<VV> Re: Engine block codes/ Assy date decoding

[NicolCS at aol.com]

You bring up some very interesting points.  Your description of 
engine/body/and final assy dates is actually quite parallel to Corvettes though.  Corvette 
bodys were built off-site by Chevrolet and A.O. Smith, ahead of need.  Later 
they were mated with a chassis and engine and the body tag was re-stamped to 
include the final assy date.

If you look in Bob's book, he has a photo of his body plate.  Notice the 
mis-aligned "09A" in the upper left?  This would be the final assy date in a 
Corvette (the tags are basically identical.  In the Corvette world, this would be 
August 9. In another portion of the book, Bob states that he bought his new '62 
early in the fall, this statement is consistent with use of the Corvette 
final assy decoding.  Also note that the "09A" is mis-aligned, just as they are in 
Corvettes, due to adding this info to an already existing tag.  I also note 
that Bob's example doesn't have a "body date" but rather a sequence number, 
this is consistent with Corvettes.  I can't speak with any authority, but there 
are straight parallels to the well documented Chevrolet Corvette system.  I'm 
all ears though, and this weekend, when I'm 3000 miles closer to my library, my 
'65 Corvette and my 65,6,7 Corvairs, I'll do some more checking.
I think we are learning something here.
Craig Nicol