Date Codes for Parts
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2005
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Date Codes for Parts
I have a 69 with a Body build date of P14 which I believe is November 14. What is the correct date code for the chassis parts like the radiator and expansion tank? I read its a two digit year code followed by the month letter?
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2001
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 5,236
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From: Myrtle Beach SC
Mike was brief with his contribution and while this statement is on target:
Likewise, the opposite is true. Nothing on your car can be dated after P14.
And those date codes vary depending on the parts supplier...there was no standard so familiarity with a model year helps with the decoding of the date codes.
Hope this helps!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 132
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John
Mike was brief with his contribution and while this statement is on target:
chassis part date codes can be all over the map but the generally accepted guideline is no more than six months preceding the build date. As you state, you have radiator, engine block, carb, shocks, frame, alternator, smog pump, (some of these are judged in mechanical vs chassis...but you get the idea).
And those date codes vary depending on the parts supplier...there was no standard so familiarity with a model year helps with the decoding of the date codes.
Hope this helps!
Mike was brief with his contribution and while this statement is on target:
chassis part date codes can be all over the map but the generally accepted guideline is no more than six months preceding the build date. As you state, you have radiator, engine block, carb, shocks, frame, alternator, smog pump, (some of these are judged in mechanical vs chassis...but you get the idea).
And those date codes vary depending on the parts supplier...there was no standard so familiarity with a model year helps with the decoding of the date codes.
Hope this helps!
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,652
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From: Shamong, NJ
The manor in which parts are dated, varies from part to part. The body build date, was based on the model year not the calender year, and only included the month and the day, not the year. Other parts, such as the radiator, are dated with the month and the year. but not the day of the month. Most cast parts have the month, day and year, but even this varies, as some plants use two numbers for the year (as in 69), while others used one (so just a 9 for 1969). Glass is dated with two letters, for the month and the year, and carbs are Julian dated using the numerical day of the year, that the part was made (104 would be April 15th in a leap year and 105 in other years).
As you can see, to properly date parts for your car, you need to know more than just the build date of your car, you have to familiarize yourself with how different parts were dated.
