Assist me with Validity of these 2 Cars

[Gary J.]

Please discuss if my thoughts are correct, I believe that one of these two cars is not correct. Both are presented as matching numbers, I am trying to utilize my knowledge to spot what I think is a problem with one car, both are very close in production dates. I provide some specifics but left off part of the vins to protect "the innocent" from my opinions.

Both 1967 Small Block Convertibles

Detail Car # 1 (I think correct) Car # 2 (questionable?)
Body Date I 19 I 13
Vin # 17, mid 500s 17, mid 600s
Motor pad VO311 HE 300HP V0322 HT 350HP
Build# A-3100s A-2300s

Thank you for helping me to gain knowledge.

Gary

[Harry S.]

Re: Assist me with Validity of these 2 Cars

Do you have the job sequence numbers?

I think I see what you are saying. Looks like the earlier body hit the St. Louis line after the later body. Might be ok.

[Patrick B.]

Re: Assist me with Validity of these 2 Cars

The surprising thing if these body tags are correct is that AO Smith build 800 convertible bodies in only 6 days at a time when the entire production of finished Corvettes , coupes and convertibles - STL and AOS bodies, was no more than 100 per day.

[Robert G.]

Re: Assist me with Validity of these 2 Cars

After several years of gathering data, I still don't know what I'm seeing with the AO Smith trim tag numbers. Here is a partial sampling of what I have around the time frame you're talking about:
170xx...2391...I14
170xx...3020...I17
172xx...2981...unk
172xx...2858...unk
174xx...2591...H30
174xx...3128...I19
175xx...3153...I19
176xx...2736...unk
176xx...2331...I13
176xx...3136...unk
The 3000 group seems to make the most sense to me, but I can't believe that 7 out of 10 of these cars have either a gap or vin/body sequence order problem.

[William C.]

Re: Assist me with Validity of these 2 Cars

Gary..My 67 conv. body date I19 and build # A3131 with a NCRS validated production of 5-1-67. I agree the 2nd car looks suspect..Bill

[Patrick B.]

Re: Assist me with Validity of these 2 Cars

After several years of gathering data, I still don't know what I'm seeing with the AO Smith trim tag numbers. Here is a partial sampling of what I have around the time frame you're talking about:
170xx...3020...I17
172xx...2981...unk
172xx...2858...unk
174xx...2591...H30
174xx...3128...I19
175xx...3153...I19
176xx...2736...unk
176xx...2331...I13
176xx...3136...unk
The 3000 sequence seems to make the most sense to me, but I can't believe that 6 out of 9 of these AO Smith cars are out of sequence with the vin sequence, some with a large number gap.

Robert: Is the I13 body build car in your list the same car that Gary cited? Are all of cars on your list convertibles or are coupe numbers mixed in? Otherwise, how does an H30 body have a higher number than a I13 body?

[Robert G.]

Re: Assist me with Validity of these 2 Cars

Robert: Is the I13 body build car in your list the same car that Gary cited? Are all of cars on your list convertibles or are coupe numbers mixed in? Otherwise, how does an H30 body have a higher number than a I13 body?

Patrick, I believe it is the car Gary cited. The cars I listed are all convertibles. As you can see, there is such a discrepancy that trim tag swaps can't explain all this, and at this point, I wouldn't rely on the numbers/dates very heavily.

[Patrick B.]

Re: Assist me with Validity of these 2 Cars

Robert: I don't think that it is necessary for the body build sequence to be the same as the VIN sequence because the bodies were ordered and stocked like engines whose build dates follow only a rough sequence with VINs. However, it does not make sense for the body numbers to be out of sequence with the build dates. If only the I13 car had a body number much lower than expected, the most logical explanation would be that someone had put a coupe trim tag on it (or made a phony convertible using a coupe tag as a model), since the cumulate number of coupes would have been lower on I13. However, your observation of an I14 car in logical sequence with the I13 car really adds to the mystery.