Starter Date Codes and 'lead' on car assembly

[69Z28-RS]

Can someone please confirm the following for me?

1.  Is 'J' the month code on a starter motor?   It's a stamped code, so I believe the 'I' is skipped and J is the September code...
2.  If 9 days before car assembly too close for a starter motor date?

[Steve68]

From CRG numbers/ decode section:  "For cast-in date codes on GM-produced iron and aluminum castings (engine blocks, heads, intakes, water pumps, etc.), the letter "I" was used for September, and the last month of the calendar year (December) was the letter "L". For stamped-in date codes on GM-produced components (alternators, distributors, starters, etc.), the letter "I" was not used - "I" was skipped, and "J" became September, with December being "M"."

[crobjones2]

my OE 420 starter (May) is 13 days before the engine assembly - if that helps

[Mike S]

Seeing the starter listed as a separate item in the assembly manual I would assume the date may very well be past the engine assembly date and before the body date on the cowl tag.

Mike

[6667ss138]

The build date on my Z is July with a May28th DZ assembly on the pad that has never been out of the car. All the original parts such as alternator, distributor, carb are all dated earlier in May but the starter, M20 trans and BU rear are all dated late June. Therefore I assume the starter wasn't put on at the factory until after the trans and therefore could be dated after the engine assembly but before the car build date.

[bertfam]

From the CRG report "THE FIRST-GENERATION CAMARO ASSEMBLY PROCESS" by John Hinckley"

Chevrolet Assembly - Engine Dress Line Operations Details

The beginning of the engine dress line was a sea of racks full of engines and transmissions; small-block V-8's from Flint V-8 Engine and Tonawanda, big-block V-8's from Tonawanda, and L-6 engines from Flint Motor, plus manual transmissions from Saginaw and Muncie and automatics from Toledo, Cleveland, Warren, and Willow Run.

In the engine schedule area, the operator grabbed the next Broadcast Copy from the printer, verified the sequence number, noted the engine code required for that car, and moved an air-powered overhead hoist on traveling bridge rails over the correct engine rack. The specified engine was hoisted out of the rack and transferred to the next hook on the overhead engine dress line conveyor, where the throwout bearing (on manuals) was greased and installed, along with the clutch fork boot. Another operator on the other side of the line repeated the process with the specified transmission, which was then installed and bolted to the engine; on automatics, an air tool was used to rotate the flexplate, and the converter bolts were driven, followed by the lower cover.

The VIN derivative numbers were stamped in the next operation on both the engine pad and the transmission, using a gang-stamp holder and a hammer. From here on, all the detail dress items were added (plug wires, coil, engine harness, battery cables, carburetor, pulleys, alternator, starter, fan and clutch, A/C compressor, power steering pump, transmission cooler lines and fill tube, A.I.R. pump, diverter valve and air manifolds, drive belts, dipstick and tube, oil filter, engine and transmission mounts, PCV plumbing, vacuum fittings, fuel pump and fuel line, radiator hoses, and (if applicable) the transmission-mounted 4-speed manual shifter and linkage was installed and adjusted (3-speed manual floor shifters were mounted on the cross-member and adjusted later on the Chassis line). Engine oil and transmission lube were added, and the completed engine/transmission assembly was conveyed to the Chassis Line for installation in the subframe. The engine line inspector wrote the engine, transmission, and carburetor codes on the Broadcast Copy and put the sheet in a box for pickup by a Scheduling clerk (needed to create the P-O-P at the end of the Final Line).

Therefore, the starter date will be after the engine assembly date, but before the car assembly date.

Ed

[6667ss138]

Ed,
That confirms why my starter date is after the engine assembly but correct me if Im wrong but all the items listed that were put on after the engine and trans were mated and VIN stamped could be dated after the engine assembly but could also have been dated before the engine assembly also depending on stockpile etc. Right? Again my alternator, distributor and carb are dated a week or two ahead of engine assembly but the starter after. Also not many original parts missing on my car but of course the dreaded exhaust manifolds and smog so when searching I can now look for anything just ahead of my car build date or earlier after reading your report. Thanks!

[bertfam]

Not usually, but it depends on how close your engine date is to your car assembly date. I'll have to let John answer this one.

Ed

[69Z28-RS]

Thanks ED, and all the other folks who replied with pieces of the information I sought..       I think from all this then it is *possible* for the starter to be within a week or 10 days of the car assembly date, or possibly even closer in some situations, just as it's possible taht the starter be several weeks before the assembly date.

[tmodel66]

On parts like the alternator,starter, distributor could be weeks before the engine build. John told me when I was hunting a distributor for my car a month before engine build would not be out of line. I think it could be for anything added on the dress line to be up to a month before the engine build date because most of these things were built in batches and would stay in inventory until they were used up.

[6667ss138]

That makes sense to me also and what I was thinking especially since that is exactly how different engine dress up parts are dated on my car that i am 99.9% are original as the motor has never been out of the car. I have many that are a week or two ahead of the engine assembly but starter that is after and closer to the build date of the car. I also thank you all for the answers and the original question because I had been searching for the same info.

[JohnZ]

..all the items listed that were put on after the engine and trans were mated and VIN stamped could be dated after the engine assembly but could also have been dated before the engine assembly also depending on stockpile etc. Right?

Yes, that's correct - dress items can be dated either way; depended on inventory levels, etc.

[6667ss138]

Thanks John!

[bc69]

Did items like regulators skip the I? Is a M dec?

[KurtS]

http://www.camaros.org/numbers.shtml#GM-InternalDateCodes