64 door and seat track question

[Adam H.]

I have a 64 and I am looking for some help. I've read that there was a change in the door skin part way through production, the exterior door handle had a raised pad on the first design. My car has one door with the raised pad and one door without. Did that happen or did someone replace my door with a newer one? My build date is G23.

My second question is about my seat track. I'm recovering the seats. I removed the seat track release lever so I can strip the frame. I want to polish the handle. As best as I can tell it is not a chrome plated handle, it is solid chrome (I had to drill out the set screw). Is it solid chrome or is it plated?

Thank you for your help.

[Alan D.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Interesting, my tag is G23! Also Dan Holstein has a 64 very close to mine. What is your job number?
Both doors are raised on mine and original (owned since Aug67 and know past owners)

Most changes on the 64 occurred in April from what I have seen, not to say that is the rule. However so far I have only seen non raised doors on April cars.

[Dale M.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Just to provide some additional data, I have a March 27, 1964 Production Date, a C20 trim tag on an AO Smith car with raised door handles. I wonder if anyone could clarify if this is a difference between St. Louis and AO Smith with the fiberglass? I can't proide any input on the handle, but I can imagine its anything but cast metal with chrome plating.

[Adam H.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Mine is build 13890. I don't know for sure, but I believe my body is a St. Louis body. I base that off the trim tag saying body by Chevrolet, but I don't know how to tell. I believe G23 means my car was born on march 23. Am I correct?

I can't imagine why the handle appears to be solid chrome. I had to drill the set screw out because it was too rounded to turn out. Long story short, I ended up drilling a hole much bigger than the set screw and the entire hole appears to be chrome. I plan to sand the gouges and polish it, but I don't want to sand through the plating if it is plated.

[Alan D.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Frances, mine is 13901 so same day at St. Louis - the G23.
An AO smith car has a C for March while the St. Louis uses the G.

I have not seen anything other than the raised door pad on any 64's before April HOWEVER I have not paid attention to where the body was made, ie AO or St. Louis. The 63 & 64 AIM have a lot of part number changes which do not appear to advance in an orderly fashion - so its beyond me.

[Dan H.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Frances, my 64 Coupe is Vin 13708, job number 219. Has raised door pads. My seat lever is chrome plated and worn through in a few paces, I believe heavy potmetal or brass possibly.
Dan

[Dale M.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Alan, I did not know the diffeence in the date code between AO Smith and St. Louis. Since both bodies are assembled in St. Louis and the Trim Tags are attached in St. Louis, I don't understand the differrences. Straighten me out.

My vin # is 14349, With a trim Tag of C20 and the Shipping Report from NCRS shows a 3/27/1964 Production date ( I like my 327 date?). My Trim Tag also shows the Body as A-428. I understood the A was for AO SMith and I also have the large rivets in the doors and other indicators of an AO SMith body.

I also want to know if the A-428 may have been the 428 body built by AO SMith? What does sthe 428 indicate.

Thanks

[Alan D.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

My information is from "Authentication Library . . ." by Grenning & Sinor So unless I have misread it -
Since 1964 was the start of Dow-Smith many changes started around Jan 1964 (see book for details) The "A" preceded the BODY number for Dow-Smith cars while the "S" preceded it for St. Louis, note nothing preceded it before that time.

The trim tag was on the car at Dow-Smith so the typed date code and assembly
date are usually not very close due to travel times.
St Louis - January = E then continue till July = K
Dow-Smith - January = A then continue till July = G

[Adam H.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

I just realized I forgot to mention I have a convertible. I should have started with that information, sorry.

[Edward J.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Francis, I am not sure if 64 job numbers, are on the interior part of the door as they were on my 63 and were the same numbers as the toe board. this would surely give you something to look for if you ever remove the door panels.

[Adam H.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

I've got the door panels off right now. (I'm stripping the entire body to repair the fiberglass and repaint it) I do not recall seeing this, but where do I look for it? Not sure what a toe board is either?

[Edward J.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Francis, on the pass or driver side floor board where you rest your feet,This is the toe board. With the door panel off just take a drop light and shine into interior part of door my number was written in yellow crayon,See if your floor board on the pass side, this number is written outside in the engine compartment toe board just below the heater box.area . it maybe covered with black out. sometimes you need to take some lacquer thinner to remove the black out to see. Job numbers run from 1-500 and then it starts over again.

[Adam H.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Well, no such luck. I can't see anything on either door. I didn't search as good as I could, it's around freezing and dark out. I'm off Thursday, so I'll look in the light of day then. Does anybody know if '64 did this? I don't see why they would have changed it, but some things that happened don't make sense anyway.

[John H.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

Alan, I did not know the diffeence in the date code between AO Smith and St. Louis. Since both bodies are assembled in St. Louis and the Trim Tags are attached in St. Louis, I don't understand the differrences. Straighten me out.

My vin # is 14349, With a trim Tag of C20 and the Shipping Report from NCRS shows a 3/27/1964 Production date ( I like my 327 date?). My Trim Tag also shows the Body as A-428. I understood the A was for AO SMith and I also have the large rivets in the doors and other indicators of an AO SMith body.

I also want to know if the A-428 may have been the 428 body built by AO SMith? What does sthe 428 indicate.

Thanks

Dale -

Your A.O. Smith body (identified by the A-428 body number on your trim tag) was built and painted in Ionia, Michigan, where the trim tag was attached; there were two different trim tag body numbering sequences - one for coupe bodies, and one for convertible bodies. The body number on the trim tag is unrelated to the Body Shop Job Number usually found scrawled with a paint stick or grease pencil on the engine side of the toe pan, inside of the door, on the rear bulkhead forward of the gas tank, which ran from 1-500 and then started over again.

St. Louis-built bodies also had two separate body trim tag numbering sequences, prefixed with an "S" (coupes and convertibles), and their scrawled Body Shop Job Numbers were also unrelated to the trim tag body numbers.

The VIN plate on all Corvettes was created and installed at St. Louis.

In 1964, St. Louis production started in September '63, but A.O. Smith didn't start building Corvette bodies until January '64; that's why the body build date code on the trim tag on a St. Louis body has "A" for September, and the tag on an A.O. Smith body has "A" for January.

[Dale M.]

Re: 64 door and seat track question

John,
Thank you very much. That sures clears up a lot. I guess I was assuming that A.O. Smith just built bodies and shipped thiem to St. Louis for assembly. But A.O. Smith needed the options to be able to produce a trim tag. For some reason I thought the Trim Tag was instaled as the car started down the assembly line and that my date code on the Trim Tag of C20 was close to when the car started being built. Now I understand that I was all wrong. I am amaized how close most of my dates are. My block was cast on March 12, Intake manifold on March 10, engiine assembled on March 16th. Starter dated 3/19.

Can you tell me at what stage the Trim Tag was stamped and put on the car in Ionia? We this just before shipping?

Appricaite all of your input. Thanks