in regularly sold cars in Canada--all the other V8 cars had a 259 only. The build sheet didn't match the engine in the car--it turned out to be a 1963 259 V8 replacing the more powerful 289.