Canadian records - how accurate?

[Edward McComas]

I am looking at the Canadian delivery records for 1956 and 1957 Corvettes delivered to Canada. One of the things that these records indicate is the build date of the car. Anybody have any feeling for how accurate this information is? Some people have claimed that the "build date" is actually the date of delivery to Canada. However, I notice that there is also a Delivery Date category for the 1956 info (can't recall if this is true for the 1957 data). The build date and the delivery date to not always match for 1956 data. Most of the time they do, but not always.

Thoughts on this subject?

[Gary Bishop]

Re: Canadian records - how accurate?

I found that the build date for my 1962 according to the "Birthday Book" did not match also. I think it is closer to the shipping date or arrival to Canada if I rember correctly.

[Edward McComas]

Canadian records - how accurate?

I am also beginning to question the accuracy of some of the info in the Birthday Book. I think we know monthly ending serial numbers for 1962, but not daily ending serial numbers. I need to get the latest edition of the Birthday book and see what changes have been made.

[Bernard M.]

Re: Canadian records - how accurate?

Ed, Some of these numbers are published in the 1956-57 Judging Manual and they never made sense to me, particularly for 1956. It notes "build dates" of Canadian delivered vehicles which include VINs 1555 and 1701 on the same day in April. Production could have been no where near that many cars per day. According to the birthday book, my 1956 would have been built April 18. When compared to the listed Canadian build dates, the same VIN falls in early May. When looking at the numbers for 1956, you must also take into account that VINs started at 1001, not 0001 so VIN 1234 would be the 234th 1956 Corvette built, where in 1957 it would represent the 1234th Corvette built. A research article was published in the May 1996 issue of Vette Vues listing nearly 100 1956s with their respective "build dates?". According to that survey, my car was built between April 27th and 30th. I hope you sort it out, I'd like to see the results.

[bruce11495]

Re: Canadian records - Verry Accurate!!!

Let me see if I can help to decipher this stuff for you, I did some work in the GM historical office for GM Canada....
The build date, ....is the day the car was built. It may have not been finished the same day. eg Friday 10th, car has just had its VIN put before plant close for long weekend, now the car isn't finished till the 14th. Or worse, its pulled from the line for some problem, car sits in the lot all week and then gets fixed. The delivery date is the date it was loaded on the trailer( if my memory is correct, I'd have to check my records) Now, they would wait until they had a trailer load, they wouldn't ship just 1 car to Canada. All the records I have kinda bear this out, and the cars would have to be coming to the same prvince or travelling thru.( Ont- Que- Ns)
This delivery info is correct for the 67's and early 70's cars, so I imagine it would pertain to years before that too. The new, C4/5s with computer assited delivery I have no info on.
Hope that helps....

[Edward McComas]

Canadian records - how accurate?

Thanks to all who responded, both privately and publically. I had not intended to get into research on actual 1956 build dates, but it may not be a bad thing to look into. The focus on my questions about build dates is when the 210 hp cars first became available, and when the intake manifold change (from 3837109 to 3735448) occurred.

I am completing research on this intake manifold, in preparation for an article in The Restorer. The research on actual 1956 build dates is going to take much, much longer to complete. Stay tuned....

P.S. This is the fun stuff!

[Grant M.]

Re: Canadian records - Verry Accurate!!!

bruce,

I don't know about 1950's and 60's Corvettes, but for instance, 1970's Firebirds (and I suppose Camaros) were shipped BY RAIL from the factory, to GM in Oshawa, whence they were trucked to the ordering dealership. I know this because I used to have the codes for the GM scheduling computer system (used by dealers to check order status). After getting into the system (by touch-tone phone), you entered a dealer code, security code, order number and model number (like '2FU87'-Firebird Formula). A female voice speaking in a 'stilted' fashion (it used a computer 'glossary' of words to form phrases) would repeat the order number, model number (and once produced, the serial number) of the car and advise its status, like: 'scheduled, Norwood, November 5th' (Norwood Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati where the Firebird plant was located). Once produced, the computer would add the serial number of the car and give a message like:'loaded,
car #*****' (the rail car number). I don't recall the messages that would follow, once the car reached Oshawa. I had the access/security codes in 1974-75 in order to check on my 1975 Firebird. Interestingly enough, when I found the scrap of paper that had the codes on it in my wallet twenty years later and tried them, they still worked! The only thing I lacked was a valid 'order number', but I could have tried a few similar ones to my original one and probably would have stumbled across a valid one. Even in 1974-75, providing an order number several digits above or below mine would get a result for a different car/model of Firebird.

[bruce11495]

Re: Canadian records Rail/truck

Hi...Getting away from the original question here. They could have been shipped either way. But the factory would ship, when they had a full load going to that delivery point. Looking at my records,(4-500 cars) very few single cars were delivered at a time.

[Bernard M.]

Re: Canadian records - how accurate?

Ed, The survey I noted above in Vette Vues may be relevant to your research. It listed the VIN and the engine suffix code for each vehicle surveyed.

[Bernard M.]

Re: Canadian records - Verry Accurate!!!

Bruce, I'm sorry. I can't believe the figures shown in the Judging Guide are BUILD dates for 1956 Canadian cars. The groupings shown indicate a wide range of VINs produced on each of many dates. The example I noted would indicate nearly 150 cars per day. There are several dates shown which, if these were build dates, would indicate production at or near this rate. At 150 cars per day, the entire 1956 production run of under 3500 cars would have taken less than a month.

[John H.]

Re: Canadian records - Verry Accurate!!!

This is confused by the term "shipping"; when the car was finished and OK'd (which could be the same day it came off the line, or a week later if it sat in the yard waiting for parts or repair space), it was "shipped", but not to the dealer. It was "shipped" out the door either to the outside contractor that had the haulaway truck contract, or to the railroad in the event of rail shipment. As far as the plant was concerned, the car was "shipped" and gone, it was out of the plant's control, the dealer was invoiced for the car, and it was in the custody of the shipper from that point on until it reached the dealership - depending on the destination and the number of times the car was switched from rail to truck, etc., that could be anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks. For example, if a Corvette was going to Vancouver or Whitehorse, it might sit in the shipper's yard for weeks before they "made up a full load" going to that area. The wholesale invoice was dated and mailed the day the car was "shipped" out the door, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the car went any further than the shipper's lot next door.

[Bernard M.]

Re: Canadian records - Verry Accurate!!!

John, It's not the word "shipped" that bothers me. The Judging Guide identifies the table as BUILD DATES OF CANADIAN DELIVERED CORVETTES. It would be easy for me to believe the dates shown were shipment dates, or port of entry dates or delivery dates, but the range of VINs for several dates far exceeds what production capacity could have been for BUILDING the vehicles. This implies to a judge that intervening VINs were built the same day or between two listed dates and establishes a base line for judging the car that may be false.

[bruce11495]

Re: Canadian records - Verry Accurate!!!

Sorry I don't have a Birthday Book to reference, the info I have pertains to 67 and 71-72. I thought it may be pertinent, and similiar to those years.

[bruce11495]

Re: Canadian records - Verry Accurate!!!

John, that was the point I was trying to make. You explained it a little better than I did.....