Build date?

[C3L81]

Is there a free way to find out your cars build date? I have alot of original documentaion, but Im afraid I have no clue how to figure it out. Thanx!

 

[luft 1]

Look at your trim tag on driver's door pillar, your build date will be found there.
Steve.

 

[C3L81]

Look at your trim tag on driver's door pillar, your build date will be found there.
Steve.

Could you be more specific on how to find out the date? There is no date on the trim tag.

 

[Tritium007]

Randy,

This past thread should get you on your way.

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76745&highlight=trim+tag

Mike

 

[C3L81]

Sorry I just dont get it. My trim tag says Chevrolet H17 Trim 292 lOL Paint. I ran the Computerized version with my vin# and got a date of March 18 1981. I dont think thats right. Any help appreciated

 

[bill81vette]

yup! it's right according to the NCRS Judging manual
H=march
17= the day it was built..you have 18,could have been built late 2nd shift-early 3rd shift (JMO)
trim 292 is dark blue leather
10L paint is white....
the letters start in august of 1980 with the letter'A',if you follow thw alphabet thru the end of the build year(when St.Louis shut down)your letter will work with the month of march.

 

[GerryLP]

Sorry I just dont get it. My trim tag says Chevrolet H17 Trim 292 lOL Paint. I ran the Computerized version with my vin# and got a date of March 18 1981. I dont think thats right. Any help appreciated

C3,

The codes conform to the first month of production for the year model. The production run for a particular year model begin in August of the previous year to the year model (i.e. The production for the 1981 Corvette year model began August, 1980). The production ends on July of the year model (i.e. July, 1981 on the 1981 model example). Therefore the range of letter codes for the months are A through L.

There are two exception year models for this rule: 1969 and 1970 year models.

1969 year model began its production run on August, 1968 (letter "A") and ran through December, 1969 (letter "Q").

1970 year model began January, 1970 (letter "A") and ran through July, 1970 (letter "G").

So in your case, H17 means March 17th, 1981 (the year is implied since the production run starts on August of the previous year and ends on July of the year model).

GerryLP:cool

 

[GerryLP]

yup! it's right according to the NCRS Judging manual
H=march
17= the day it was built..you have 18,could have been built late 2nd shift-early 3rd shift (JMO)
trim 292 is dark blue leather
10L paint is white....
the letters start in august of 1980 with the letter'A',if you follow thw alphabet thru the end of the build year(when St.Louis shut down)your letter will work with the month of march.

Billy,

My tag says G10, so that means February 10th, 1981; however, the GM Media Archive print-out I received for my car says February 23rd, 1981. I have two questions..

What does your NCRS book mentions about differences between a build-sheet and the data plate?

Where on the build sheet do I find the completion date or build date?

GerryLP:cool

 

[C3L81]

yup! it's right according to the NCRS Judging manual
H=march
17= the day it was built..you have 18,could have been built late 2nd shift-early 3rd shift (JMO)
trim 292 is dark blue leather
10L paint is white....
the letters start in august of 1980 with the letter'A',if you follow thw alphabet thru the end of the build year(when St.Louis shut down)your letter will work with the month of march.

Thanks guys!

 

[bill81vette]

Billy,

My tag says G10, so that means February 10th, 1981; however, the GM Media Archive print-out I received for my car says February 23rd, 1981. I have two questions..

What does your NCRS book mentions about differences between a build-sheet and the data plate?

Where on the build sheet do I find the completion date or build date?

GerryLP:cool

Gerry,I'm going to have to read thru this again...
I believe the only thing they want the build sheet for is the options on the vette
could the feb 23 date be when itwas delivered to the original owner????


bill.......

 

[GerryLP]

Gerry,I'm going to have to read thru this again...
I believe the only thing they want the build sheet for is the options on the vette
could the feb 23 date be when itwas delivered to the original owner????


bill.......

Bill,

I really can't tell. The form headings are hard to read. It's like a copy of copy of a copy. They sent it to me for free, so I can't complaint, but the March 10th is close by to the dealer name that received the Vette. I could scan it and send it to you, so that you can see what I mean. Perhaps you could recognize what Chevrolet form it is.

GerryLP:cool

 

[Yoda]

Gerry,

My S/N is 419407 and was built February 12, 1981 My Trim Tag Codes validate this as does the NCRS Birthdate site and the Media Archive Sheet I received.

On the Media Archive Sheet I received, the date of mfr. is at the top of the page just above the RPO's. It shows James-Martin Chevrolet, Inc ~ Woodward Ave ~ Detroit, MI took delivery February 18, 1981. That is documented in 2 places on the Media Archive Sheet.

Rare was ordered by a GM employee and the Name stated on the Sheet matches the documents I received from the 2nd owner. I am extremely lucky to have every receipt, even oil changes and all the original owners material

Bud

 

[GerryLP]

Gerry,

My S/N is 419407 and was built February 12, 1981 My Trim Tag Codes validate this as does the NCRS Birthdate site and the Media Archive Sheet I received.

On the Media Archive Sheet I received, the date of mfr. is at the top of the page just above the RPO's. It shows James-Martin Chevrolet, Inc ~ Woodward Ave ~ Detroit, MI took delivery February 18, 1981. That is documented in 2 places on the Media Archive Sheet.

Rare was ordered by a GM employee and the Name stated on the Sheet matches the documents I received from the 2nd owner. I am extremely lucky to have every receipt, even oil changes and all the original owners material

Bud

Bud,

At the top of the GM Media Archive I see Gail's VIN# (ending on 19543) and to the right I see 02/23/81. And this makes sense when we compare Rare's production number with Gail's production number. If Rare was produced at an earlier production number, then it makes sense that it was also produced at an earlier date. Gail was delivered to John Webber Motors, Inc., Harvey, ND on 10 March, 1981 (Today the dealer is called Ripplinger's Motors).

What DOES NOT make sense is that Gail's data plate says "CHEVROLET G10". Now, what is that all about? Also, the NCRS website says February 11th, 1981 which at least is the closest match to the data plate. So what should I consider accurate?

GerryLP:cool

 

[Yoda]

Gerry,

Somewhere in all my 81 "Stuff" I have information from St. Louis about production numbers per day, as I recall it shows all the St. Louis numbers by weekly production.. e.g. 8901~9520 October 10~15. It is packed in a box somewhere around here... We might be able to relate our S/N and a date.

Be patient it may take me awhile to find it... Garage and Shop projects are top priority, but I'll search for the information too

Bud

 

[GerryLP]

Gerry,

Somewhere in all my 81 "Stuff" I have information from St. Louis about production numbers per day, as I recall it shows all the St. Louis numbers by weekly production.. e.g. 8901~9520 October 10~15. It is packed in a box somewhere around here... We might be able to relate our S/N and a date.

Be patient it may take me awhile to find it... Garage and Shop projects are top priority, but I'll search for the information too

Bud

Ok, oh wiseone! :BOW

I do appreciate the time you have taken to reply on this issue. This issue is not so terribly urgent for a garage project to suffer. We all want to see the garage when you get done -that's for sure.

I just purchased a newspaperARCHIVE.com subscription to help me search articles relating to the St. Louis plant closure.

GerryLP:cool

 

[Yoda]

Gerry,

Somewhere in all my 81 "Stuff" I have information from St. Louis about production numbers per day, as I recall it shows all the St. Louis numbers by weekly production.. e.g. 8901~9520 October 10~15. It is packed in a box somewhere around here... We might be able to relate our S/N and a date.

Be patient it may take me awhile to find it... Garage and Shop projects are top priority, but I'll search for the information too

Bud

Well it is a bit chilly here today, high only around 38 or 40 so I did some digging and came across the table I was speaking of, (see the attachement)

I had forgotten... Rare's Trim Tag is G09 which is February 9, 1981, yet the NCRS site says Rare was Born February 12, 1981 as does the Media Archive paperwork. Guess I'll have to Google 1981 Calendar and see when February 9, 1981 fell on to see if was maybe a Thursday or a Friday and completion was on Monday, which would explain the date and Trim Code differnce

(Note: I remember copying this from the "Old" L81Registry and I remember seeing it in one of my reference books too

Bud

 

[GerryLP]

Well it is a bit chilly here today, high only around 38 or 40 so I did some digging and came across the table I was speaking of, (see the attachement)

I had forgotten... Rare's Trim Tag is G09 which is February 9, 1981, yet the NCRS site says Rare was Born February 12, 1981 as does the Media Archive paperwork. Guess I'll have to Google 1981 Calendar and see when February 9, 1981 fell on to see if was maybe a Thursday or a Friday and completion was on Monday, which would explain the date and Trim Code differnce

(Note: I remember copying this from the "Old" L81Registry and I remember seeing it in one of my reference books too

Bud

Hey, thanks Bud!

The date range for built start date on both Rare and Gail is about a day apart. Gail apparently was running about 136 L81's behind Rare. I looked at the calendar on my computer, and in 1981, February 10th fell on a Tuesday. According to the chart that you posted, there is a range of 2,600 Vettes between 418792 and 421392. When Saturdays and Sundays are removed, it comes down to 260 cars per day, but I suspect that there is at least one holiday back then that is not celebrated today (wasn't it Washington's day?).

One last bit of information would be also needed to calculate the date accurately, and this is the actual lenght of time a corvette would spend on the production line. With a production per day as low as 93 and as high as 163, it stands to reason that an L81 would perhaps spend more than one calendar day on the assembly line.

Nevertheless, it is good to know that Gail's 1st day of taking shape was February 10th, 1981...25 years ago, today!!! :W :eek :Twist

GerryLP:cool

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Guys,

The date on the trim tag is simply the date the tag was stamped and (in most cases) attached to the car. It's NOT necessarily the date the car was finished and rolled out the door! Seeing a delay of three or more days is not rare.

These birthday calculators are all subject to error one way of the other as they are populated with statistical data and assumptions, not all of it hard facts.

Seeing a discrepancy between the two is quite common.

 

[bill81vette]

Bud, FYI.....Feb 09,1981 was a Monday

BTW happy birthday to your vettes!!!!!