Z10 black Vinyl Top Car on ebay

[rpoz11]

Just wanted to say that the oddness of this tag to my tag represents the discrepencies that occur inside GM at that time , just wanted to add my results to the circle of manufacturing at that time! I cant figure out why my tag has a later BDY # with that 04C date vs. this car above having an earlier BDY # and an 05A date... My tag came off of a wrecked Car that was from the Phoenix area alike the origins of this one...

[Mark_C]

The Cowl Tag is fine for that VIN car. The Z10's are unique in that they were all ordered at the same time and then built over a couple of week period at the end of April, beginning of May. In 69 body numbers were assigned when the build order was accepted by GM, not when the car was scheduled to be built.

My 04L Z11 has a body number of 317xxx and is only 500 VINs before this car so comparing body numbers between cars in 69 is not always possible, especially when dealing with different models (ie X44 to X33) as some cars just didn't get built right away.

Nice looking car and it will probably bring good money, but you would think on high dollar restorations someone at the paint shop would check out how to paint the rear stripes on a Camaro, they are to close together on this car. (67/68 style). And it doesn't have the Ford "Caution Fan" sticker on the radiator shroud.

[Seattle Sam]

[ QUOTE ]
My 04L Z11 has a body number of 317xxx ...

[/ QUOTE ]

Mark,
Just wondering about your 04L? What week would "L" be? I thought the weeks of the month were lettered A to D, with an occasional E..
-Sam

[Mark_C]

They do, except for the last week of April 1969. It goes 04C, 04L, 05A. No one has ever figured out why, but there are several thousand Camaros out there with this date code. Lot's of Z11's and Z10's as well as just about every other model camaro.

[JChlupsa]

How bout a
69 12467 Nor 289027
720 50 A
03D Z11

Thats the car I posted the pic of in the Bumper sticker post since it has some on the rear bumper like owners would have had back in those days with no second thoughts

[rpoz11]

I think Mark that you have suggested this before but...I think that the DIE must have broke or the D must have been lost at that week!

[Seattle Sam]

[ QUOTE ]
They do, except for the last week of April 1969. It goes 04C, 04L, 05A. No one has ever figured out why, but there are several thousand Camaros out there with this date code. Lot's of Z11's and Z10's as well as just about every other model camaro.

[/ QUOTE ]

Mark, Thanks! I learned something new today!

[Mark_C]

Don't think the Die broke, That's the story thats been going around forever, but no other trim tag code used on Camaros requires an "L" so where did the "L" come from. Was the tag machine like a type writer, or is it more like a printing press where each character has to be manually inserted and removed (seems like it would be very time consuming to do 900 of these a day if it was like a printing press)? If "D" was broken or lost why not just continue "C", use E, or start 05A early. The last week of April is only 3 days long anyway. It has a meaning just no one has figued it out. I had a theory that it had something to do with the beginning of building the Firebirds at Norwood (they were transferred over from "L"ordstown) but firebirds started to be built at Norwood the week before the L code appeared (April 19th). who knows what it means if anything. Might have been the guy making the tags intial and it was his last week.

[Mr70]

That's interesting.
Maybe his way of saying,"To L with this Place!".

[rpoz11]

Just curious here...any likelyhood that the trim tags were stamped as the car traveled down the line and had the info stamped in as cars were painted, interiors were installed, the engines installed, rear spoilers installed??? So to say, stamped at one area of the facility, stamped again as it continued along down the assembly line as items were filled to the inside order sheets??? Could there be many trim tag stamp tools available as a chassis progressed thru the plant?