OK guys, here is one that has been stuck in my craw so to speak since late last Friday while engaging in a thread on the TDB, that got into some discussion about trim tag/final assembly dates and the birthday book. This got me out in the garage at 2am to check the trim tag on my 1980 VIN#11703. I was a little floored at what I found and have been waiting ever since to post this thread and get some input. Hopefully John H., will read this and give us some insight (or me anyway). I seem to find all this weird stuff...
First a little history on the car as I know it:
About five years ago, I received a call from a friend of mine in the towing business, that went something like this:
Hey Lynn, we just got this car in and maybe your interested, it was vandalized and the wheels were stolen.
I say what year is it, he says I think it's an 80. I tell him I am not really interested.
Next, I get a call from another friend:
Lynn, you see this car Steve has in the yard? I reply that , he called and I was not interested. He tells me,"this car is really nice maybe you should come and at least look".
So I do. Car was exceptionally clean and I reversed my earlier thought of not being interested, and long story short-bought the car.
I received the clear signed title where owner relinquished it for the tow bill wanting just to get his radio out of the car. I have been gathering parts for a few years (tow yard had sold the motor and trans before I got the call). Hood got "lost" in the process, t-tops had been stolen with the wheels and tires.
I had checked VIN and final monthly serial numbers at some time, but never really paid much attention as I knew paint and trim info was correct.
So last week I get the "Birthday Book", and it showed this car as being finished on 1-2-80, which led me to some questions about it sitting on the line over the holiday. Then the more answers, the more questions and so forth, I end up in the garage at 2 am looking at the trim tag on this car. What I found, made me just go to bed, thinking I would start this thread and see what everyone else thought of this.
My VIN and all relavant information shows this car as coming off the line on 1-2-80, and when checking the calander (in the birthday book), I see that the last day of production before the first of the year was 12-31-79 (which was a Monday). So, heading out to the garage this is the date I was expecting to find on the trim tag. I really had not paid too much attention to it earlier other than to confirm paint and trim information.
I was actually SHOCKED at what I found:
The date on the trim tag is C21-a full 10 days before the date I expected to find, and 12 days before it came off the line. Even with the holidays, this seems to me to be a VERY long time between when the trim tag was installed and when it received the actual VIN tag. Even if it was pulled for heavy repair (or something of that nature) this seems like an awful long time for this car to be in assembly to me.
My first thought is that the fellow on the trim tag machine, may have had too much fun at lunch (it was New Years Eve), and the 2 was a misprint and supposed to be a 3.
I am VERY curious as to what everyone else thinks of this (particularly John H.), and if this sort of anomoly has been seen before.
Thoughts.........
Thanks in advance for the input,
Lynn Houk
First a little history on the car as I know it:
About five years ago, I received a call from a friend of mine in the towing business, that went something like this:
Hey Lynn, we just got this car in and maybe your interested, it was vandalized and the wheels were stolen.
I say what year is it, he says I think it's an 80. I tell him I am not really interested.
Next, I get a call from another friend:
Lynn, you see this car Steve has in the yard? I reply that , he called and I was not interested. He tells me,"this car is really nice maybe you should come and at least look".
So I do. Car was exceptionally clean and I reversed my earlier thought of not being interested, and long story short-bought the car.
I received the clear signed title where owner relinquished it for the tow bill wanting just to get his radio out of the car. I have been gathering parts for a few years (tow yard had sold the motor and trans before I got the call). Hood got "lost" in the process, t-tops had been stolen with the wheels and tires.
I had checked VIN and final monthly serial numbers at some time, but never really paid much attention as I knew paint and trim info was correct.
So last week I get the "Birthday Book", and it showed this car as being finished on 1-2-80, which led me to some questions about it sitting on the line over the holiday. Then the more answers, the more questions and so forth, I end up in the garage at 2 am looking at the trim tag on this car. What I found, made me just go to bed, thinking I would start this thread and see what everyone else thought of this.
My VIN and all relavant information shows this car as coming off the line on 1-2-80, and when checking the calander (in the birthday book), I see that the last day of production before the first of the year was 12-31-79 (which was a Monday). So, heading out to the garage this is the date I was expecting to find on the trim tag. I really had not paid too much attention to it earlier other than to confirm paint and trim information.
I was actually SHOCKED at what I found:
The date on the trim tag is C21-a full 10 days before the date I expected to find, and 12 days before it came off the line. Even with the holidays, this seems to me to be a VERY long time between when the trim tag was installed and when it received the actual VIN tag. Even if it was pulled for heavy repair (or something of that nature) this seems like an awful long time for this car to be in assembly to me.
My first thought is that the fellow on the trim tag machine, may have had too much fun at lunch (it was New Years Eve), and the 2 was a misprint and supposed to be a 3.
I am VERY curious as to what everyone else thinks of this (particularly John H.), and if this sort of anomoly has been seen before.
Thoughts.........
Thanks in advance for the input,
Lynn Houk
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