1969 Assembly Date

[Tom Bishop]

Help - My trim tag is missing but I know from GM of Canada & the VIN that my car was delivered on June 21st 69. Is there any way to tell the actual assembly date from the VIN (194379S722473)?

[Ron De Vries]

Re: 1969 Assembly Date

Doing the math. And really just going on spec here but I would say your car was built on the 11th "work day (mon-fri)" of April in the middle of the first shift going off of you VIN. You will have to find a 69 Calander to find the actual day. Just a guess though

[John H.]

Re: 1969 Assembly Date

The "Birthday Book" says it was the last car off the line on Thursday, June 19th; the June 21st date GM of Canada gave you is the Shipping Date, which is the day it went out the back door to the delivery carrier's yard.

[Ron De Vries]

Re: 1969 Assembly Date

There you go Tom, The Big H has spoken, I should have read "Ending Vehicles" a little closer I guess

[Tom Bishop]

Re: 1969 Assembly Date

Thanks guys - So If I understand this correctly the body build date should precede the actual vehicle assembly date of Thursday, June 19/69 by as little as 2 days or as much as 2 weeks?

[John H.]

Re: 1969 Assembly Date

Tom -

A day or two is the norm - the "trim tag" with the body number and build date code was produced and attached to the car after it left the Paint Shop, as it entered the queue to start down the Trim Line; it took about a day to get from the beginning of the Trim Line to "drive-off" at the end of the Final Line. If it started on Friday, it probably wouldn't be at "drive-off" until the following Monday. The "drive-off" date is simply an estimate, as there are no dates, numbers, or codes anywhere on the car that indicate when it was completed - only the build date code, which was when it started down the Trim Line.

[Tom Bishop]

Re: 1969 Assembly Date

Thanks again John. So from all the info from GM of Canada & the birthday book & your wealth of knowledge. I can deduce that the trim Tag should have contained for a black vinyl interior & Monaco Orange exterior -

CHEVROLET K18
TRIM ZQ4 990 PAINT.
One last question - Are there any reputable sources that reproduce trim tags based on documented paperwork?

[Donald S.]

Re: 1969 Assembly Date

Tom, I've had no experience with these people, but you may want to check them out: http://vtxpress.com/data-plate Don Smith #28087

[Tom Bishop]

Re: 1969 Assembly Date

Thanks very much you have all been a great help!