72455

I know this isn't the protecto plate, but would it be considered the next best piece of documentation in the provenance of my 72 Supreme?

jaunty75

No. I don't think it's the third, fourth, or fifth-best, either. What provenance are you trying to prove? The value of the protect-o-plate was that it could (but not always, depending on the model year as the info included on the POP changed over the years, I believe) show what original equipment came with the car. It could have codes that show engine, axle, transmission, and so forth. But it doesn't prove that the actual engine, axle, etc. on the car are original because there's no numbers that "match." If the plate says the car should have, say, a certain transmission, and it DOES have that transmission, that tells you that the transmission is the original type, but it doesn't prove that the transmission currently on the car is the one that came on it originally. It could be a different but identical one. As I said, for that, you need to find the VIN derivative stamped on the transmission and see if that matches the car's VIN. You cannot do this with a pre-1968 Oldsmobile as Olds didn't start stamping VIN derivatives on engines and transmissions until the 1968 model year.

All that the warranty folder you have shows is who the original purchaser was and that he bought a car with that VIN. If that's the VIN on your car, all this shows is that that warranty folder goes with this car and that the original purchaser bought this car. It proves the provenance of the warranty folder, but not the other way around.

To my mind, the most important documentation to prove the originality of a car would be, in order.

1. Show that the car's VIN and the VIN derivatives on the engine and transmission match each other. This proves that the engine and transmission are original to the car. These are the most important components on the car, and proving that they're original does the most to improve the car's value.
2. The build sheet. This would show the car's VIN and all the options that were on the car when built. The VIN and options on this sheet and the VIN and options on the car should match exactly. Lansing-built cars are famous for not having build sheets in them.
3. The original window sticker. This would show all options as well, and it ought to match the build sheet.
4. The protect-o-plate, IF it contains codes showing what engine and drivetrain equipment are supposed to be on the car. There are often date codes for these as well, and you would want to compare these date codes with the date stampings on the car itself (on the body tag), the transmission, and the engine to see if they match.
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56. The thing you found.


If you want to somehow prove that a car's unusually low mileage is accurate (25,000, say, instead of 125,000 or 225,000), have service receipts with dates and mileages (and VIN number written on them, too, with any luck) for all service ever done to the car showing dates right up to the present. Cars for sale are sometimes accompanied by the comment "documented low mileage" or "documented XX,XXX miles", but they never say what the documentation is nor show a sample of it.


As just one more comment, I had a '73 Custom Cruiser a few years back, and this card was found in it. It's not a build sheet as they usually look, and the car is Lansing built as well, but it does have the car's VIN, date built, and other codes on there. The handwriting was by the car's original owner, and I think what he was trying to do along the bottom was match codes (L-74, M-40, etc.) with the printed numbers in the boxes directly above. For example, in the first box, The printed "6" refers to the sixth line above, which is L-74. In the second column, "9" refers to option M-40. And so forth down the line. In any event, I would guess that this card does prove something about the original options on the car.

I don't know where in the car this was found as it was handed to me along with other documentation when I bought the car.

RetroRanger

The best part of the 72s is no docs needed! Your VIN shows the engine is a 455 and if the engine stamp and vin match yout GTG.

the doc you show is a nice piece of empherama that adds To the total package

jaunty75

ephemera

Oldsfan

Your warranty document has more information than the Protect-O-Plate did in '72. All the POP had in '72 was the VIN, delivery date and original selling dealer code. May have also had the original purchaser's name. Been a while since I've looked at one.

72455

Engine and tranny are numbers matching 😀..
That was one of the first things I verified after I bought it.

RetroRanger

jaunty75

More than that, actually. You had most of the letters!

edzolz

Somebody has been watching too much Antiques Roadshow.