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1960 – 1966 VIN/Serial Number Decoder and Information

The following information has been assembled from GMC historic literature, found
documents, and our dedicated club members. Please refer to the “GMC ID” page link, at the
top of the Jolly Legacy Home Page, for further information on location and types of ID
plates. Unlike Chevrolet of the same year, GMC did not stamp the VIN on the frame.

Your title Serial Number/VIN should match the number found on ID plates riveted or welded
to your truck. The engine number was not relevant to the VIN as in older trucks.

Occasionally there will be trucks that do not seem to adhere to the
information given here. Many things can cause this: Modifications by previous owners,
mid-year model policy changes, late year builds, various DMV quirks, year sold,
reconstructed titles (which may include vin plate switching and other anomalies). Each
case must be taken separately and a discussion on this site may help.

Don’t forget to use the search function.

Models 1000-3000 U.S.A. Built.

Example: K1001PN23456A

K 10 01 P N 23456 A

Specialization Codes
1st Digit (Not always present)

Body Codes
2nd and 3rd Digit

Truck Length
4th & 5th Digit
There is no serial number designation for body style in any form – Flare-Side, Wide-Side, Panel, Van, or Suburban.

Location of Manufacture
6th Digit

Series/Model Year
7th Digit

*GMCs were originally manufactured in series, not model years

Assembly Line Production Number
8th through 12th Digit

GVWR Class
Final Digit

Let’s decode an actual VIN. The vin is 2505ZF2807B.

This is what we know about this truck from this number, It’s 1965-66 Model 2500, with a

157″ wheelbase built in Fremont California, with a GVW rating of GVW 6,001 – 10,000.

It was truck number 1807 off the line at the Freemont plant of “F” series trucks.

There may also be a letter before the first number Here is a list of light truck model prefixes;

I = Inline Engine, K = 4-Wheel Drive, P = Forward Control Chassis,

PB = Forward Control Chassis with Body, G = Handi-Van

The first two numbers is for the model, the next two are for the wheelbase,

Models ——————-Wheelbases

10 = 1000 ————————————- 01 = 115″ — 02 = 127″

15 = 1500 —————————————————— 02 = 127″

25 = 2500 ——————– 02 = 121″ — 03 =133″ — 05 = 157″

30 = 3000 ————————————- 01 = 133″ — 05 = 157″

The above wheelbases are for light trucks, Handi-Van is 90 inches.

The next letter is the plant code or were the truck was built,

plants with * are GMC Plants, the others are Chevrolet Plants.

A = Atlanta, Geogia

B = Baltimore, Maryland

* C = Oakland California

F = Flint, Michigan

* H = Oakland California

J = Janesville, Wisconsin

N = Norwood, Ohio

* P = Pontiac, Michigan

S = St. Louis, Missouri

T = Tarrytown, New York

* Z = Fremont, California

The next letter is the truck “Series”. GMC used a “Series” letter in the VIN number,

& you can narrow down the year of a GMC truck this way. If there was no major change

made in the truck line, the series letter stayed the same, like on a school bus chassis.

This 60-66 body style was first built for the 1960 model year, the first series letter is

“N” & was used in 1960 & 1961. In 1962 GMC changed the hood & dash on the trucks,

the series letter used for 1962 was “J”. 1963 saw the torsion bar front end replaced

with coil springs & the rear coil replaced with leaf springs. The series letter for 1963

is “G”. The next major change came in 1964 with the restyle of the cab, & the option of

an inline 6 cylinder engine. The series letter for 1964 to 1966 is “F”. There was not any

more major changes for this body style. But there was a series letter “E” used on some

1965 trucks (have not seen any yet) & “D” used on all inline engined 1966 trucks. More

info has been found for “F” Series Trucks, GMC built truck in two plants from 1964 to

1966, the Pontiac Michigan plant & one of two plants in California, Oakland or Fremont.

If your trucks vin shows “HF” it was built in the Oakland California plant which GMC shut

down after the 1964 Model year, so all “HF” trucks are 1964. Production was moved to an

ALL NEW plant built in Fremont California for 1965, so “ZF” trucks are 1965 or 1966.

So here is a break down of the series letters;

N = 1960-1961, J = 1962, G = 1963, F =1964-1966, E = 1965, D = 1966

The next group of numbers is the Serial number or unit built number, all series at all plants

started with Serial number 1001. For the 1966 year run, GMC started most series with Serial

number 10,001, but some series not used in 1965 started with 1001. I have found that GMC had

a lot of left over trucks from 1965 & they sold them NEW in 1966 as 1966 Models, this was

done to rid the dealers of any older trucks still on the lot to make way for the NEW body

Style coming in 1967. If you have a GMC “PF” or “ZF” series truck titled as a 1966, but the

Serial number is lower then 10,000, it mite really be a 1965 model year truck. One way to

tell is to check the engine for a spin-on oil filter, no spin-on filter, then it’s a 1965.

GMC swithed to the spin-on oil filter for the 1966 model year on V6 powered trucks.

The last letter is GVW class.

A = 6000 lbs or less, B = 6001 to 10,000, C= 10,001 to 14,000

There was some overlap with the Series Letters – GMC just liked to confuse people I guess.

Conrad has a couple books that show that the “N” series started in 1960 & actually going

to 1966, the “J” series started in 1962 & went to 1966, the “G” series started in 1963 &

went to 1966, the “F” series started in 1964 & went to 1966. The “D” series was Used on all

1966 model with Inline 6 engines. So a “D” series is a true 1966 truck while a 1966 “F”

series is a continuation of when GMC started building the “F” series in 1964. Most of the

overlap in series letters is with BIG GMC TRUCKS like the Model 4000 & up. We haven’t seen

a Model 1000-3000 “N” series past 1961, a “J” series other than a 1962, or a “G” series other

than a 1963 on what most folks call “Light Duty Trucks”. Starting in the mid sixties is

when auto manufacturers started putting more emphasis on the year of production, rather

than the “series”. It was common for Trucks to get titled for the year they sold instead

of the year they were built. My truck is a 1965 model, but it’s title said 1966.

I can Translate your VIN number for you if you can’t figure it out. Send me the following

info about your truck to get it listed on the Vin listing. Use e-mail link below.

1) The year of your truck if known.

2) Trucks VIN number, found on a tag in drivers door frame. See tags on
GMC ID Page.

3) Stock V6 Engine number, see the Engine Data Page for were to find
that.

3a) If a 1963, Do you have PLAID Valve Covers?

4) Stock Transmission Type & number of speeds (gears).

5) Type of body, Pickup Wide-side (Fleetside) or Fender side (stepside), Suburban, Panel, Stake….

6) For Trucks, size of rear cab window Big or small. For Panels, Suburbans, Gate or doors.

7) Your Name, Home Town, & State.

Here is a listing of GMC Owners & VIN Numbers, send me the above info to get your truck listed.

[1960 VINs]
[1961 VINs]
[1962 VINs]
[1963 VINs]
[1964 VINs]
[1965 VINs]
[1966 VINs]
[1967-69 VINs]

Canadian VIN numbers can be translated from this WebPage:

1960 – 1966
Canadian Chevrolet & GMC VIN

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© 2000-2005 6066 GMC Trucks. Last Updated November 7, 2006.