Carbs were installed on the engines at St. Louis. The generally accepted date code range as I understand it from NCRS etc. is date coded parts like this are to be within 6 months PRIOR to the body trim tag date and 'not after'. What if the carburetor had the SAME date code as the body trim?

Logically I would say no go.

But everything I've heard and seen indicates within '6 months prior' and 'not after' the trim code. Same day technically fits - but that's just my own anecdotal understanding. I didn't see it mentioned in my (old) NCRS guide though I may have missed it too.

Anybody with judging experience know for sure?

 

An interesting topic but one that will produce some speculation more than factual conclusion. Consider, for example, that the body was set aside for a carb that was constrained, say due to the correct jetting for a particular power train requirement like high altitude emissions? However, if you have a build sheet you can reconcile the code on the carb with that on the buildsheet.

What year car? If I were judging, I would look at the surrounding engine compartment. Does it look restored or do the finishes show the expected factory originality. Are there excessive wrench marks on the carb/manifold bolts that would suggest removal? It gets down to a judgement call and the six month "rule," is arbitrary and a guide rather than an absolute. In NCRS judging, originality would be judging would be based on the five elements of originality, configuration, completeness, finish, date and installation. In this particular instance, date would come into focus and judges would have to assess whether the 20% is a deduct or credit.

It will be interesting to read how others see this particular scenario.

 

Holley had a number of plants making carbs in the 60's and 70's. They were based in Michigan, but produced many of their carbs in the south, in particular Kentucky and Tennessee. While the final assembly of a Corvette didn't always take place the same day the body was assembled, I think it was rarely more then 24 to 48 hours later that final assembly did take place taking into consideration weekends and holidays.

Since the body build date and the car's final assembly date weren't always the same day I guess it's possible a carb could be made the same day as a body was assembled. Still, it seems to me it would be pretty hard for Holley to manufacture a carb, box that carb, load it on a truck and ship it anywhere from 300-900 miles (depending on the plant it came out of) and have it arrive 24 to 48 later in St Louis and end up being used with a body made the same day. I'm sure Holley wasn't shipping one carb at a time, they were probably shipping them as pallet or crate loads of carbs and probably not shipping them daily. Holley carbs may not even have gone directly to St Louis, Holley may have sent carbs to one of GM's many regional warehouses and GM may have distributed them to the various assembly plants as needed?

I'm not saying it's impossible, but I do think it's highly improbable. I have no idea if GM was using a LIFO or FIFO inventory system or how sophisticated and computer controlled their inventory system (or Holley's) was back then, but as someone who had an administrative job in manufacturing during that period it's hard to believe a carb and a car's body both assembled the same day could end up together.

 

Hello,
I've assumed it was a Rochester carb.
I believe the Quadra Jet carbs were built in Rochester N.Y. at a rate of about 15,000 per day. Yes, 15 thousand.
There were many GM plants that needed carbs every day to assemble cars.
Rochester and St.Louis are about 800 miles apart.
So.... physically possible but likely? Probably not.
Regards.....

 

That is correct, the 'Rochester Products' division of GM, the carburetor manufacturing division, was located on Lexington Avenue in Rochester. Back in the "old days", a couple of my neighbors worked in that plant....

 

I had planed on including a few lines in my post above about if it was a Q-Jet and the time involved in shipping it etc also. I got a phone call from my son and posted while talking on the phone, leaving out part of my thoughts on the subject.

 

Is this purely a what if question or you have run across an actual example?

 

Hello,
I looked through some of the date coded parts from the 71 I owned.
It had a F14 assembly date. So it was likely on the assembly line Jan. 14, 1971.
There was a strike for 2-3 months during the fall of 1970.
The only part that seemed out of place was the intake manifold with a Aug/Sept. 1970 date.
It was a base motor car so I'd think Flint was making lots of these engines.
I think the closest date I can see was an interior door panel.
Regards,
Alan

 

I'm not asking about whether it's feasible or not... let me re-phrase the question:

For restoration purposes - what is the accepted 'window' or MIN and MAX date codes for a Rochester carb relative to the Trim Tag date?

I've heard within 6 months MAX. But I've never heard of a MIN for judging purposes. I've only heard the carb cannot be dated after the Trim Tag - which implies same day is acceptable.

Any NCRS or Bloomington judges here that might have a definitive answer?

 

Have you posted your question on the NCRS forum?
Have you looked in the judging manual?

 

You won't get a definitive, absolute answer!

 

My 2 cents worth I have a Rochester carb off of a 73 L 48 dated 9 days before cars build date The Holley on my 72 LT1 was built in March of 72 for a car that rolled off the line on July 18 1972

 

In my experience Rochester carbs (maybe Holley?) were built in batches. For example the 7028219 on my 68 has a date in March of 68 and my car was built in late May. I’ve seen that same date, and other same dates, repeated when viewing other examples of that particular carburetor. Also I recently sent a listing for a carburetor to a restorer and as soon as I told him the date he said “that’s an original date” (for that particular carburetor).

With that if I was into the judging scene and was trying to put a “correctly” dated carburetor on my car, I would definitely look for an earlier date. I my lowly opinion it sets off an alarm.

 

The 70-2 judging guide doesn't clarify a 'minimum' date range for parts like this - it just says something to the effect of "no more than 6 months before vehicle assembly". Zero days before OK? One day before enough? Five day prior a required minimum? I dunno... Again - not asking about reality or typical - I'm curious about restoration rules and guidelines. Never know when you might run across the otherwise perfect part and a little knowledge could be handy...

AFAIK that is a closed forum for their members only. I'm just asking the question out of general interest and for general background reference information. 6 months is kinda common knowledge but minimum days prior appears to not be so well defined - which I must say I'm surprised by.

 

First things first… What is the model year of the car? What is the VIN? What is the date on the trim tag? What is the date on the carburetor?

From there, we can start to take a look at this.

Regards,

Stan Falenski

 

Hello,
I just spoke with someone who raised a couple of interesting points.
Does the wear and tear on the carb LOOK like the rest of the engine and compartment?
What do the mounting bolts/nuts look like? Are they buggered up from being off and on?
What does the gas line connection look like? Its often marked up because it's such a tight connection.
These are the sort of things that a BOWTIE judge looks for in assessing whether a component is the original but would be helpful in a case like this too.
Regards....

 

My point noted earlier and to add to that...


Just a lot missing by OP in regards to providing an informed assessment!

 

I'm under the impression that the OP's question is purely theoretical and he actually does not have this situation.

 

Mel, understood, but when the car was built plays into the answer.

On the face of the question, it is highly unlikely that a carburetor coming from Rochester, NY is going to be built, shipped, and installed on a car in St. Louis, MO the same day. Having said that there may be circumstances that might make that more likely to happen… There were various strikes that affected the 1969, 1970, and 1971 Corvettes which could definitely play into component dates not falling into line with what is considered typical. An individual car (or group of cars) could be pulled aside for quality control issues. Without knowing anything at all about the car in question makes it impossible to know if any of these situations played a part.

So, if this is a hypothetical question, the answer is “not likely.” If the OP has specific information about a particular car, it would be helpful to know what that is.

Regards,

Stan Falenski

 

My point is we may be spinning our wheels for a non-existent situation.