Body build date; final monthly serial numbers; VIN sticker; jack date

[Richard K.]

I'm expecting some controversy with my car once it's submitted for judging, given the following:

* Body build date is Tuesday, November 25th, 1969 (which is Thanksgiving week).
* My serial number is #36,566.
* The final monthly serial number for Nov, per the NCRS (& GM?) is 36,798. So, my car entered production as the 232nd car from the final car in Nov.
* My blue VIN sticker on the drivers door showed 12-69.
* My jack has a date of 9M, which would be December 1969, assuming the letter "I" was not used.

Knowing all of these facts, I would assume that my car was pulled out of line. and sent to the Corvette "hospital" for some repair, then released some time in December for delivery to the dealer.
Dec of '69 was only 7 days from the body build date of my car. Those 7 days also included 2 weekend days and 1 day for the Thanksgiving holiday (were there more days given-off for Thanksgiving week?). The following Monday was December 1st.
Does anyone know when a jack was placed in a car on the production line? Could my car have entered the production line Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, been pulled out of line for a repair, then been approved for delivery in December before placing a jack in the well, and a VIN sticker on the door?
I hope this will be a plausible scenario to any Head Judges, once the judging process starts. What do you think?

Thanks much,
Rich Kossum

[Terry M.]

Re: Body build date; final monthly serian numbers; VIN sticker; jack date

Richard

You asked what I think, so I will offer some advice. Don't go looking for "issues,"but you are doing your "hyomework" and that is good.

The end of month numbers that Chevrolet provides (which is where NCRS gets those numbers) are often confusing id one tries to parse them too finely. We don't know at what point the assembly plant, or the accounting department, counted the car as completed. We have been told that that point did change from time to time, but there is no way for us (NCRS) to separate those variations, so we take the word of the Mother Ship. When questions like yours come up we simply point in the direction of St Louis and/or Detroit and shrug our shoulders.

Remember the Trim Tag and its date were applied to the body of the car long before the body was completed and before the body met the frame. While in judging we use that date to identify the production date of the car, any judge worth his/her salt will take it with a large grain of that mineral.

As a matter of recreation I (and a few others) have been recording the vital statistics of 1968 to 1972 Corvettes for a long time. I have noted a number of Corvettes with a trim tag date of P28. The highest number being 36,868. I do not have a significant number of the cars produced on that date, but I have enough to say with certainty that St Louis worked on that date.

You could take a giant step to clear up this apparent "issue" (It really isn't) by getting the Shipping Data Report for your car if it is available -- some 1969 and early 1970 records are not available. It will tell you the date Chevrolet shipped your car from St Louis and to which dealer. If the record is not available, it costs you nothing.

https://www.ncrs.org/services/historic-document-service.php

To give you a last bit of advice: Don't bring these date "issues" to the judges. Let them do their work to find them. My bet is they won't even notice. Look me up and I'll buy you a beer if they notice.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Body build date; final monthly serian numbers; VIN sticker; jack date

Do I get a beer if I find them when judging?

[Tom R.]

Re: Body build date; final monthly serian numbers; VIN sticker; jack date

Does anyone know when a jack was placed in a car on the production line? Could my car have entered the production line Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, been pulled out of line for a repair, then been approved for delivery in December before placing a jack in the well, and a VIN sticker on the door?

In later years, the method for jack installation is packaged with shipping protection in the AIM, which suggests near the end of production. AIMs will include a "trim" page with items such as storage compartment items. Look it up for 69 and see if the jack is included in that table. In which case, your date jack date code seems consistent with the above explanations.

I hope this will be a plausible scenario to any Head Judges, once the judging process starts. What do you think?

To reinforce Terry's point, the role of the owner does not include presenting a plausible scenario to describe date codes that fall out of the typical production sequence. Your numbers present a test for a judging team. Let the process play out rather than intervene with the knowledge you've gained from doing your homework. The judging team, including the head judges, either recognize the atypical production sequence...or do not! If the later, then look Terry up for that beer.

[Terry M.]

Re: Body build date; final monthly serian numbers; VIN sticker; jack date

Do I get a beer if I find them when judging?

You, Doctor, are disqualified due to prior knowledge; but I'll buy you a beer or a glass of wine -- your choice -- anyway. We can then have a professional conversatio0n so you can catch up.

On second thought make it semi-professional. We can't be too formal at the bar.

[Terry M.]

Re: Body build date; final monthly serial numbers; VIN sticker; jack date

In my earlier lengthily response I neglected to point out the sequence of assembly.

I mentioned the trim tag being installed early in the body production --- BUT I failed to note the blue certification label was one of the last items installed on the car. It is not unusual for us to see cars built near the end of the month with a next month date on the certification label. That speaks to your car exiting the assembly line in December.

The anomaly would be the jack dating indicating the jack was produced in December when the car exited the line so early in December. They must have received a large shipment of December built jacks because my 1970 #2162 (January 29 Trim Tag date) with a blue label January 1970 date has a 9M dated jack You can count the number of 1969s built in December and at least 2,161 1970 units all with December built jacks. I don't have my 1969 production records with me today, but that must have been 4 to 5 K jacks dated December. HHHMMMM!

See you in Cincinnati Rich

[Patrick H.]

Re: Body build date; final monthly serian numbers; VIN sticker; jack date

You, Doctor, are disqualified due to prior knowledge; but I'll buy you a beer or a glass of wine -- your choice -- anyway. We can then have a professional conversation so you can catch up.

On second thought make it semi-professional. We can't be too formal at the bar.

I know we're due for that anyway. See you in a couple of days.

[Terry M.]

Re: Body build date; final monthly serian numbers; VIN sticker; jack date

I know we're due for that anyway. See you in a couple of days.

I am sure you have heard rumors. NCRS is good for that.