65 Trim Code
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,576
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From: Conroe Texas
Welcome Woodie.
You can use this site http://www.stl-vettes.com/65Vette/tr...ag_display.htm to decode your trim tag.
You can use this site http://www.stl-vettes.com/65Vette/tr...ag_display.htm to decode your trim tag.
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,576
Likes: 118
From: Conroe Texas
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From: Sitting in his Nowhere land Hanover Pa
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alright you have a Nassau Blue coupe with white and blue interior. or white seats and door panels with blue carpet and dash pads. (very nice color combo by the way) your car was built approximately January 4, 1965. there should be a digit combo on the upper left of the trim tag that reads F4. it is a A.O. Smith built body built in Ionia MI. that means the body was assembled, painted and glass installed, and then shipped via rail car to St. Louis to be finished. that was the 994th body built by A.O. Smith style 19 437 means its a coupe. also the A behind 450 means its a base unit without power windows, automatic, and the 36 gallon fuel tank
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,044
Likes: 210
From: Toronto ON
I believe Keith (Nowhere Man) is correct (as usual!) that the A indicates the body was manufactured by an outside contractor (in Ionia MI) named A.O. Smith.
My '65 convertible's Trim Tag states:
A29
STYLE 19 467 A-195 BODY
TRIM STD U-U PAINT
VIN 19467 5 S100621
Decoded: 19467 Model/Type:Corvette/Convertible
S100621: 620th car off the line
A - indicates Aug'64 Manufacture date, but last car in Aug'64 was #100227 so I figured this just means AO Smith build the body in August and the car was assembled in early September (8th, according to the build date finder.)
You can find this build date finder at
http://www.stl-vettes.com/65Vette/bday.htm
This is where I found my car's build date actually matches my birthday. While this makes it exactly one year older than me, it's still cool because we're both '65s!
Said JohnZ in a post from '05: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...-trim-tag.html
A.O. Smith bodies were fully painted, but only partially trimmed - they only had glass and weatherstrips to keep the water out during shipping; the rest of the interior was installed at St. Louis. A.O. Smith bodies weren't used "when they were running low" - 50% of the bodies came from A.O. Smith (the St. Louis Body and Paint Shop only ran on day shift after January, 1964).
and even more detailed here:
A.O. Smith (Ionia, Michigan) built 50% of the midyear Corvette bodies starting in January, 1964, and rail-shipped them to St. Louis for final assembly. Link below will take you to an article I wrote on it.
http://www.lbfun.com/warehouse/tech_.../A.O.Smith.pdf
From: http://www.secondchancegarage.com/pu...te-buyers1.cfm
The trim tag also shows you the date code for the body and the body supplier. An "S" indicates a St Louis body, an "A" indicates an A.O. Smith body. The time built code is stamped under the "Chevrolet Div." header at the top of trim tag. It's a simple code with the letter representing month and the two numbers the date of assembly. The St. Louis cars start with "A" for September while A.O. Smith uses "A" for August as they didn't have a plant shut down period for retooling.
My '65 convertible's Trim Tag states:
A29
STYLE 19 467 A-195 BODY
TRIM STD U-U PAINT
VIN 19467 5 S100621
Decoded: 19467 Model/Type:Corvette/Convertible
S100621: 620th car off the line
A - indicates Aug'64 Manufacture date, but last car in Aug'64 was #100227 so I figured this just means AO Smith build the body in August and the car was assembled in early September (8th, according to the build date finder.)
You can find this build date finder at
http://www.stl-vettes.com/65Vette/bday.htm
This is where I found my car's build date actually matches my birthday. While this makes it exactly one year older than me, it's still cool because we're both '65s!
Said JohnZ in a post from '05: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...-trim-tag.html
A.O. Smith bodies were fully painted, but only partially trimmed - they only had glass and weatherstrips to keep the water out during shipping; the rest of the interior was installed at St. Louis. A.O. Smith bodies weren't used "when they were running low" - 50% of the bodies came from A.O. Smith (the St. Louis Body and Paint Shop only ran on day shift after January, 1964).
and even more detailed here:
A.O. Smith (Ionia, Michigan) built 50% of the midyear Corvette bodies starting in January, 1964, and rail-shipped them to St. Louis for final assembly. Link below will take you to an article I wrote on it.
http://www.lbfun.com/warehouse/tech_.../A.O.Smith.pdf
From: http://www.secondchancegarage.com/pu...te-buyers1.cfm
The trim tag also shows you the date code for the body and the body supplier. An "S" indicates a St Louis body, an "A" indicates an A.O. Smith body. The time built code is stamped under the "Chevrolet Div." header at the top of trim tag. It's a simple code with the letter representing month and the two numbers the date of assembly. The St. Louis cars start with "A" for September while A.O. Smith uses "A" for August as they didn't have a plant shut down period for retooling.
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Oct 2012
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Here she is guys...... Cars been sitting for about 10 years or so. I have some brake work and a few other things to do to get her back on the street but it shouldn't take to long. My Dad bought this car about 26 years ago and did alot of work to it then but didn't drive it much. He's left it up to me to take care of her so she gonna get some long needed love. Let me know what you guys think.
Here she is guys...... Cars been sitting for about 10 years or so. I have some brake work and a few other things to do to get her back on the street but it shouldn't take to long. My Dad bought this car about 26 years ago and did alot of work to it then but didn't drive it much. He's left it up to me to take care of her so she gonna get some long needed love. Let me know what you guys think.
Last edited by Woodie 65; Oct 10, 2012 at 03:48 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Sitting in his Nowhere land Hanover Pa
2024 C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
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Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Washington Michigan
"450A" simply means it's a coupe (450B would be a convertible). '65 A.O. Smith trim tags didn't have the full 2-character Trim ECL suffix like St. Louis trim tags did - they only used the first character. In '66 and '67, A.O. Smith trim tags didn't use either the "A" or the "B" - only the trim number, with no suffix at all.