Found the frame stencil !!!

[Michael M.]

I'm restoring a '72 which has had a couple of resprays. The first respray was done long ago and included a VERY thick coating on the frame rails. The painter made no attempt to mask the area - probably because it is covered by the rocker panel. Anyway, while using a very flexible and VERY sharp putty knife to remove this paint because it is VERY thick and just "peals" off in nice size chucks.

I guess this was sprayed over a certain amount of dirt - which is which it isn't adhering very well - BUT it did a good job of protecting the stencil, because it is mostly readable.

The leters are 1 inch tall, upside down. The date of 3.7.72 is closest to the body and the part number of 6263620-?? is closest to the ground. ANYBODY KNOW WHAT THE LAST NUMBERS ARE??? - I really can't make them out, ut I thin the secound one is a O or an 8.

What is surprising to me is its location which is just behind the #2 body mount. I always '72 stecils we forward on the #1 body mount.

Also surprising, the JG says 2 weeks between fram stencil and body build date - my body build date is 4-11-72 - which is more than 4 weeks.

[Kevin Whiteley]

Re: Found the frame stencil !!!

Mike,

Since your frame number is 6263620, indicating a manual transmission, Tripoli's book indicates either -130 or -131. For an automatic, the frame number is 6263623 with -140 or -141.

I have a 68 built in April 68, but from what I can tell the frame is dated November 67, far greater than 2 weeks. I think the large discrepancies can be attributed to the inventory system - FIFO and LIFO.

If you want to verify the info against other examples, contact Quanta. I contacted them just for info, and they were real helpful. Hope this helps.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Found the frame stencil !!!

Mike, congrats on finding your frame stencil.

I'm curious: On what page does the 70-72 TIM&JG make the two week comment? My 3rd edition discusses the frame and undercarriage on page 104, but nothing on frame lead time. Has a 4th edition been published and my library is out of date again?

It is very unusal that judging guides make any statement on part lead time since the time between part dates and car build date typically vary widely from just days to maybe two months. Any unusual conditions could have extended this range in both directions. It would be impossible to make a flat statement that ALL frames (or any part for that matter) would ALWAYS have the same lead time before assembly. It's tough enough to say that all part dates will be within the prior six months before assembly; it's true for most normal production, but there are even exceptions to this guideline.

For a another data point, consider that my 70 frame stencil date is 6.24.70; build date is 7.30.70. It doesn't concern me if the TIM&JG thinks it should have been two weeks; it IS what it IS. The frame stencil is original and beyond question as far as I am concerned.

[Michael M.]

Re: Found the frame stencil !!!

Chuck:

Your right, the JG does NOT state "2 week" timeframe. My mistake. It is actually Joesph Tripoli's book "Corvette Chassis Restoration Guide". On page 14 : "Serial number to frame stencil date number on original unrestored cars indicate that the stencil date preceeds the assembly date by approximately two weeks to two months in the 1952 - 1962 frames and two weeks in the 1967 - 1972 frames."

I got confussed as to were I read it. And I agree, the dates are the dates - my frame stencil and trim tag are obvoisly original.

Also : I'm thinking of masking the stencil off when I paint the frame and the removing the mask and clear coating the stencil - just to preserve the original vs. simulating it with a new one.