pmvette

Need some help translating some sections on the vehicle Protect O Plate shown below. I used the diagram on Page G15 of the assembly manual to identify the position and code entries. My Assembly Manual was bought about 40 years ago (It says “tMichaelis Products on it so you can see how old it is!) but, I don’t think they have been revised since people started reprinting them.Then I surfed the web trying to decipher the codes. I’m getting some information that just can’t be right or is questionable. Possibly, the sites I got my information from were wrong and didn’t know what they were talking about.

Now, let me attempt to put any talk about a counterfeit ProtectO Plate to bed. I bought the car in April of 1976. The numbers matching,original documentation, document and component counterfeiting craze was just starting. At that time the car was just a 9 year old used car that happened to be a Corvette. The seller did not even mention that the documents were in the glove box. So, why go to the trouble of counterfeiting stuff if you’re not going to use them to jack the price up? I found them after the sale when I was looking thru the car. I paid $2,500.00 for the car and it was my daily driver for the next 4 years. Yeah, that’s right: Two Thousand, Five Hundred. Those were the days, right?

To establish some baselines, the Protect O Plate puts the vehicle production date in January, 1967, the Trim Tag says that the body build date was 11 Jan, 1967, and the C2 Registry, and my calculations, put the vehicle production date about 12 Jan, 67.

1. Position B1 – B7: Engine Code V0103HT
V- Source- Flint
01-Production Month-January
03-Production Day-3rd
HT-Engine Type-L79 350 HP 1x4BC, HI LIFT CAM & 4-SPEED
This date works out to 9 days before the estimated vehicle production date. Did they really ship engines that fast to the final assembly locations? Is my translation correct?

2. Position B15-B21: Rear Axle Code AK0106W
AK-Rear Axle Type-3.36 STANDARD RATIO, NON POSITRACTION,
01-Production Month-January
06-Production Day-6th
W-Rear Axle Source-Warren
Wow, this date works out to 6 days before the estimated vehicle production date. Did it move from Warren to St Louis faster than the engine because it’s smaller? Is my translation correct?

3. Position C1-C5: Transmission Code P7T29
P-Transmission Source-Muncie
7-Production Year-1967
T-Production Month-Well, there is no month for T. But, if we assume that the letter is actually an “I”, the Production Month works out to November.
29-Production Day-29th
Well, here is a big problem! This translation says that the transmission was built 8 months after the car was sold. Could Production Year actually be MODEL Production Year?

So, to summarize the questions:
1 Have I translated the Production Dates for the Engine and RearAxle correctly and
2 What’s going on with the Production Date for theTransmission?

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for the help!

AOS_L79

The 7 for the transmission is the model year, not the production year. So the tranny was assembled (whenever) for a 1967 car.

ricks327

My answer to question #1: Yes, dates appear correct and the parts production plants didn't wait around to ship to the assembly plant (St.Louis)
#2. No expert on the date code but it could be a typo. My Trim Tag has documented typo for color, mistakes happened and no one double checked or cared if a typo was made.
Photo of my POP print out from my Warranty book.

Mike67nv

You didn’t say if you have an A.O. Smith or St Louis body but it must be St Louis (S on trim tag) if the final assembly date is one day after the body build date (typical for St Louis bodies).

Engine assembly dates were typically 2-4 weeks prior to the car's final assembly date, but 9 days is not unusual. For an A.O. Smith body, it's not unusual to have an engine assembly date a day or two after the body build date on the trim tag. It took a week to ten days for an Ionia-built body to get from Ionia to St Louis.

Your Muncie date code P7T29, translates to a build date of 1967 model year, December (T) 29, 1966. Very typical for your build date. An original transmission should also have a VIN derivative stamped on it.

I don’t have any data on axle shipping times but remember after assembly, engines, transmissions and axles were loaded in racks and shipped by rail with little delay. Boxcars were backed into the assembly plants, racks were unloaded by forklift and taken almost directly to the assembly lines. There was very little storage time. From my 17 years with GM (Fremont Plant), I can tell you that GM had their supply system well honed.

pmvette

AhHa,so it is a T, not an I