67 vin date stamp

[orgsretep]

I have a 67 RS that has a date code stamped on the vin plate. It is stamped from the inside out, just like the vin. Is there any significance to the date being stamped in this manner? Sorry for the quality of the photo, I tried several times and could not get it any clearer.

[Mark]

Is that 096?  Whats on the trim tag?  Does the paint code start with an O?

Typically a car with a VIN plate stamped like that is a car that was ordered for something GM was involved with, a car show, a Zone car, the Indy 500, etc.  It was used to indicate the start date of the warranty period regardless of when the car was actually sold to the public after GM was done with it.  In this case the 5/50 warranty started in September of 66, didn't matter if the car sold in August of 67, or at the end of September 66.

[orgsretep]

Thanks Mark, I think it reads 09C.

[Mark]

Nicely equipped car:

1 = Chevrolet
2 = Camaro
4 = 8-cylinder engine
37 = coupe body
7 = 1967 model year
N = Norwood, OH assembly plant
108144 = vehicle serial number sequence
 
Decode for body number: 008164
 
09C = Built the Third week of September.
67-12637 = Custom Interior Coupe.
NOR = Built in Norwood Ohio.
732 = Custom Bright Blue Bucket Seats.
Z = (A50) Strato Bucket Seats.
F-2 = Lower Color is Marina Blue and the Vinyl Top Color is Black.
R = Interior paint is Bright Blue
Options:
1E = (A01) Tinted All Glass
1X = (A31) Power Windows
2E = (C60) Air Conditioner
2M = (M35) Powerglide Transmission
2G = (D55) Console front compartment
3B = (C50) Defogger rear window
3S = (Z23) Interior Decor group
3D = (U29) Courtesy Lamp
3L = (Z22) Rally Sport Package
4F = (D33) Mirror Remote Control
5B = (V31 & V32) Front and Rear Large Bumper Guards
5Y = (A39) Belts All Deluxe

[KurtS]

I will add that I think Mark's statement of the use of the code is a theory.
There's still not a lot evidence to back it up.

The format of the code has been month and year. Hence 096 makes more sense than 09C.

If you switch to macro mode (little flower symbol) and back off a little, the pic will be clearer.

[Mark]

Yes, its a theory.  BUT, the stamp is done from the back indicating it was (could have been) done at the factory before the VIN tag went on, unless there were dealers out there removing the VIN tag, stamping them and reinstalling them with the correct Rosette rivets.  the dealers were supposed to put a DYMO label on the tag where it says dealer DD (dealer Delivery Date) indicating the date the car was sold that would be used to indicate when the warranty period started.  There isn't a lot of those left on the tags these days if they were ever used, since the dealer supplied folder for the POP indicated the day of sale anyways.  Its tough to figure out what something means if there are only a few of them and they show up here and there during the production run.  The only large group of cars that have them consistantly are the O-1 coded 67 pace cars, and these were produced by GM for a specific purpose.

[HOGDADDY]

Nicely equipped car:

1 = Chevrolet
2 = Camaro
4 = 8-cylinder engine
37 = coupe body
7 = 1967 model year
N = Norwood, OH assembly plant
108144 = vehicle serial number sequence
 
Decode for body number: 008164
 
09C = Built the Third week of September.
67-12637 = Custom Interior Coupe.
NOR = Built in Norwood Ohio.
732 = Custom Bright Blue Bucket Seats.
Z = (A50) Strato Bucket Seats.
F-2 = Lower Color is Marina Blue and the Vinyl Top Color is Black.
R = Interior paint is Bright Blue
Options:
1E = (A01) Tinted All Glass
1X = (A31) Power Windows
2E = (C60) Air Conditioner
2M = (M35) Powerglide Transmission
2G = (D55) Console front compartment
3B = (C50) Defogger rear window
3S = (Z23) Interior Decor group
3D = (U29) Courtesy Lamp
3L = (Z22) Rally Sport Package
4F = (D33) Mirror Remote Control
5B = (V31 & V32) Front and Rear Large Bumper Guards
5Y = (A39) Belts All Deluxe

I have asked this question before but was told 5B code meant rear bumper guards only. Has this changed and is 5B widely accepted as meaning front and rear bumper guards now?

[KurtS]

Yes, it should be only the rear guards. The fronts were done by Chevrolet and wouldn't show on the tag. The version (3.68) of the decoder on my computer says rear guards.

Mark,
Yes, the date was embossed on the tag by the plant for some reason. But of all the embossed tag I've seen, only the pacers have something to do with GM. None of the others have docs that connect them to GM.
It could have been done for some other unknown reason. Hence why it should be labeled as a theory.

[Mark]

Agreed, on the theory part.

But do the other cars that have it have no tie to GM because of a lack of documentation, or do we have documentation that does not support the theory?

[ccargo]

How was the conclusion or theory drawn that the code stamped has something to do with the 5/50 warranty? It seems like a strange way to keep track of warranty service work. How would a dealership know to even check the VIN for such a stamp? I thought they relied on the POP and used it like a credit card machine for any vehicle warranty service needing documentation so they could be reinbursed? I would think it might be more likely it had something to do with how the factory handled the car and was more specific to matching it to some kind of paperwork they were working from. Like the cowl tag was to Fisher would not the VIN tag be to Chevrolet? 

[Mark]

The VIN on a 67 was inside the door, which was closed for 90 percent of the trip thru the GM side of the plant so it wouldn't be visible, so I doubt the number has any meaning to the factory itself.  GM used the W/O number that is noted on the body and chassis broadcast sheets that was hand written onto the firewall of the tub, and the various parts of the front end clip with grease pencil to track the body thru the plant.  All of the other parts specific to that car, ie not just a base part that had to go on every car, had tags attached to them with that number on it as well. 
This made sure that each part for a particular car got onto that car.  The W/O number was assigned as the car was released from the body bank, and it was a sequential number starting at 0 and progressing forward throughout the day, then resetting to 0 at the start of the next day.  It would be alot easier to see a 2 or 3" high w/o number on the firewall than to have to run over and look at a tag that was inside the door in the case of 67's, or on the dash for 68's and 9's as the car was coming into your station.  Plus those numbers should be sequential since they were assigned as the cars left the body bank, while the VINs may jump around abit since they were assigned sequentially as the car came into the bank.  Depending on the options on a particular car it may sit for a while in the bank before being released so the VINs get jumbled around some as they leave.

[KurtS]

Pat,
The 67 VIN had a spot for the Delivery Date to be stamped. Most dealers didn't do it.

The VIN wasn't used in the plant for any tracking and wasn't looked at (still true today). Which would indicate that info embossed on it wasn't production related.

Mark,
Most of the non-IPC cars that have embossed VINs have do not have docs. And none of them appear to have any special attributes.

[tar6569]

I have been able to find the bid number on a build sheet and on the vin tag and it was stamped in this format.  It would look like something like C-67-141.  Cars for the US Gov't usually had the bid# stamped on the tag and a second number like the one being discussed.  I was looking at a 67 "Air Force" Belair wagon with a 03D body and 037 stamped on the tag in addition to the bid number.

Warren

[ccargo]

Here's something like what Warren is talking about. This is on a 1966 Suburban.

[tar6569]

Interesting.  That is the first I've seen where the word "bid" is stamped on the tag.  Was this suburban a gov't vehicle?

Warren