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We had to pull the gas tank from my matching numbers 1969 427 4 speed coupe to replace fuel lines. As we pulled the tank from under the car, we saw this paper on the top of the tank, and yes, it was the tank sticker! I have heard that having the tank sticker can add some significant value to a car, looking for opinions on this matter. I have included a copy of the sticker, if you zoom in, you can read enough to tell what the options are. Does anyone know what the hand written "243" on the tank sticker signifies?
243 is the build number for your car. It may or may not be based on the VIN depending on model year. Take the last three digits of the VIN, subtract 500. Do you get 243?
Build sheets can add value to a car if originality is important to an owner or a prospective buyer.
It's a great document to have, and does add value for those that cherish originality. It's basically the car's birth certificate....it tells you how the car was configured the day it left the plant. It's great to have.
I would say it's essential if the car is being marketed as original and still has its original drive train. Documentation backing the claim of originality.
If the car is a NOM, I don't see how the build sheet adds much value, the original drive train is gone. The build sheet is then only a piece of history.
I think it ads value especially if it's a sought after car like a chrome bumper big block with an original drive train. It sure can't hurt having it and is just a little more proof that what you have is real. I can see the tank sticker on my 69 427 and will be dropping the tank soon to replace some things. I was going to leave it where it is but don't want it to deteriorate further or go missing altogether. Did you remove the exhaust or run into any problems on your R and R? That sticker is in really nice shape!
As others have said yes it does. If you can't remove it without destroying it I would replace the tank and store this tank with the tank sticker intact.
Hi Bart,
That tank sheet appears to be in really good condition.
So often the sheets for special cars like yours are just a partial fragment with little of it readable.
I'd say that a very nice and valuable find.
Consider carefully at this point how you'll proceed with it.
Regards,
Alan
Be on the look out for the job number written in crayon in the interior of the car and on the underbody too.
Here's a location where the job# is often found. 186 in this case.
I would say it's essential if the car is being marketed as original and still has its original drive train. Documentation backing the claim of originality.
If the car is a NOM, I don't see how the build sheet adds much value, the original drive train is gone. The build sheet is then only a piece of history.
I totally agree with you that it does not much matter if the car is NOM. I mean it would be nice to have in that case just to know how the car started out.
Take and put it in an archival quality acid free holder. Clear Bags makes decent ones, can pick them up at Hobby Lobby, etc... This is based on another hobby of mine in collecting historical documents.
I think it ads value especially if it's a sought after car like a chrome bumper big block with an original drive train. It sure can't hurt having it and is just a little more proof that what you have is real. I can see the tank sticker on my 69 427 and will be dropping the tank soon to replace some things. I was going to leave it where it is but don't want it to deteriorate further or go missing altogether. Did you remove the exhaust or run into any problems on your R and R? That sticker is in really nice shape!
Not sure if removing the exhaust is totally necessary, but we did remove it and the tank came out easily. I strongly suggest wearing goggles when dropping the tank to keep the dirt out of your eyes. Also, the tank sticker was stuck to the tank with a blob of goo about the size of my thumb, so I used a razor blade to cut the goo from the tank and the goo is still stuck to the back of the tank sticker. There was no way to get the sticker off of the goo without destroying the sticker as far as I could see.
As others have said yes it does. If you can't remove it without destroying it I would replace the tank and store this tank with the tank sticker intact.
Good advice, but I already took the sticker off. I will still keep the original tank. I have video and pictures of the sticker on the tank, so hopefully that will be the proof I need. I wanted to get it off the tank so I could preserve it, right now it is inside a gallon size ziplock bag.
Hi Bart,
That tank sheet appears to be in really good condition.
So often the sheets for special cars like yours are just a partial fragment with little of it readable.
I'd say that a very nice and valuable find.
Consider carefully at this point how you'll proceed with it.
Regards,
Alan
Be on the look out for the job number written in crayon in the interior of the car and on the underbody too.
Here's a location where the job# is often found. 186 in this case.
Thanks for the info Alan. I got the tank sticker off the tank and it is currently in a clear plastic sandwich bag. How would you propose to proceed going forward?
243 is the build number for your car. It may or may not be based on the VIN depending on model year. Take the last three digits of the VIN, subtract 500. Do you get 243?
Build sheets can add value to a car if originality is important to an owner or a prospective buyer.
Yes Mike, the last 3 digits of my VIN are 743, so minus 500 is the almighty 243......so where does the 500 difference come in to play? Thanks for the info!
It adds a great deal of value.
Especially since yours in such good shape AND it has the unusual option of transistorized ignition. On the early cars (and I can tell by the tank sticker yours is an earlier car) the engine stamp does not indicate a transistorized car. Later in the 69 model year they added a new two-letter code to the engine stamp to indicate transistorized ignition options. For example, I think your cars engine code shows as LM.
Also, it does not normally add value to more common cars with non-original motors but if the car is unusually rare then it can add value. If the car is a real L88 or L89 it DOES add value to a car even if the car does not have the original motor. Those cars are rare enough that they can justify not having an original engine but still being valuable.
Very nice find.
Last edited by ed427vette; 09-18-2017 at 12:30 PM.
Yes Mike, the last 3 digits of my VIN are 743, so minus 500 is the almighty 243......so where does the 500 difference come in to play? Thanks for the info!
Its just the system they used. They did job numbers in groups of 500 and used the VIN to base it off of.
If your cars vin was 703243 it would also have 243 written in. It then starts over after a car ending in 500. Car number 543 would have 43 written in.
...so where does the 500 difference come in to play?...
The build number (or job number) was an in house system used at St. Louis to track cars on the assembly line. They used 1 to 500, then started over again with 1. The number was often (but not always) in pencil on the tank sticker like yours.
If you are into corvette archaeology, there are lots of other places that you might also find the build number on your corvette:
Rear Bulkhead
Front passenger footwell
Passenger front wheelwell
bigredbrad
Those job numbers on a 69 are not the same as the VIN job number on the tank sticker. If it does match its by sheer coincidence.
However, every 69 I've seen did not have the wax written body number match the tank sticker VIN number. The only cars that I have seen where they did match was because the tank sticker was fake and they were misinformed by what should be written on the tank sticker.....
09-18-2017, 10:18 AM
Does having a tank sticker add value to a car?
