1955-1956-1957 chevrolet

canadian cowl tag identification
While most of us are aware that Chevrolet had plants in Janesville, Oakland and eight other locations around the US producing cars in the mid fifties, a lot of people do not realize that General Motors also had a plant in Canada producing cars for both export overseas and for the Canadian domestic market.  This plant is located in Oshawa, Ontario, and has been producing cars since 1908.  Oshawa is very much a company town, so much so that their local hockey team is known as the "Generals".

Canadian produced 1955-1956-1957 Chevys have several differences that make them just a little bit different from the American Cars.  In this article we hope to outline the major differences and clean up some of the mystery and confusion about these cars.  Hopefully this will make it easier for some of the nice restored (and unrestored) Canadian Classics that show up at sanctioned events to be correctly classified and judged.
canadian Cowl Tags and Serial Numbers
For simplicity's sake, we will refer in this article to the two different sizes of cowl tags found on Canadian cars as:  Large (2 3/8" x 4 1/8") and Small (1 5/8" x 4 1/8").

Unlike their American cousins, Canadian Classics do not have a VIN tag on the driver's side door post, but rather have the serial number recorded on the cowl tag.  The 55's came with one large tag, which was normally located on the right side of the cowl, in roughly the same located as the cowl tag on American cars (See Fig. #1).  The 56's had two tags, a large one in the same location as on a 55, and a small one on the left hand side of the upper cowl (See Fig. #2).  the 57's again came with two tags, but these were both small ones, usually found either side by side, or one above another on the firewall under the windshield wiper motor (See Fig. #3).

The 1955 Cowl Tag would contain the following information:

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Model Number

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Serial Number

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Engine Number

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Body Serial Number

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Paint and Trim Codes

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.

Fig. #1

1955 B/A 2 Door Sedan, V-8 Automatic

Fig. #2

1955 B/A 2 Door Hardtop, V-8 Overdrive

Pinecrest Green/India Ivory

Fig. #3

1957 Convertible, 6 Cylinder Automatic

Tropical Turquoise

ON THE LARGE TAGS THERE IS A

MAPLE LEAF IN SEMI-RELIEF

INSIDE THE "GM" BOX

Here is what the Serial Number Tells You:

1.  The first digit is the model year

2.  The second and third digits indicate the series.

3.  The fourth and fifth digits indicate the model.

4.  The sixth digit indicates whether it is a 6 or 8 cylinder.

5.  The balance of the number identifies the particular car.

1955-56 Unit and Serial Number Locations

Year, model and serial number, engine number, trim and paint numbers, are embossed on a metal plate located on top of cowl on right side under the hood

Six cylinder engine serial number located on pad on right hand side of cylinder block at rear of distributor

Eight cylinder engine unit number located on pad at front, right hand side of cylinder block

Generator serial and model number are located on a metal plated staked on the generator body forward of the armature terminal

Rear axle serial number located on front, right side of differential carrier

Starting motor serial and number are located on starting motor body below solenoid

Conventional transmission serial number located on rear face of case in the upper right corner.  O.D. same

Powerglide transmission unit number located on rear face of case in the lower right corner

Battery code number located on cell cover, top of battery

1957 Unit and Serial Number Locations

Vehicle serial number located on face of shroud panel to the right of windshield wiper motor

Body style, body number, trim type and paint combinations located on the shroud panel to the left of the windshield wiper motor

Six cylinder engine unit number located on pad on right hand side of cylinder block at rear of distributor

Eight cylinder engine unit number located on pad at front, right hand side of cylinder block

Rear axle serial number located on front, right side of differential carrier

Conventional transmission unit number located on rear face of case in the upper right corner.  O.D. unit – same identification

Turboglide transmission unit number located on the back of the right rear motor mount base

Powerglide transmission unit number located on rear face of case in the lower right corner

Battery code number located on cell cover, top of battery

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  1211B    
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 colors 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. color 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.

 

Listed below are the paint codes for all three years.  We have indicated with a # those colors that were peculiar to the Canadian cars, and provided a brief description of each one.  Also listed is the Canadian equivalent for some common U.S. colors.

1955 ONE COLOR 

55J - Cashmere Blue  555 - Sunsand Beige #
514 - Shoreline Beige 55A - Shoreline Beige
550 - Black  556 - Lido Green
551 - Lancer Blue Metallic   557 - Malibu Blue
552 - Empress Maroon  558-Greystone White#
553 - Oxford Grey Metallic  559 - Autumn Bronze Metallic
554 - Highland Green Metallic 560 - Matador Red #
561 - Regal Turquoise Metallic  

 

1955 TWO TONE COMBINATIONS

55A - Navajo Tan Metallic/India Ivory 55B - Dusk Rose Metallic/India Ivory
55C - Cashmere Blue/India Ivory 515 - Shoreline Beige/Autumn Bronze Metallic
516 - Shoreline Beige/Lancer Blue Metallic 518 - Highland Green Metallic/Shoreline Beige
519 - Lancer Blue Metallic/Shoreline Beige 570 - Greystone White/Matador Red
571 - Greystone White/Regal Turquoise Metallic 572 - Sunsand Beige/Autumn Bronze Metallic
573 - Greystone White/Black 573A - Black/India Ivory
574 - Greystone White/Malibu Blue 575 - Lancer Blue Metallic/Sunsand Beige
575A - Lancer Blue Metallic/Shoreline Beige 576 - Malibu Blue/Lancer Blue Metallic
578 - Highland Green Metallic/Sunsand Beige 578A - Highland Green Metallic/Shoreline Beige
579 - Lido Green/Highland Green Metallic 580 - Highland Green Metallic/Sunsand Beige
580A - Shoreline Beige/Highland Green Metallic 581 - Sunsand Beige/Lancer Blue Metallic
581A - Shoreline Beige/Lancer Blue Metallic 582 - Matador Red/Sunsand Beige
582A - Matador Red/Shoreline Beige 584 - Seastone Coral/Oxford Grey Metallic
585 - Greystone White/Black 585A - India Ivory/Black
598 - Greystone White/Seastone Coral

 1956 ONE COLOR

1001 - Black 1006 - Nassau Blue
1002 - Harbour Blue Metallic 1007 - India Ivory
1003 - Dusk Plum Metallic  1008 - Crocus Yellow
1004 - Sherwood Green Metallic 1009 - Gypsy Red #
1005 - Pinecrest Green   1010 - Twilight Turquoise
1021 - Dawn Grey Metallic  

1956 TWO TONE COMBINATIONS

UPPER   

LOWER
1201 - Black    Crocus Yellow
1202 - India Ivory Black
1203 - Sherwood Green Metallic  Pinecrest Green
1204 - Nassau Blue    Harbor Blue Met
1205 - India Ivory Pinecrest Green
1206 - India Ivory  Sherwood Green Metallic
1207 - India Ivory Nassau Blue
1208 - India Ivory  Dusk Plum Met
1209 - India Ivory  Twilight Turquoise
1210 - India Ivory Gypsy Red
1250 - India Ivory Dawn Grey Metallic

UPPER/LOWER

CENTRE
1301, 1401 - Crocus Yellow Black
1302, 1402 - Black India Ivory
1303, 1403 - Pinecrest Green Metallic Sherwood Green Metallic
1304, 1404 - Harbor Blue Metallic  Nassau Blue
1305, 1405 - Pinecrest Green India Ivory
1306, 1406 - Sherwood Green Metallic India Ivory
1307, 1407 - Nassau Blue India Ivory
1310, 1410 - Gypsy Red India Ivory
1408 - Dusk Plum Metallic India Ivory
1409 - Twilight Turquoise  India Ivory
1405 - Dawn Grey Metallic  India Ivory

UPPER/CENTRE **

LOWER
1604 -   Black  Crocus Yellow
1602 - India Ivory Black
1603 - Sherwood Green Metallic Pinecrest Green
1604 - Nassau Blue Harbor Blue
1605 - India Ivory  Pinecrest Green
1606 - India Ivory Sherwood Green Metallic
1607 - India Ivory  Nassau Blue
1608 - India Ivory Dusk Plum Metallic
1609 - India Ivory Twillight Turquoise
1610 - India Ivory   Gypsy Red
1611 - Crocus Yellow  Laurel Green
1612 - Iris #  Dawn Grey Metallic
1650 - India Ivory  Dawn Grey Metallic
1651 - Adobe Beige    Sierra Gold Metallic

**Rear Deck & Centre on Model 1067D (Convertible)

 

1957 ONE COLOR

1001 - Onyx Black  1009 - Seminole Red #
1002 - Haven Blue Metallic 1010 - Tropical Turquoise
1003 - Dusky Rose Metallic # 1011 - Limefire Green Met
1004 - Highland Green Metallic 1012 - Coronado Yellow
1005 - Mist Green  1013 - Silver Grey Metallic
1006 - Larkspur Blue  1014 - Sierra Gold Metallic
1007 - Imperial Ivory 1015 - Adobe Beige
1008 - Colonial Cream 1016 - Laurel Green Metallic
1017 - Chateau Grey Metallic #  

              

1957 TWO TONE COMBINATIONS

UPPER/LOWER   

CENTRE
1201, 140 - Colonial Cream Onyx Black
1202 - Onyx Black Dover White
1203, 1403 - Mist Green Highland Green Metallic
1204, 1404 - Haven Glue Metallic Larkspur Blue
1205 - Mist Green  Dover White #
1206 - Larkspur Blue Dover White
1207 - Silver Grey Metallic Imperial Ivory
1209 - Tropical Turquoise Dover White
1210 - Seminole Red Dover White
1213, 1413 - Colonial Cream  Dover White
1216 - Chateau Grey Metallic  Dover White
1402 - Doer White Onyx Black
1405 - Dover White  Mist Green
1406 - Dover White Larkspur Blue
1407 - Imperial Ivory Silver Grey Metallic
1409 - Dover White Tropical Turquoise
1410 - Dover White  Seminole Red
1411 - Colonial Cream Laurel Green Metallic
1412 - Adobe Beige Sierra Gold Metallic
1414 - Dover White  Dusky Rose Metallic
1415 - Dover White Coronado Yellow
1416 - Dover White Chateau Grey Metallic

UPPER  

LOWER
1601 - Onyx Black Colonial Cream
1602 - Dover White Onyx Black
1603 - Mist Green    Highland Green Metallic
1604 - Larkspur Blue Haven Blue Metallic
1605 - Dover White Mist Green
1606 - Dover White Larkspur Blue
1607 - Imperial Ivory Silver Grey Metallic
1609 - Dover White  Tropical Turquoise