<VV> Mag Fan - Changes on the line

[Sethracer at aol.com]

Smitty Says;  As Roy asked, What is stock.   That is  an outstanding 
question 
and as I related about the mag fan on a 63, I  believe that car was as 
built 
with the mag fan.
 
 
So Seth writes:
 
In the case of the magnesium fan, there is another facet to this.  The 64 
was not intended to have a magnesium fan, it was intended to receive  the new 
plastic fan. Reportedly, there were some cars, maybe late  1963s delivered, 
at least to dealers, with plastic fans. (There's that  "hearsay" evidence 
again!) It was intended to be an ongoing change. The mag fan  was(is) an 
exact interchange with the plastic fan. With the motors being  built-up 
separately from the cars, what are the chances of an exact match  between car and 
engine - especially with the newer part being pretty much  interchangeable 
with the old? 
 
On a similar note:
 
In the mid-1970s, when I worked building the US Army's M113A1 armored  
personnel carriers, we had to match any part revision changes to an exact  
carrier serial number. Ahead of time, we estimated when it would occur, but we  
tracked the actual installations, at least when it made any difference at 
all.  But our production rate was nothing like an auto assembly line. Once in a 
while,  we would schedule a specific serial number vehicle for a change, 
usually when a  bolt-pattern change was involved, or an assembly would not be 
interchangeable. 
 
Seth Emerson
San Jose, CA (former home of FMC Corp)