Looking at a 70 442 pace car...confused by cowl tag:

Vin#correct..
interior color correct..970
but.....10 B..10 being porcelin white,but shouldn't it be A for the white top?
shows Y74
also, car has power windows but no A31 on tag.

was there something unique about the Y74 cowl tag?

 

Yes (A) = White top and (B) = Black top

Not all options are listed on the cowl tag. Probably just has A51, something previously deducted by the interior trim code

The Y-74 on the cowl tag just justifies that is indeed a Pace Car unless it shows signs of tampering. Always a good idea to have as much documentation as possible with any of these babies

 

didn't they all have black interiors and some black tops,maybe the top was changed to white. I see most with white tops but in pictures at the race they all have black parade boots

 

I'm double checking, but if in fact, there is a B for the top, could it have been special ordered with a black top instead of the standard white for the pace car....or should I assume it was an error? I've looked at quite a few Y74 cowl tags and every one has A for the white top.

 

I'm positive the paint code is 10 B...so I guess the question is does this car need a black top to be "correct" even though Y74 should have required a white one? I'm thinking either would be correct for the car for both reasons...any thoughts?

 

I saw a car for sale not too long ago that was a true Y74 and had a black top. I think the ad made mention that it should have been white, but who knows, maybe some did escape the factory with a black top. That was back in the day you could pretty much order anything you wanted.

The convertible boot is usually the color of the interior, not the top.

 

I'm assuming the cowl tag was installed to make sure the car was made/painted to match it and not after painting and assembly...My best guess is that the B was a mistake and that the Y74 on the tag would take precedence and the paint/trim and top colors made to pace car specs...or atleast it sounds reasonable.

 

Can you just post a photo of the cowl tag? Things sometimes get lost in translation in spite of one's best intentions.

Is it possible that 10 B is really 10B with no space and stands for the date built code, which would be second week of October?

 

The B code is for a black convertible top. When I was doing research and looking at other Pace cars on the net, I think I came across two that were with the black top. All had the black top boots to match the interior. At least this is what I have seen. There was a Cutlass pace car that sold out west. It had a black top. I am thinking that the Y74 code covered the hood, deck lid and side stripes plus the OAI hood. Any thing else was left up to the dealer to order. I have seen Pace Cars with bench seats. Good luck with the car

 

Unfortunately the pic is too poor to really read, but the 10B is in the right spot to indicate paint/top color. I've seen about 6 other70 442 pace car cowl tags and they all show 10 A. I wonder if someone ordered the pace car but requested a black top...I guess anything is possible.