I found an interesting ink stamp under the dash of a '53, & wanted to bring it to everyone's attention. It seems it is not too well known. I do not have permission from the owners as of yet to discuss each serial number, but if permission is granted, I will post the info.
Here is what we found. While restoring a '53, an ink stamp was found under the dash on the passenger side. It consists of the month (3 letters in this case, ie. OCT, NOV), which is followed by the day of the month, then 1953, then a circle with GM 5 inside of it. It is visible if you lay under the dash & look to the flat area which faces the firewall, to the left of the windshield frame. This is actually the back side of the top of the door jam. It is rather small, the date stamp is not much longer than an inch, characters are maybe 3/16" tall, the circle is about 5/8 of an inch. Two other '53s showed similar stamps in the same area. One did not have the circle, it's date is in November. These other 2 cars were not as nice as the other, & the dates were partially obscured by grime & a little black paint on one dash. The date on the first car described is crystal clear.
When we first noticed the date, we dismissed it as a body build date. Since the date is not described in any books I've read, we thought it was a random thing. Now that these cars are being readied for the anniversary, I attempted to calculate the car's build date, using the information available from the Noland Adams' books (there are no records of production figures). It has been said that early production was so slow that there were only about 15 cars completed by the end of July. Production didn't pick up until late August or early September. Using these guidelines, the dates that are stamped under the dashboards correspond to my calculated birth dates.
So, now the point of all this...Is this in fact what this number is? Were the cars stamped as they left the production line? Has anyone else noticed this? Am I a few tools short of a full box?
Rich
Here is what we found. While restoring a '53, an ink stamp was found under the dash on the passenger side. It consists of the month (3 letters in this case, ie. OCT, NOV), which is followed by the day of the month, then 1953, then a circle with GM 5 inside of it. It is visible if you lay under the dash & look to the flat area which faces the firewall, to the left of the windshield frame. This is actually the back side of the top of the door jam. It is rather small, the date stamp is not much longer than an inch, characters are maybe 3/16" tall, the circle is about 5/8 of an inch. Two other '53s showed similar stamps in the same area. One did not have the circle, it's date is in November. These other 2 cars were not as nice as the other, & the dates were partially obscured by grime & a little black paint on one dash. The date on the first car described is crystal clear.
When we first noticed the date, we dismissed it as a body build date. Since the date is not described in any books I've read, we thought it was a random thing. Now that these cars are being readied for the anniversary, I attempted to calculate the car's build date, using the information available from the Noland Adams' books (there are no records of production figures). It has been said that early production was so slow that there were only about 15 cars completed by the end of July. Production didn't pick up until late August or early September. Using these guidelines, the dates that are stamped under the dashboards correspond to my calculated birth dates.
So, now the point of all this...Is this in fact what this number is? Were the cars stamped as they left the production line? Has anyone else noticed this? Am I a few tools short of a full box?
Rich
Comment