1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

[Gary B.]

Does anyone know when in the 66 model year the number of birdcage (door sill frame) brackets that attach the rocker panels changed from 6 to 3 per side? The latest edition of the '66 TIM&JG says 6 per side; the A'66 IM shows 3 per side. The AIM page that shows the brackets says the drawing was revised on 11-11-65, which I'm guessing could be the revision date for the change from 6 to 3 brackets. In my '66 frame stencil database I have photos of a car with an Oct 1 build date and a car with a Oct 5 build date, and both those cars have 6 brackets per side. I have a photo of a car with a December 2 build date and that birdcage has 3 brackets. I wonder if anyone has any additional info to narrow down the changeover date from 6 to 3 brackets within the Oct 5 to Dec 2 time window.

Is anyone working on getting the 6 vs 3 bracket information into the next edition of the '66 TIM&JG? To the best of my knowledge this is not a controversial issue and not very hard to research. The next JG could easily include revised information.

Gary

[Russ S.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

I am working on a 66 with of all dates, built on 11-11-65. Same day as the revision. It has six.

[Gary B.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Russ,

Thanks. That moves the window 37 or so days smaller.

Is the original frame stencil still visible on that car? For 11/11/65, I believe the stencil should contain an explicit date. As opposed to a hand-written, grease pencil date. Is that correct?

Gary


Gary

[Russ S.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Gary, The frame has been restored. sorry

[Gary B.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Russ,

I just fixed the obvious typo in my previous posting. Now I realize the change from 6 to 3 brackets appears to be have happened between 11/11/65 and 12/2/65, or a 3-week window. That narrows it down a lot. It would be be nice to hear from a few more '66 owners with cars built in mid-Nov to very early Dec '65 time frame, just to get some confirmation.

Gary

[Donald H.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

My 66 coupe is July 66 build and has 6. My car is an A.O. Smith body and I believe they continued to use 6 even after after St. Louis changed. A friend has two 66 coupes, a mid production and a later production, both St. Louis bodies and his has three.

Gary, you said the 66 AIM shows three. The page 1 BOLT WELD sheet A3/A4 (which shows the details) is missing in my hardcopy of the AIM. I have a CD that has all the C2 AIMs and that page is also missing in the copies on this CD.

The 67 AIM 1 BOLT WELD sheet A3 shows 3, with a drawing date of 5/12/66. If that means anything!

[Gary B.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Don,

Well that adds a nasty wrinkle to the idea of a simple date for the change from 6 to 3.

Page 1 BOLT WELD A1 in the '66 AIM shows 6 per side, and page A5 also suggests 6 (but only shows the first two). But as I said, page 1 ASM F4 shows 3. I can't quite figure out the drawing dates. I don't see a year given. Page 1 ASM 4 just lists a release date of 5-11, but then with revisions on 6-17-65 and 11-11-65.

So maybe the key thing is to split the research into AO Smith and St. Louis bodies.

Don, do you think AO Smith cars had 6 brackets thru the entire '66 model year? What's the exact build date of your AO Smith car?

Gary

[Brian K.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Gary my March 4 1966 build AO Smith Convertible body has 3 per side for a total of 6 on the whole car.

[Gary B.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Brian,

Well, the plot thickens.

Gary

[Donald H.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Gary,

My car has a body build date of L01 (July 66) and body sequence of A - 4832. The Car assembly date per the NCRS shipping report is July 14, 1966. I have 8 or so 66 owners near me, so I'll see if I can get their info.

[Gary B.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Don,

How about we start a '66 database with trim tag date, body build location, and number of brackets per side? The reason I prefer trim tag date is that some people wish to keep their VIN private and some people won't have shipping reports.

Gary

[Gary B.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

I am working on a 66 with of all dates, built on 11-11-65. Same day as the revision. It has six.

Russ,

Is that an AO Smith car? Or St. Louis?

Gary

[Tim E.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Gary - Here's the data from my '66:

VIN 124431
Birthday June 17 1966
Trim Tag Date J17
Trim Tag Body Number S7819

I have 3 brackets per side.

Tim

[Gary B.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Thanks Tim.

Gary

[R N.]

Re: 1966 rocker panel birdcage brackets; when did it change from 6 to 3 per side?

Gary my March 4 1966 build AO Smith Convertible body has 3 per side for a total of 6 on the whole car.

My '66 AOS convert is also a March car (H16) and has 3 on each side.