When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I just bought a 1967 roadster, and am looking for help in decoding the trim tag. Here's what it says:
STYLE BO9 S212 BODY
67-19467 900CG PAINT
TRIM 420BA
Is the color supposed to be Tuxedo Black? Is the interior supposed to be Saddle/vinyl? How about the rest of the #'s and letters?
It's a VERY early '67, according to the VIN. (car #613 off the line); does anyone know the approximate date of birth? The engine has been replaced, but we strongly suspect it to be a BB car. What can we look for? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
:chevy
B09 is the Time/Build date indicating October 9, 1966, the second month of production.
S212 indicates the body was assembled at St. Louis by GM as opposed to Livonia, Michigan by the A. O. Smith Company. 212 is the job number assigned to the body at the plant.
67-19467 indicates the model year (67) and the code for a Chevrolet (1), Corvette (9), eight cylinder (4), convertible (67).
900 is Tuxedo black exterior paint.
420 is saddle vinyl interior trim.
With a B09 build date, your VIN ought to be in the 2100 to 2300 range, give or take. Post your VIN. It's possible The Corvette Blackbook (the reference I am using) might have incorrect information concerning the actual start of 1967 production. Unfortunately, the '67 VINs do not contain a specific engine code and will not help you determine whether the car was originally a big block.
:)
THe VIN# is 194677S100613-------What's up with that, got any ideas? Thanks.
P.S.
The car has a factory rear sway bar, a brass HD radiator, and transistor ignition. any other clues?
:chevy :chevy
100613 indeed indicates an early '67. The 613th to be exact, as you had determined. Your car was almost certainly assembled during the first month of production which should be September, 1966 if the Blackbook is correct. Time/Build code should be A09 and not B09 and that's what stumps me. HD radiator, rear sway bar, and TI are good indicators for the previous presence of a big block but may not be conclusive in and of themselves. Cruise and enjoy!!
:)
Also check drive shaft yokes on the rear end. Big block cars had bolt on caps, small block cars had U bolts. A single fuel line (no vapor return) could indicate that the car was possibly tri-power equipped (400 HP, 435HP). I'm pretty sure the small blocks and 390 HP cars for '67 were Q-jet equipped and had a vapor return line as well as fuel line. Somebody may correct me on that one, though.
What we need is someone with a 67 NCRS Judging manual. For some reason, I have a gut feeling that AO Smith bodies and St Louis cars had different production starts. perhaps one started in August and the other in September? I don't know why I am thinking this but I will do some looking in the Noland Adams book.
Gary
According the NCRS Pocket Guide both AO Smith and St Louis cars started production in AUGUST 1966. Therefore a B code would indicate a September build date. However, when you turn to the Final Monthly Serial Numbers section it shows the 1967 cars starting with September 67 and a final number of 2110. There is also a note in Noland Adams book that states "A strike closed the A.O. Smith plant from early September 1966 to mid-January 1967. During this period, Corvette production was reduced by 100 to 125 units per week." Anyone knowledgable here on this topic?
Gary
B09 is the Time/Build date indicating October 9, 1966, the second month of production.
With a B09 build date, your VIN ought to be in the 2100 to 2300 range, give or take. Post your VIN. It's possible The Corvette Blackbook (the reference I am using) might have incorrect information concerning the actual start of 1967 production. Unfortunately, the '67 VINs do not contain a specific engine code and will not help you determine whether the car was originally a big block.
There were lots of "numbers" involved in the process - some correlate with each other, most don't. The "Body" number, S212, was assigned when the dealer order for that car was accepted by the plant and scheduled for production (on paper), and became an internal tracking number, connected to the dealer order number (if the build of the body was scheduled for A.O. Smith instead of St. Louis, it was assigned a "Body" number that had an "A" prefix instead of an "S"). When that car started through the Body Shop, it was assigned a (sequential) "job number" to identify its position in the Body Shop process - that's the number you find in grease pencil on the passenger-side firewall, unrelated to the "Body" number (S212). Bodies were scheduled into the Body Shop process based on the plant's production scheduling constraints, including how much material was on hand or in transit for Final Assembly for the next few days for various option and trim color combinations, so the pre-assigned "Body" numbers were not sequential as the bodies came down the line in the Body Shop; they were scheduled based on the plant's needs and preferences. Body Shop "job numbers" generally went up to 500 and started over at "0" (they were not re-started on the first of each month, as by that time they would have been over 2,000).
When the car left the Paint Shop and started down the Trim Line, its VIN number was assigned (and attached), and another "sequence number" was assigned, which showed up on the printed "Broadcast Copy", which showed assemblers what parts went on that particular car; that number is found occasionally on Final Assembly-installed components, which were sub-assembled off-line in sequence, matching the sequence of cars coming down the line (like engines, instrument clusters, etc.). That "sequence number" is unique to final assembly, just to keep things straight, and is unrelated to any other number on the car.
Although September, 1966 was when the first '67 came off the line as a complete car (this one, #613, shows to have been produced off the end of the line on Monday, September 12th per the "Birthday Book"), it actually started in the Body Shop in late August (which was considered the actual "1st month of production" for '67), so it was considered a "B" build date - the "B09" time-built code says it got its trim tag (applied at the first station on the Trim Line) on Friday, September 9th ("B" - second month, "09" - 9th day), and came off the end of the line on the next working day (Monday, September 12th). The numbers and date codes on this car line up fine.
The car also has a driver's side hood brace, a 5/8 rear sway bar, 7/8 front sway bar, rear end caps (not u-bolts), and a large relief in the front crossmember. It also has a single fuel line. It looks promising! The last owner said it had a 6500 RPM redline tach, but he replaced it with an Auto Meter unit!Good thing I saved it from the butchering BUBBA that had it! She will be as faithfully restored by me as is possible....
Thank you ALL for your help and kindness on this request; I really appreciate it!
:yesnod: :chevy :chevy :chevy :yesnod:
To my knowledge, fuel vapor return lines were strictly a C3 characteristic.
Yup! :) and Lemansblue, i think the 67s had hollys. I seem to recall noting that difference between the 67 L36 and my 68 L36..... with disappointment... because i like to think how similar the cars are under the body! :)
Massvette, you are going to have to hang out in the C1/C2 forum now! Is there another 502/502 in your future?? MJ
To my knowledge, fuel vapor return lines were strictly a C3 characteristic.
Yup! :) and Lemansblue, i think the 67s had hollys. I seem to recall noting that difference between the 67 L36 and my 68 L36..... with disappointment... because i like to think how similar the cars are under the body! :)
Massvette, you are going to have to hang out in the C1/C2 forum now! Is there another 502/502 in your future?? MJ
Yeah, I'll probably become a "Corvette Snob" !
:lol: :lol:
Seriously, though, I haven't yet decided on how to handle the engine block replacement. At the least, I'll probably use a crate long block with "correct" upper end detailing. If I can find ALL the"correct" components, then I'd probably go for the complete 'original' engine setup.
:yesnod: :chevy :chevy :chevy :yesnod:
I agree with Pat and John Z. I suspected '67 model production began in August, 1966. August would be "A" and September would be "B." I also agree it's likely your car would have required another day or day and a half on the assembly line before she was completed. If her Trim Tag was attached on a Friday, it would have been the following Monday or Tuesday before she would have passed final inspections and been driven out into the yard.
Cruise and enjoy.
:)
Are you sure of the code after the 900? That is very odd. It should be AA.
The code after the trim code 420 BA. The BA is the exception code and means that it was equiped with A 31(power windows) , but did not have A 82(head rest) or C 07 (hard top).
Given that there were concerns regarding the authenticity of this cars Vin Tag during a BaT auction, this is a comparison that you can view yourself and come to your own conclusion.
Here is a vin comparison of this cars Vin Plate to other 1967 vin tags.
The top plate is from a car that is likely built the same day.
The 2nd plate is #613, the plate on this car.
The 3rd plate is likely built 2 days after this car.
The 4th plate is not as close, but has the numeral 3 in it like this car, and Vin 3’s are quite unique.
The 613 image is a bit blurry, has some shadows and the plate is shiny / polished. But you can see that some of the other plates are just as shiny and new looking. It’s stainless steel unlike the trim tags. If you buff it, it will shine.
The vin characters float all over the plate. They are not in any specific position or height.
Similarly the top and bottom embossed lines are sometimes angled and are not always perfectly square with the edges of the plate. They are the same width and all taper out before the edge of the plate.
Comparing the size and unique characteristics of each letter / numeral are the easiest way to determine a genuine tag. In this case, compare:
The sharp hook/notch at the top of the C in Chevrolet.
The flat sided O’s in Chevrolet.
The uniquely styled numeral 1’s. The proportions of the base and style of serif on top.
The very slightly larger font for the “77” in all the tags.
The similar rounded ovals for the “00” in the top 3 tags.
The same curvy S.
They all share 9’s, 4’s and 6’s that you can compare as well.
And the unsymmetrical 3 shared with the last plate that both have the same larger, flatter lower loop.
If you’ve seen fake tags before, you know that all of this character shaping is virtually impossible to re-create this accurately.
Compare for yourselves, but in my opinion there is nothing wrong with the Vin tag from the picture provided. I believe the vin plate to be real and that you’d need a far better non-glare picture before you could condemn it as a fake.
Given that there were concerns regarding the authenticity of this cars Vin Tag during a BaT auction, this is a comparison that you can view yourself and come to your own conclusion.
Here is a vin comparison of this cars Vin Plate to other 1967 vin tags.
The top plate is from a car that is likely built the same day.
The 2nd plate is #613, the plate on this car.
The 3rd plate is likely built 2 days after this car.
The 4th plate is not as close, but has the numeral 3 in it like this car, and Vin 3’s are quite unique.
The 613 image is a bit blurry, has some shadows and the plate is shiny / polished. But you can see that some of the other plates are just as shiny and new looking. It’s stainless steel unlike the trim tags. If you buff it, it will shine.
The vin characters float all over the plate. They are not in any specific position or height.
Similarly the top and bottom embossed lines are sometimes angled and are not always perfectly square with the edges of the plate. They are the same width and all taper out before the edge of the plate.
Comparing the size and unique characteristics of each letter / numeral are the easiest way to determine a genuine tag. In this case, compare:
The sharp hook/notch at the top of the C in Chevrolet.
The flat sided O’s in Chevrolet.
The uniquely styled numeral 1’s. The proportions of the base and style of serif on top.
The very slightly larger font for the “77” in all the tags.
The similar rounded ovals for the “00” in the top 3 tags.
The same curvy S.
They all share 9’s, 4’s and 6’s that you can compare as well.
And the unsymmetrical 3 shared with the last plate that both have the same larger, flatter lower loop.
If you’ve seen fake tags before, you know that all of this character shaping is virtually impossible to re-create this accurately.
Compare for yourselves, but in my opinion there is nothing wrong with the Vin tag from the picture provided. I believe the vin plate to be real and that you’d need a far better non-glare picture before you could condemn it as a fake.
could not send you a PM so I sent you an email from my personal email account.
1967 Trim Tag- Decoding
