# Data plate question



## danthepontiacman (Jul 5, 2008)

Anybody know what the 2 to the right of the date/time code is? None of the decoders show anything there.


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## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

That is a feature that only the PON plant put on the cowl tags. That number is unknown. Some have said it is the plant's shift number, but I have seen the number as high as 7 on PON cowl tags so that theory would not work.

The number's meaning is unknown at this time.


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## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

It may be the day of the week, 2 more than likely would be a Monday production.


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## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

I collect pictures of cowl tags and I would say 90% of the PON tags have a number 1 in that location. If 1 equals Sunday or another day and I can't see that most of their work being done on that one reference day.

I do know if there is an X instead of a number in this location that we are discussing for PON cowl tags, it supposedly means that the car was taken off the line and not assembled in the normal manner.


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## danthepontiacman (Jul 5, 2008)

So pontiac only thing huh? Did they build chevelle and 442 cars at the same plants? I noticed in the inspectors guide it has the toe in adjustment but has pontiac plants, then says chevrolet plants under it. Yeah my first guess was day of the week too but I agree it's kinda weird for so many to all have the same number. Any chance it could be a division thing? Like I know in the vin the 2 was for division 2 pontiac. Kinda cool that these cars are so old but still have a few mysteryies to em.:bannana:


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## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

This is a Pontiac, MI plant only thing. The other plants that built Pontiac cars did not use this number.

I will give you some more info on what I think it is but there is nothing to back it up. I think this number was on the passenger broadcast sheet from the early 60s to 1964. This number was under the title of SOS. Not sure what it means (I think, special option station) but some of the 62 and 63 super duty cars had these higher numbers. The red car that was used in the famous 1964 Car and Driver had a number 6 in this SOS title and these numbers refer to some kind of station where they were built and might have put these numbers on the cowl tags as well (the number in question that the original poster asked about). PON plant carried on with the number on the cowl tags but no longer had the SOS on the build sheet by 1965.

1 & 2 = The average build car.
5, 6, & 7= Special order request cars.

Again just my theory.


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## danthepontiacman (Jul 5, 2008)

good points, until somebody finds 100% proof then one theory is has good has another right?atriot::thumbsup:


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## El Monte Slim (Sep 8, 2014)

It's not for the day of the week. 

My 66 GTO was built in Pontiac Michigan on a Thursday, but that digit on my cowl plate is a *1*.


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## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

How do you know what day of the week or the date that the cowl tag was stamped? It just states the month and the week. Date on the PHS is not the same date on the cowl tag if that is what you are referring to.


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## El Monte Slim (Sep 8, 2014)

The cowl tag is stamped *03D 1*

According to the build sheet, the car passed through final assembly 3/24/66.

I purchased this car from the original owners who ordered it when new.

By the way, they took delivery of the car on April 5, 1966.

I purchased it from them on December 14, 1972.

The original owners and I are still friends.


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## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

Cowl tag dates are different dates than build sheet dates. Yours just happen to fall on the same week.

The cowl tag is put on sometime in the body shop, where the individual body panels are fixtured and weld up, prior to moving to the paint shop. The broadcast sheet is also created early in the process, as soon as the dealer order is delivered to the plant and the car is released for production. It has to be, since the information is "broadcast" (in this case "disseminated" or mailed) to all of the areas of the plant where it is needed in order to help build that specific car with those specific options. If it was not made until the car was seeing it's final touches it would be too late, as it would not have been able to affect the build through trim, chassis, final, front end sheetmetal, seat build, motor line, etc. or any where else where the specific content needed to be known.


And then you have the PHS billing card date.

So 3 different build/record dates.


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## El Monte Slim (Sep 8, 2014)

Roger that said:


> Cowl tag dates are different dates than build sheet dates. Yours just happen to fall on the same week.
> 
> 
> And then you have the PHS billing card date.
> ...



I always thought my GTO was_ really_ special and unique.

Now I see another reason that's true. So _rare_ that all 3 dates fall in the same week!


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## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

Having the build sheet or sometimes it is called the passenger broadcast sheet is definitely a rare thing making your car more valuable in addition to proving what the PHS says as well.

I'm sure there are many, many GTO owners who don't have the plant's build sheet to their cars.

Congrats. It helps when you buy your car from the original owner.


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## El Monte Slim (Sep 8, 2014)

Roger that said:


> Congrats. It helps when you buy your car from the original owner.


You are correct, sir!

I purchased the car when I was 18 and have had the car for 42 years. It has been a blessing to be acquainted with the couple that ordered it new, and to understand why it was ordered the way it was.

I do have all the original documents with the exception of the original sales invoice. Like many here, I have the original warranty book with the Protect-o-Plate.

After the full off-frame rotisserie restoration was completed last year, one of the first places that I took the car was to visit with the original owners.

They were thrilled and excited to see it! 

Thanks for posting the information here that is so informative.

Best regards!


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## Pinion head (Jan 3, 2015)

The string of numbers followed by letters was used at Pontiac and Kansas City plants on A body's through 67 models. Options that required a body modification, received a stamped letter in an organized fashion in these rows on the trim tag, then Fisher body workers knew what tooling function to perform, or rough cut (like the man trans hole) to perform. One will never see a 1 followed by a letter, as the digit 1 took up space, just easier to not note the one and either note nothing, or note a W for tinted windshield, or a E for all tinted glass. E 2 EZG was a very common stamping on Kansas 67 GTO in my parts, as nearly all of these '67 GTO's had tinted glass, AC, a turbo 400, and a console. Quite a few also had the remote mirror 4F.

In '84, an old friend and I began doing pencil rubs and writing down the VINs and trim tag numbers & noted options on '65-67 GTO's, LeMans, and the occasional '67 Firebird. Many of these cars were in monster yards well off the beaten path that we frequented pulling options and other parts. Several of these yards didnt crush and we decided to basically write down all numbers as it made it easier to remember where these partscars are were, we also took pics and noted condition of cars. Other trim tag numbers were transcribed from project cars for sale in the region. Others came from project cars and partscars I hauled in. Also often noted the trim tag info on cars from local shows as well. 

Sometime in 1986 Super Chevy magazine printed an article deciphering many of these alphanumeric codes for early Nova's... of all things. We recognized several of the accessory codes used in the Fisher plants stamping out early Novas were also used by the Fisher body plants at Pontiac, KC, and at Lordstown ('67 Birds). In the course of a few years, we had a fairly thick stack of sheets covered numbers transcribed from '66 and '67 Kansas City built A body's, and since had so many rubbings of '67's had retranscribed all of the '67 Kansas City builds by VIN and body number. Never really put a lot of thought into using the info for anything other than noting options, esp, being able to tell if a car was original 4 speed car. During this time at shows we were also starting to see a few renumbered cars. Blatant things like factory AC cars trim tags pop rivetted into non A/C bodys, etc... '65 326 2 spd column shift LeMans dressed out as 4 spd GTO's. 

Next, around '88, Pete McCarthy published his first article on the 5 group A-Z accessory codes, believe it was in Pontiac Enthusiast... may have been HPP. Pete asked for input, and was still adding to verified option codes in the early 90's. From Pete's published lists, the most complete decyphered accessory codes were shared into the larger Pontiac hobby, and the decyphering of these codes made it into sources like the First Generation Firebird list (early web resource) then into "tech info sections" on early GTO websites.


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