[mike nixon]

Now I'm wondering if there was a "trainee" in the tag stamping station that screwed up. In my mind it'd be simpler to swap out the tags than repaint a car.

I'll ding him for his info.

Ron will have to snag the info off of mine.

Mike

[64catdroptop]

If I get a chance tonight or tomorrow, I'll pull Mike's info.

Mike's was built in CA, sometime in March,.... If my memory serves me correctly

-r-

[Engine-Ear]

Wow, very interesting thread...

Fast and very nice work, Ron!

[AROWHED]

[QUOTE=mike nixon;3886567]I was contacted by another member with a Cameo Ivory coded Prix who's stripping his for paint. Trim Tag reads out for C/I paint and his was RED above the first coat of primer.

I'll let him Chime in.


And that would be me. My CC code white 65 GP I think may have started life as a red car. Data plate reads as follows:

08A Pontiac Michigan
ST 65 26657 BODY BA 1615
TR 288 PAINT CC
ACC C16C60

Guy I bought it off of told me it was a white car, but he painted it maroon when he first got it, some time went by and it received some light rearend damage in an accident, so he returned it back to white then. Stripping all these paint jobs off last year, sure seems like it was red from the start. See for yourself..it's like counting the rings of a tree. The maroon job is hardly visible..probably mostly sanded off before the second white spray.

[65WJ]

Mike
I did not know you were selling thin mints? It is Girl scout cookie time!

Patrick
ps nice detective work. Will it be ready for norwalk?

[mike nixon]

Thin mints?


Samoas Rule!

[65WJ]

Originally Posted by mike nixon

Thin mints?


Samoas Rule!

Especially when they are cold. mmmmmm coconut and chocolate

Thanks mike now i am hungry

[mike nixon]

Originally Posted by 65WJ

Especially when they are cold. mmmmmm coconut and chocolate

Thanks mike now i am hungry

Glad to help!

Mike

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by AROWHED

And that would be me. My CC code white 65 GP I think may have started life as a red car. Data plate reads as follows:

08A Pontiac Michigan
ST 65 26657 BODY BA 1615
TR 288 PAINT CC
ACC C16C60

Guy I bought it off of told me it was a white car, but he painted it maroon when he first got it, some time went by and it received some light rearend damage in an accident, so he returned it back to white then. Stripping all these paint jobs off last year, sure seems like it was red from the start. See for yourself..it's like counting the rings of a tree. The maroon job is hardly visible..probably mostly sanded off before the second white spray.

Can you tell if that "08 A" is August of '64 (which would make it a very early build) or August of '65 (very late)?

If it's an early, early car, then that would lend some more credence to the theory that either a mistake was made or that there was some experimentation going on. I would be much less inclined to believe that on a late car (unless it was a new color for '66).

As an aside, I assume there are no additional codings after the 08 A (...like an "X"...) since you did not mention it?

Thanks,

K

[AROWHED]

Keith here is the data plate, no "x" anywhere. My mistake..upon closer inspection it is "02A" ....very hard to make out due to the POR-15 on it, so I looked at the back of plate. The last six of VIN is 1125xx.

What does BA and 288 signify exactly?
Also, I believe the two trim codes are for air conditioning and console? C16 C60

[64catdroptop]

I would guess an 08A is a late car. Didn't they start production first week of Sept for the model year?

BA - Baltilmore (your 7th digit in the VIN should be a B) 288 trim code - Parchment interior.

To the best of my knowledge, the ACC codes were used by Fisher Body. If your car has AC, it would have a different firewall (ACC code) I'm not sure if they used a different floor pan for a console car (or a 4spd car for that matter)

-r-

[mike nixon]

From my observations, Console and 4spd cars are the same pan. The 4spd hump was screwed / welded to to it.

C60 is Std Air Conditioniong.

288 is the Parchment / Black interior

G80 RPO is Limited Slip differentional FWIW.

Mike

[pont406]

I know at the GM truck assembly plant i'm at, like Keith said, VIN tag is the FIRST thing that goes on the body after paint. cousre they may not have done this 40 years ago, i did this job for several weeks last year, freshly painted bare cab comes into trim/final line (General Assembly) VIN tags are already made in sequence by a machine,and ready to rivet on. i hung a build sheet on the front and back of the cab, then riveted on VIN tag. use hand scanner to verify both sheets and VIN tag matched sent it on, mistakes do happen at the factory! trust me! we've had cabs, beds fall off carriers, get damaged , pulled off line, in fact I saw a completely trimmed out cab setting on the floor yesterday, didn't look to have any damage, so i don't know why it was there. i would say this car most likely got to final line when the front clip was the wrong color, they may have "ran it thru" and repainted the car later, in repair, to match the tags. although the "tiger gold" paint makes you wonder? it was a rare color on 65/66's wasn't it? pulling the car apart like you are and documenting the color differences maybe will lead to something else? I know he told me about some other oddities about the car BTW I knew it was Mikes car right away LOL!!!

[justaguy]

In the plant I am at the body goes through the first trim line then the body VIN goes on on the second trim line with the IP. I too have seen cars get damaged by falling off carriers in lifters and other ways so back then it was just as possible if not more so as it was much more hands on back then. There was also a greater margin for "human error" as well. A few times I have seen a car that would have an option from the factory that shouldn't have been available on either that model or trim package, or just not on the build sheet.

Really interesting to see what happenned back then, considering what I have seen happen in plants now.

[mike nixon]

Build date on my car is stamped as 03B. This thing as definitely gold the first time thru the booth and resprayed White before the seal were installed. Ron has Pics to post when he gets a chance.

We pulled the L fender offo it today also and found an interesting find. There are 2 sets of firewall markings under the fender with one of them scratched out. The numbers are right around 1000 digits off.

We also pulled the trim and glass out of the rear window [thanks you VERY much to the half assed cobber who put Construction caulk in the channel BTW] and found it in better shape in most areas that what we expected. 90% of it's intact 50% of it is damned nice.

Found a few minor rust holes in the tops of the 1/4's just outboard of the lead seam that attaches the trunk filler panel. I've never seen a non vinyl top car rust there. and there's no evidence of a vinyl having been on it. Just interesting is all.

LF fender is 80% dollied out.

Mike

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by mike nixon

Build date on my car is stamped as 03B. This thing as definitely gold the first time thru the booth and resprayed White before the seal were installed. Ron has Pics to post when he gets a chance.

We pulled the L fender offo it today also and found an interesting find. There are 2 sets of firewall markings under the fender with one of them scratched out. The numbers are right around 1000 digits off.


Mike

You know, that's something we hadn't discussed yet: that they discovered the car was the wrong color while it was still in the paint shop; that would allow them to run it through the repair ovens and respray it before all of the interior trim was installed. If that's the case it should have had a fairly nice, detailed, bake hardened paint job.

Also - the numbers might indicate our earlier theory that it was "cut out" of the schedule and then "cut back in" once the paint repairs were complete.

K

[justaguy]

In a case like that I would think they would just run a new body through in the proper color (as the tags still wouldn't have been installed) and just insert that car later as the color it was mistakenly painted. The only other possibility is that the paint job was botched in paint and during the time it was redone they just sprayed it the color need at the time it was reinserted. That might allow for the numbers thing. I know now if a paint job was badly botched they would just scrap it as the rework time on a bare shell isn't worth it (unless it was a minor repair that could easily be fixed and resprayed in the same color) but back then it was probably a lot different as it was a lot more hands on.

[mike nixon]

Keith were the numbers on the Firewall "shop orders" or were they significant in another way?

The scenerio you've desribed fits the way the car looked like it was prepped. Ron has photos [that I took on his Camera] of the rear pkg tray that clearly shows how it was taped off.

Primer, then Gold, then White.

Mike


Mike

[64catdroptop]

Mike's car obvioulsy went through the paint booth in the Cal plant twice. Here are pictures of the firewall markings, cowl section and fender seal, and the package tray.

It was a very interesting day yesterday looking at Mike's car. My personal feeling is that the 8805 scratched out on the firewall and replaced with the 9602 is likely a good lead.

If you look closely, the plug under the wiper motor was circled also (hummm?)

-r-

[65WJ]

Neeto Bandito. thats some cool detective work there.

I still think it could have been a hurst Gp and then nixed.

patrick