[Baron Von Zeppelin]

70 TA with 01A body currently on eBay for 90k
VIN 228870N100355
Has anyone seen a 70 TA earlier than this ?

13-997 indicates (13) Kansas City Missouri zone district - (997) Internal Use .
Discounted invoice to 13-243 Andy Klein Pontiac on May 20
Inline with routine 3 months or 3000 mile usage.

WS - 3.73 car
With #s engine and Blk Deluxe with Deluxe Belts and Console.
Seems like it's a really good car too , on top of the unique factor.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16721115212...Bk9SR5SH7NCAZQ

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Paul K has VIN 1000348
His might be interesting as well .

[PAUL K]

I think that car is optioned identical to mine.

Except I have the "post production" RAIV engine.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Paul K , what is the body build date on your trim tag ?
Is yours a Norwood built car ?
Does your invoice show any of the discount codes - or a later invoicing date ?

I believe this topic car was a "pilot car"

Should probably investigate the above criteria on your brother's car too.

[65madgoat]

Does that early build date make it worth any more than say $75K being in driver condition as is?

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Oddballer ultra early body date might add 1k to it's typical value - to someone who found it unique.
Possibly more to some -- less to others .

This is a couple months ahead of most typical early 70 TA's
Production didn't start until sometime in March , and this is a 1st week of January car.

Not promoting this car - or worried about it's market value.

I'm being fascinated by its abnormal build date .
Any 70 TA aficionado should find this highly unique .
01A = pre-production

I will admit to being a whore for deluxe interior with deluxe belts , in black or blue. fwiw

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Paul K , what is the body build date on your trim tag ?
Is yours a Norwood built car ?
Does your invoice show any of the discount codes - or a later invoicing date ?

I believe this topic car was a "pilot car"

Should probably investigate the above criteria on your brother's car too.

Hi Baron, i screwed up on my VIN number.

It looks like my car won it's first race off the assembly line.

I can't answer any your questions about the PHS. I'm not positive I have one but will take a look around when I get a chance, I either have the original window sticker or PHS. Going from memory it was sold at People's Pontiac in Chicago

What would a "pilot" car be?

Also my trim tag is 01A

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

A pilot car like this one and yours were small batch built before production and put into normal driving duties by engineering testers in various locations to give un-biased feedback on pretty much everything about the car and build quality.

Some went to GM Proving Grounds and got stress tested to extremes.
Those types usually were not resold into the general public, and destroyed.

As far as Ram3 cars go -
I would put pretty big significance on a 70 TA Pilot built in early January.
Especially one with good desirable equipment like the topic car.

There are only a couple things that can make any Ram3 TA stand out significantly.
Heavily optioned (ultra rare)
Cloth Interior (even rarer)
And now 01A pilot cars . (too rare to guess)
Other than those things they are pretty much cookie cutter cars on the whole.

I think a pilot with good equipment would rival a fully/heavily optioned car for top value.
eBay seller only knows he has a low VIN , he doesn't know it gaps normal production by months.

[johnta1]

How cool is that?
One number off of the other TA.

Would be nice to see it it had the '997' code and also what the PHS shipped date was. (compared to the cowl tag date)

[RLEngland]

Originally Posted by PAUL K

Hi Baron, i screwed up on my VIN number.

It looks like my car won it's first race off the assembly line.

I can't answer any your questions about the PHS. I'm not positive I have one but will take a look around when I get a chance, I either have the original window sticker or PHS. Going from memory it was sold at People's Pontiac in Chicago

What would a "pilot" car be?

Also my trim tag is 01A

Very cool. Early cars are popping up. The SD registry shows 228870L100343. Said it was a Polar White 4-Speed.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by RLEngland

Very cool. Early cars are popping up. The SD registry shows 228870L100343. Said it was a Polar White 4-Speed.

That was probably another one of Paul's typos on that input . 343 / 348 abc xyz

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

That was probably another one of Paul's typos on that input . 343 / 348 abc xyz

Hey now! What's a few production numbers among friends.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by johnta1

How cool is that?
One number off of the other TA.

Would be nice to see it it had the '997' code and also what the PHS shipped date was. (compared to the cowl tag date)

Ultra Uber Cool
I'd be doing an Irish jig if I just found out I had a pre-production 01A car , out of nowhere.
That's better than a fresh batch of granny's buttermilk biscuits on your birthday.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

A pilot car like this one and yours were small batch built before production and put into normal driving duties by engineering testers in various locations to give un-biased feedback on pretty much everything about the car and build quality.

Some went to GM Proving Grounds and got stress tested to extremes.
Those types usually were not resold into the general public, and destroyed.

Some went to vehicle development: demonstration use by the program team and management (captured test fleet) and regular commuting.

Some went to vehicle validation: the aforementioned Proving Ground activities.

Also - Marketing - like photo shoots and advertising, fluffed and puffed to give to magazines for review.

Cars were assigned to Service and Powertrain.

The various vehicle assembly plants could also be give a vehicle, to assemble and disassemble as often as required. Early pilot cars would be built off line, either in a stationary build or in a small mocked up assembly line (not on the regular assembly line) in a separate quarantined area of the plant, months ahead of model changeover.

Start of regular production cars would be build on the actual assembly line, after changeover, at a reduced rate until problems were address and production could be ramped up to full volume.

K

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The eBay pilot car going to Kansas state - I would guess was sent out into the boonies for low publicity discrete real life road testing.

Paul's car going to Chicago area , maybe as a car show display car ?
Every February they held a big manufacturer car show in Chicago back then.

Both cars built in Norwood Ohio , In early'ish January .

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Johns site does list a Peoples Pontiac in Chicago
Dealer # 10-383

If Paul has a pre-production display show car - that might be worth an extra merit badge.

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Johns site does list a Peoples Pontiac in Chicago
Dealer # 10-383

If Paul has a pre-production display show car - that might be worth an extra merit badge.

That's an interesting concept. I haven't found the PHS yet but did come across the warranty protection plan and the purchase date was 3-14-70 from Peoples Pontiac Inc.

Also found a picture from the auto show and that one sits a little high in the front just like mine

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Your TA would have been a Multi-Invoice car .
Sometimes (not always) - PHS will have copies for both Invoices.
If you contact or send in for it - you will need to advise them it should be a Multi-Invoice car that was pre-production pilot.
So they will hopefully dig for it.

If they have Invoice #1 { golden ticket } it will probably tell if it was billed towards :
Marketing / Display / Show Car Pool .
If they only have Invoice #2 - it will look similar to the other cars invoice but with 10-997

It's a pretty solid bet that is your car in the picture .
The stars align very well with it.

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Your TA would have been a Multi-Invoice car .
Sometimes (not always) - PHS will have copies for both Invoices.
If you contact or send in for it - you will need to advise them it should be a Multi-Invoice car that was pre-production pilot.
So they will hopefully dig for it.

If they have Invoice #1 { golden ticket } it will probably tell if it was billed towards :
Marketing / Display / Show Car Pool .
If they only have Invoice #2 - it will look similar to the other cars invoice but with 10-997

It's a pretty solid bet that is your car in the picture .
The stars align very well with it.

Thanks a bunch for that information. I will contact PHS and report back.