1969 muncie transmission

[wisemanz28]

Generally how far apart do the date on the Muncie transmission, the date on the motor and the build date usually run ?

[tmodel66]

My rear end was built on the 23rd, my transmission on the 24th and my engine on the 26th of June. My trim tag is 07A.

[HOT3O2]

My trans was built Dec.4th, Engine Dec.3rd, and my car 12B. Hope this helps.

[DONCZ28]

Tough question to answer!  First post your build date, then members can chime in for a better approximation.

[jdv69z]

P9P11 ended up in car with 10B Trim Tag; Oct 68

Jimmy V.

[william]

It depends on which engine you are interested in, which trans [M20, 21, 22] when the car was built, and which plant it was built at.

Each model category has its own set of variables. For example Z/28s were in high demand but production was constrained by engine supply. DZ engines were not assembled every day at Flint. Engines were usually consumed in production within 10 days of arrival. However Van Nuys was a much greater distance from Flint than Norwood and they seemed to have more [older] DZ engine inventory. An 03B VN Z/28 generally has an older engine than a 03B NOR Z/28. Also, we have reason to believe that on occasion all DZ engine production on a given day was sent to one plant or the other-most shipments were split between the two.

Camaro SS is a different story. L35/L48 engines were probably built and shipped daily; no need to have a lot of inventory. L34/78/89 engines were not. They were built in small batches and inventoried. Some sat around for a month. Not unusual to see a May SS 396 car with a March engine; you would virtually never see a Z/28 like that.

M20 and M21 transmissions seem to have been in continuous production and in general flow with production. But again, Van Nuys seems to have maintined some inventory-not unusual to see a March Z/28 with a January trans. M22s were probably not built daily and each plant had a small inventory. Those can be farther off than 20s & 21s. It is apparent that when Chevrolet continued '69 production at Norwood, other plants sent their '69 Muncie inventory to Norwood. We have many Aug/Sep/Oct '69 Camaros in the db with June & July transmissions.

COPOs are really random. Not at all unsusal to see cars built the same day to have engine dates 5 weeks apart.

Here's the cherry bomb in the pond. Our 06E '67 Z/28 project of 24 years ago was a 2 owner car with POP, original drive train. Engine V0706MO, trans P7H23, axle PU0320, alternator 6L29.

[68Zproject]

My 05D 68 Z had an 05 engine and PE tranny.

[wisemanz28]

Over the years I've noticed most Z28's were a usually a couple of weeks apart but recently I noticed some that were a couple of days apart and even 6 weeks apart. Does it make a difference if the cars were built in late 1969 verses early 1969 ?

[william]

Standard materials management practice in phase-out mode is to ensure existing inventory is consumed. So Z/28s built August through early September '69 have random engine dates; they were clearing out whatever was at the plant or maybe engines at Flint that had been sidelined for some reason. By late September it really tightens up; they were closely watching how many DZ engines were required.

BTW there was no concern on the line about using old stock first. Cars built within minutes of each other commonly have different engine dates.

[LM69Z28]

Our 02A build date X33 car has an A (January) 23 9 618 bock and a P9A20B Jan 20th M21
LM69Z28

[william]

Do not draw conclusions from one data point.

It is normal for an early Feb Z/28 to have a late Jan engine and trans. It is also not unusual for an August Z/28 to have a June engine and trans. Some might incorrectly conclude the August car did not have its OE drive train.