rallygreen

i just got my 69 442 but i can't decode it! the rear end is a 12 bolt with a big alum.cover that looks like a fast change rear! its got power brakes,a/c,ps.auto trans,the motor i did not get the numbers off yet.has rear window blower heater!4-core rad. the cowl tag reads st.69 33687 lan body. tr.930 52/52 pnt. 03b. the fine reads 344879m332879 thanks if any one can help! iam now looking for the build sheet any ideal's were they would hide it? thanks skip!

Cameo White

Congratulations on your car and welcome.
You have a Lansing built 69. True build sheets are fairly rare on the Lansing cars. Fisher Body broadcast cards seem to be more common. A few of the possible locations you may find one or the other include under the rear seat back or bottom, under the carpet, above the headliner, behind the door panels, behind the kick panels, behind the front seat back(s), or on top of the gas tank.
I don't have my books with me to help decode, but others will chime in shortly. The car was built the second week of March (03b). TR 930 may be black buckets if I remember correctly, but lets make sure that gets checked against the books later.

Cameo White

I forgot to ask--does the rear cover say W-27 on it? It wouldn't be correct for a 69, but they are nice to have.

OLDSRALLYE350

930 black interior buckets 52/52 crimson bottom crimson top

joe_padavano

People will point out that your VIN (34487) does not match your cowl tag (33687). While usually they must match, Fisher body actually did use Cutlass cowl tags on real 442s during the 1968 and 1969 model years (ONLY!). This is well documented in the Fisher Body Manual for those years, so don't worry about it.

I can't tell from the info you've provided if you axle is original or not, but be aware that Lansing-built cars would have gotten a Type O axle from the factory. This axle is often confusing to people, as it has a 12-bolt cover, like a Chevy 12 bolt, but there are only ten bolts holding an 8.5" ring gear. The Chevy 12 bolt has 12 bolts holding an 8.875" ring gear. In any case, the aluminum cover would not have been factory installed.

jaunty75

Wow. Are there any of these locations that you would want to go tearing into just to look for the build sheet if you didn't have some other reason?

I remember an article by a former GM worker that appeared in Journey With Olds many years ago talking about build sheets and originality in general. People are so keen on finding them, and they think that their car will automatically have one. The former autoworker said that there was never any policy on the factory floor that the build sheet or broadcast card or whatever will automatically be kept with the car in some hidden location when it is finally assembled. So it might be in some cars and it might not be in others. There's no way to know, and I wouldn't tear into my headliner or carpeting or take out the gas tank just in the hopes it might be there. If I had some other reason to take those things out, fine. Otherwise, no!

Having said this, though, the build sheet for the '75 Delta 88 I used to own was found right under the rear seat! But taking THAT out isn't destructive or a major league pain in the neck.