Dam just when I thought I knew how to decode, I looked at my hardtop and the built date is a 1BC. What is a 1BC? I thought it was 2 numbers and a letter! Maybe Joe P can help me.. thanks

 

Maybe it's a 12C car made the week before Christmas.

 

nah, i wish, it's a 1BC. I will take a picture of it tomorrow and post.

 

Koda is right. No date code is 1BC. That's why we always suggest that you post a photo of the cowl tag, rather than trying to copy down what it says and post that. It's very easy to make a mistake in reading the tag.

If it's got a "1" as the first character in the date code, then it has to be a 10, 11, or 12, assuming the code has three characters. Given that you have mistaken it for a B, it's likely a 10 or a 12. So it was built third week of October or third week of December.

 

 

here is is.....

 

You are right. It does say 1BC. My apologies.

That is where the date code should be, so my guess is that this some kind of an error on the part of whoever stamped it. I suppose such a thing could happen.

 

no need to apologize, I would have said the same think if I didn't see it. Like I stated my conv plate is stamped L/N instead of LAN, I guess during the 60's and early 70's they were short on protocol and it was more about selling cars. seems like I always run into this weird stuff...lol

 

Here is a link to a cowl tag decoder site.

http://datatagdecoder.com/_beta/form.html

 

thank you Lem, with a 1BC it doesn't work..I guess it was built on a Monday and the stamper was still drunk....

 

Do you have any other paperwork like a Broadcast Card?


What's a "conv plate"?

 

this plate is from my hardtop,built sheet and broadcast sheet I haven't looked for yet, on my things to do list I know this is a W30 since I bought it off a friend of mine that was the original owner, I did a title search and have the first and only title on it.
I also have a w30 convertible (conv). Sorry for the confusion.

 

I wouldn't tear the place apart looking for a build sheet. This car is Lansing-built, and Lansing-built cars are famous for not having build sheets in them. Apparently that plant was much more meticulous than the other plants about making sure they were not left in the car. Build sheets were never meant to be part of the paperwork that the owner received when he took delivery of his new car. It's only because of the relative indifference to whether or not they were left in the car shown by the various plants back then that we have any build sheets today.

 

True, and today they all get recycled at the end of the line. If GM back then was anything like modern car plants today, they usually are clipped to the (open) hood latch, or on the radiator core support prior to grille installation (which is way late in the process.) All they exist for is "this car gets these parts" and once the parts are on, its purpose in life is over. They're on some cars, in some places because it was closer than a trash can to walk to, and when you build a car every minute, steps count.

 

I'm interested if you ever figured this out about the 1BC....

 

It means that, as of tomorrow (1/1/16), his car will have been built 2017 years ago.