1972 Spare Tire Tub

[Larry M.]

The spare tire tub on our 1972 has a label that reads:

Automotive Products Division
North American Rockwell
Reinforced Plastics Operations
2-72

It seems likely that '2-72' represents the manufacture date of the tub.

The body build date of the car is F20 (January 20, 1972).

The tub has been on the car since at least 1982.

Would Rockwell have released tubs to GM for assembly onto cars in January with a February date, or is this tub more likely a replacement?

Thanks in advance for any help and ideas. Larry

[Jack H.]

Rockwell's date coding system is often...

mis-interpreted. See the other dated examples documented in MF Dobbins' Fact Book and you'll understand the sequence X-YY translates to X= week of year and YY= year code. So, in your case, a second week of 72 made tire tub fits like a glove for a 1972 Corvette built in Feb!

[Larry M.]

Re: Rockwell's date coding system is often...

Thanks very much, Jack. I wasn't aware of Rockwell's date coding.

I have only the 1st and 2nd Editions of the Fact Book; are your examples in a subsequent edition, or have I overlooked the references in mine?

Thanks again for your help!

[Jack H.]

Re: Rockwell's date coding system is often...

Little changes from edition to edition, but I'm referencing my 4th edition of Dobbins' '69-72 Fact Book. Note there are two examples shown on page 169. One gives a sequence of 12-71 and the other is 26-71. Both are in the 1971 section of the book.

Obviously, there's no 26th month of 1971. So, the only conclusion that makes sense is for the first number sequence to represent the week of the year (otherwise the parts would be for 1972 model year cars)....

[Chuck S.]

I Concur, Jack...

Since I have a late July 70 car, ALL the observed Rockwell date tags on my car make no sense unless the date code convention was WW-YY.

[Larry M.]

Re: Rockwell's date coding system is often...

Thanks again, John. Looks as if I need to update my library to keep current.