REAR END DATING AFTER BUILD DATE OF CAR

[CROSSRAMJL8]

I HAVE BEEN TOLD A REAR END CAN BE DATED AFTER THE DATE ON THE COWL TAG OF A CAMARO? IS THIS TRUE
THANKS

[Maxx]

Does anyone know where that 69 camaro thread is on rear end housing dates that were stamped and dated well after the trim tag build date? Thanks Maxx

[Musclecarkid]

It is possible and here is proof. My 70 Chevelle convertible has a Trim Tag Build of 06A, June first week. The rear cast date is May 22, 1970 and was assembled on June 8, 1970. (0608 B1). The rear was built in Buffalo NY then shipped to Baltimore for installation on the assembly line. This proves in some cases the built date stamped on the trim tag was a projected date, not the actual time the car was completed. My car was probably built the second week of June 1970, which should be 06B. There could be a few reasons to have a rear dated after the build date on the trim tag. One being a Strike or plant shutdown, which would leave cars stopped on the line, or late year built cars when production was slower.

[COPO PETE]

"69 june bums." was the thread name I think. Not sure how to make the link!
Peter

[Verne_Frantz]

Kevin,
Those things happen all the time. The build date on the cowl tag is the week when the "Body" was built by Fisher, not when the car was final assembled on the Chevrolet line. Most times, the bodies make it to the Chevrolet line within a couple days, but sometimes a body is "banked" until an order comes in for a car with that equipment and color. Or, perhaps there might have been a problem with the body, and it needed rework before it went to Chevrolet. By that time, the mechanics with the chassis were "current" to the time, much later than the original body build date.
Verne.

[Jeff H]

June of 69 seems to be the biggest time frame for components being dated after the build date. It's mainly because most if not all the cars built in Norwood were coded as 06A on the trim tag so you could have an engine or rear dated something later like 0610. But if you look at the VIN closely you can get a better approximation of when in June the car was built and you'll find the components were built before the car. It's also possible for some limited production rears like the BE rear and the JL8 Q rears to be dated slightly after the car started being built. Kurt from CRG will have better details on the exact situations where it's possible.

[Allen]

My '70 Nova has a 09E code on the cowl tag. Per a '69 calendar, the week went 29,30,1,2,3, which means that I don't know if they really seperated it by month, or if it could also imply October (10A?). The first two days of that week were still September, and the rest is October.



My engine is dated 09 26, my tranny is dated 10 05, and my rear is dated 10 01.

[Charley Lillard]

I had a Copo Camaro years ago that the BE rear was dated about a week after the the body. It was confirmed on the orig protecto plate also.

[Jeff Murphy]

My red COPO is an 06A trim tag car, but the BE is 0616. Car was shipped to dealer on 0624. Kurt S. told me that the car would never even be started until the axle was available. According to him the axle only took a day to get there from Detroit Gear & Axle plant.

[Kurt S]

[ QUOTE ]
Kevin,
Most times, the bodies make it to the Chevrolet line within a couple days, but sometimes a body is "banked" until an order comes in for a car with that equipment and color.

[/ QUOTE ]
Verne,
Gotta disagree with you on this point. Every body had to have an order associated with it before it could added to the schedule to be built.

[Verne_Frantz]

Kurt,
Thinking through that point again, I would be inclined to say you are correct. It would be hard to believe they would build a car - then try to sell it to a dealer for stock, or wait for an order.
Let's consider a possible circumstance: If the body had problems that prevented it from making it to Chevrolet in time to enter it's sequence on the line, what were their possible options? Perhaps it was faster to take another partially finished body and complete it to the spec for the order. If so, that left the first body waiting, after repair, for a similar order before it could be used. Otherwise, I imagine, it would have to be scrapped.

This would be a lot easier if I could find that time machine I misplaced......

Verne.

[Mark_C]

Try this description of the assembly process. It gives a good description of what happens after a car is scheduled to be built.

CRG Assembly Process Description (http://www.camaros.org/assemblyprocess.shtml)

[Unreal]

Cars were not scheduled to be built, until all parts were scheduled for delivery. In other words, Fisher would not assign a body number and start a car with the expectation that the body would be pulled off to the side to wait on an engine, or rear, etc.
In the real world, though, sh!t happens. Delivery dates for parts or assemblies get missed. That's when mismatched dates occur. The rarer the assembly, the more likely the occurance. eg. BE rear.

[Verne_Frantz]

Mark,
Thanks very much for the reference to John Hinckley's fine article. I had already been in contact with Mr. Hinckley a few times on some production history issues. He's is a great source of information regarding what actually happened at the plants. He helped me with some details regarding the pilot car research I recently did on a '64 Chevy Impala.

Verne.
Verne.