On our 72 Cutlass S, with the passenger door open, where the dash meets the body, there's a stamping ('bout 1/4" ) with " 0586 W39". Driver's side has same script, same place, with just "W40" and then fenders have "W41" driver's side with "L41" passenger. What do they mean? Thanks!

 

posted some pictures in an album of those stampings hope they help thanks, Karen

 

This was just recently discussed here. The stampings mean nothing - they are just part of the regular production of these panels. It does NOT mean you have a 'W' car if that's what you're thinking.

 

The W39 and W40 just means it was stamped in the 39th week and 40th week respectfully in the year they were formed.

 

Makes perfect sense. My car started its life in the first week of April, 1972 at Fisher body works. That means the parts that were stamped for it's assembly were made around the end of March. Perfect for just in time production needs.

 

Karen can you post the cowl tag info to verify?

 

Thanks to all! No, I didn't think that the W's indicated a W30; I'll let the 5th digit X in the VIN (among other things) tell me that. And sorry if I missed this the first time but just joined a few days ago. The date code explanation (thanks for being gentle) works really well with the build info. If they do indicate production dates, is it reasonable to think that w39, 40 and 41 are a matching set, so to speak? That might be useful if someone claims that their car never had body parts replaced. Cowl tag? I'm not sure what we can verify concerning this... unless you want to see the 10B. I'll post it.

 

10B is the date the assembly plant began assembly, in this case it is 2nd week of October 1971. And that would coincide beautifully with the 39, 40 & 41 as well as in the radiator thread your radiator build date would also fit this bill

 

Just to clarify, 10B is a Fisher Body date code not the "assembly plant" date. Fisher body is nor an "assembly plant". That date precedes the actual assembly date.

 

Just to clarify Fisher Body assembles bodies from the cowl back and yes they were an assembly plant. If not how did they put the body together without assembly? And they did so via an assembly line just like all of the other GMAD plants that finished what Fisher Body was contracted to do. Just to clarify. The date on the cowl tag is when Fisher Body assembly plant first started welding the panels together to make the car. Which was the 2nd week of October 1971. You know if you are going to quote someone and try to look all smart at least make sense

 

You can make all the arguments you'd like, but if you would study history and not make up you own definitions, you will find that the Fisher Body plants were never referred to as "assembly plants". Assembly plants were where the final assemblies were done. This doesn't have to do with what you *think*. So much for your making sense.

 

Kurt, I'll bite. What is the correct nomenclature for the Fisher plants where the bodies were assembled?

 

They were the body plants. Just like engines (which could be *argued* to be assemblies) are made at the "engine plants". Final assembly plants were were called assembly plants because everything before it is a sub-assembly.

 

I don't argue with ignorant people they just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. *Think* what you want to and I will believe what is correct no matter how you spell it.

Fisher Body plants that have assembly lines, Hmm wonder what they are referred as? Assembly plants. The GMAD did their final assembly on guess what? Assembly lines also known as assembly plants. Some folks would argue with a stop sign just for the sake of an argument.

 

Kurt, it seems to me if you would have just clarified that the cowl tag date code was tied to the date that Fisher Body built the body and that the final assembly of the vehicle at the assembly plant occurred a few days later, everyone could have moved on. But it then became an issue over the term "assembly" and which plants were recognized as assembly plants and which ones weren't. I'm sure the people who worked at Fisher Body would say they "assembled" the bodies. And in the end, what was the point of all of this? Is it really that important that we all get a lesson on how to correctly label the various plants, especially for the purposes of this thread? Karen asked a simple question about the stamping codes she found and somehow you have escalated this into a pissing contest. It's obvious you have insight that some of us may not but you seriously need to work on your presentation of that knowledge. Just saying.

Brian

 

Thank you Brian for explaining what I could not

 

Gentlemen? I just posted (most of) the cowl tag. Now I'm going back to reread all this.... Thanks for the interest!

 

Wow....I'm learning a lot here. Is it reasonable to expect similar stampings on the doors?

 

Hi Karen,
Sorry about the side track on your thread earlier today.

You will find those stamping codes on many if not all stamped panel parts on a car. The door stampings will be on the interior side of the door (under your interior door panel) and will likely be along the upper part of the door. You'll find one on the underside of the trunk lid too. Some people who want to have a car that is numbers matching will look at these stampings to see if the sheetmetal on the car is original to the car. If there is no code or one is far off from the others, it will usually mean that the panel in question was replaced over the years. This is just one aspect to the "numbers matching" claim as there are many others that come into play. I'd say the people who pour over these details are a smaller percentage of the hobby and most don't worry too much about them.

Brian

 

X 2. There are a few of us Nut cases who either toy with or actually make their own stamps.

What I have found is 99% of the people walking this planet who are not on this [or similiar forums] Don't have the foggiest idea what "Some" people think is "Important"

 

Hey, got an extra 740 for the fan? Are you kidding me: an apology? Please! I know without a doubt now that I am in the right place... Helping me understand the details involved is invaluable. Speaking of details, where might one find the trunk lid stamping?

 

Well I had to go an mention a trunk lid and after seeing your question, I decided to look at a 69 trunk lid. I couldn't find the stamp on the 69 either. I have seen them in the past but I'm not sure what to say. The only hidden spot that I can't see is the section of the trunk lid covered by the hinges.

 

Thanks for looking! We've got to take the lid off: maybe they put it under a hinge. Details to follow! Karen

 

Brian & Karen I found stampings on my trunk lid, so don't go taking the trunk lid off. It was about half way up on the driver's side and upside down 34257 A21. I found a picture online and you can actually see it. Not mine though



Also on the top of the trunk under where the trunk lid would cover is also stamped A21 on the passenger's side towards the front. I wish I had thought to bring my camera but I had to hurry to mow the grass as we have a storm coming this evening and forgot all about it. The 34257 relates to the Cutlass Supreme hardtop coupe which is a different lid than yours (Karen) which could possibly read 33687 (letter) 40 or (letter) 41. On the driver's side fender of my car is stamped C21 and on the passenger's side fender is stamped C22. On the driver's side where the dash meets the body under the A pillar is stamped W21 and on the passenger's side it's stamped W22.

 

ALL: those stamping "codes are two fold A) it identifies the stamping machine and B) the Body Model or Series. IE my F-85 says "3277" stamped in the inner door panel.

A) is so if there is a quality issue with part, the "die" or the performance of the machine its self, it takes less time to correct the "problem". These stamping machines were everywhere they could fit in the Final Assembly and Fisher plant, in every nook and cranny. They only stamped "small parts". Bumpers, oil pans, fenders, deck lids, etc. were in a special part of the plant and were huge stamping presses, some were two stories high and were rated at 150 tons!

B) should be self explanatory.

As a side note the UAW workers were assigned a number of parts to stamp in an 8 hour shift. Usually the were done in 5-6 hours and would play cards or sleep till the end of their shift.

 

The BOP plants did not have a Fisher Body plant. All of the stampings were delivered by rail, and assembled at the plant.

 

Thanks Dave for that info. On the part below the dash where it meets the inner body under the A pillar has the week code and then a four digit code which would be the stamping machine # I take it? From what I listed in the above post as far as the week codes which on my car is a letter and either a 21 or 22 and would put those panels as being stamped around the middle to late May which coincides with the begin build date of the 1st week of June. Also Allan and Karen both have verified their week codes as plausible with their build as well by being just prior to. On my trunk lid is the only place where I have actually seen the 34257 and the week code (A21) together. I am just not sure what the letter before the week code means because so far I have seen A, C and W before the week.

 

MY442: I stand corrected, my bad. I should have stated "Lansing Assembly Plant". I never went to another Final Assembly Plant or to a Fisher Body Plant, so I "assumed" that the process was/may be different at the other plants.

In Lansing ah, I don't think the stampings were shipped via rail over to Fisher. I believe they were trucked over as Fisher was on the far west side of Lansing, just a few miles away from Final.

 

This is my 4 digit code (0519) with the W12 next to it. Wait for it, it gets better...


I looked in the trunk, but there's no stamping like you have on your CS. Maybe it was done differently for different deck lids? The stamping on my deck lid is on the center web of the deck liner, and it's.....A11. So I have parts that are stamped with 2 week codes. Likely the end of 11, start of 12 is an educated guess. It also suggests that the deck lid on the car is the same one it was born with. Now I have to start looking for the stampings on the doors when I take off the door panels. The DS door was replaced - it was damaged in a collision back in 75. The PS door is still original as far as I know.






I'd be curious to see if Karen's stamping is in the same place on her W30.

 

Way cool Al So there is no reference to the body type on yours. I definitely will go back to the shop and get a good picture of mine for further reference soon.

 

I looked everywhere on the deck lid. All sides and facing surfaces but all I could find was that A11. I wonder if the 'type' of deck lid was processed differently by model.

We know that CS HT and 4 door sedans shared the same deck lid. It would seem that only the Cutlass base and Cutlass S (both contenders for W30 in 1972) had different profiles and slopes on the rear deck. That's also why the trunk deck trim; the narrow stainless at the bottom, only shares the long center piece as a common part. The eyebrows and quarter reveals are different lengths and designs.

I remember back a few years ago this discussion came up about the widths and slopes. Rob Young and I compared exact measurements from our cars to come up with the significant data.

 

Here is the low down on what we are concluding...

Sheetmetal Date Codes

Sheetmetal was stamped with a Fisher Body "run number" by the stamping plant that produced the part. The run numbers were inserts in the draw die to identify the plant and the week of production and also served as proof marks to verify full die travel to closure. Almost every panel on the body will have a run number. The first letter (occasionally 2 letters) of the run number identifies the stamping plant and the number is the week (e.g. 40th week) of the calendar year when the panel was stamped.

 

It's been a long few days. We were also hit with heavy rain, so didn't look until today. On the trunk, we found one possible letter code/ wk stamp, but I made a mess of it when I got the...oh , never mind, nothing a bit of chemical remover won't remedy. There are no other clear stampings that I can find. Also added a few pictures to the stamping album, one shows door with number positioning, a close up of the "double stamping" number that's there and last, the poor beast as she sits now.....Thank you everyone: I never expected to get so much info from so many! Will also add details to the personal profile....

 

No problem Karen always glad to help I'll take a look at your updates. Any idea as to a future restoration?

 

So where exactly is that W41 stamping that you have (horizontal pic) I don't recognize that sheet metal profile. Maybe I can find that reference on my car if I know where to look.

 

I believe that was on her driver's side fender Al.

 

Not to 'throw a monkey wrench" in to the fray, but y'all know that the inner panel came from the die that was made for a 69' outer deck lid panel. It was then modified to fit the 70' model outer panel. That is why you see the hole punched for a 69' model trunk light. Then it was modified again for 71' to better accommodate the mounting of the rear wing option and the 69' light mounting hole was still present. Then the die from 71' was scrapped and a new die for 72' was made and the 69' trunk light mounting was not present. That is how you can tell the difference for each year 70-71-72 models!

 

No monkey wrench taken. Dave you are a wealth of info brother

 

Ok, I just went and got some pics of the stampings on my car. Keep in mind these are NOT the fenders the car was born with but they were NOS when I bought them from Stedelbauer Chev Olds in 85. LOL I wasn't going to keep the honking big boxes they came in as proof either. Dang! I should have kept the invoice, but that was when I was much younger and didn't really do much record keeping.

Anyway, both of my fenders have the same stamping - B33 and they're in the same place as Karen's. So at least they were born at the same place and time. Now here's a question - would a repro fender have any stampings like this or would there be nothing at all? I guess that might be one way to tell a repro from OEM??

 

Superb info on the trunk lids, Dave. Would have taken me a long time to peer at drawings and play spot the differences!