'71 Factory floor mat? and mystery tag

[Charlie P.]

Underneath the driver's side sill trim plate there was the remnant of brown crepe paper that looks like a temporary floor mat material that was pulled back and torn out at some point. I'm guessing the dealers pulled these out before delivery?

Also, between the lower left corner of the radiator and the frame there is a paper tag attached with a with wire that is clamped under a bolt on the frame. I cannot read anything on it. What would that have been?

[Donald M.]

Re: '71 Factory floor mat? and mystery tag

Charlie, the brown colored paper material you see under the sill plate is indeed the remnants of a temporary, shipping floor mat used to protect the carpet from grease,mud etc.in transit.It was made of heavy, "rippled" brown paper. Dealers were supposed to loosen the sill plate screws and pull it out entirely, but most took the short cut of just tearing the paper along the sill line. I still have a couple of these paper mats with the large, blue "GM" logo in the middle.
The tag and wire that is attached to the radiator is a part #,source # or lot # tag that was attached at the "fab" (fabrication) plant where the radiators were made-Harrison Radiator, most likely. There was usually only one tag used to identify the lot. Again, this tag was supposed to be removed, but never was if it did not interfere with the build of the car.Hope this helps you.