vehicle build date question

[plr1112]

I would like to know if there is way to find out the build date for a 1969 truck?

I do not have the build sheet that was installed under the seat. Could the build date be found somewhere on the SPID glove box sticker?


Thanks!

[rustytruck50]

Good question....so far as I know, there are only two places you can find the build date on these trucks...first and best place is the build sheet & the other place you can check is the blue label on the door latch side of the driver's door, about half way up the door. Otherwise, you can get close if you can locate any date stamps on things like the transmission, engine, rearend or even the carburetor. Hope that helps.

[plr1112]

Thanks for the info, I will check the date code on the rear end and transmission. My truck does not have the blue label anymore. Could you tell me where the date code is located on the rear end and transmission. Thanks.

[rustytruck50]

A lot of times, the date code on the tranny is somewhere close to the pan rail or the governor cover, usually stamped into a smooth machined pad while the rearend would have something stamped in a similar area close to the center section. I forgot to mention before that it will be a combination of letters and numbers, but there are ways to decode them. Let us know what you find.

[MusicMan70]

If you have the woodbox, there is a date code stamp there as well. These are from a 1970 and 1973 GMC

[plr1112]

I have good news. Everything is starting to fall into place.

The 12 bolt rear end: RA 11 29 W

Turbo 400 tag:

335
CJ-69- 6798

I take as the 12 bolt; November 29, non posi

Transmission; 335th day witch is late November, CJ- big block, 1969

My 396ci engine date code: T1120YP, November 20, 1969 (Truck)

Can you guys help me finish decoding the rear end and transmission.

Thanks.

[jocko]

Also recommend send member SSTim you VIN, he may be able to approximate it.

[plr1112]

MusicMan70,
I actually have a steel bed.

[rustytruck50]

Cool...looks like you are making some progress!

[mike16]

if a truck has its protec-to- plate.will it be shown on there?

[rustytruck50]

Unfortunately not...just the sale date & the other usual info that makes them neat to read

[bruceman1968]

1969 Chevrolet truck Protect o Plates have a code for the build month on them. But not the build week or date. Just the build month.

[57taskforce]

SStim was able to nail mine down pretty good.

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by bruceman1968

1969 Chevrolet truck Protect o Plates have a code for the build month on them. But not the build week or date. Just the build month.

That's news to me. Where is it? Is it the letter "D"? Note that mine also has the miles at delivery rather than delivery date.

[bruceman1968]

Yes Jim. The D is for December.
1 thru 0(zero) for January thru October, N for November and D for December. You can see the other dates on your Protecto o Plate are for the end of November. Nov 30th on your engine assembly, Nov 20th on your rear axle and 328 is the Julian date for your Trans which is the 23rd of Nov. (1968 was a leap year)
The R is for Rochester and the Chevrolet bowtie is the makers mark.

[bruceman1968]

plr1112, Looks like you got it pretty well figured out.

Originally Posted by plr1112

I have good news. Everything is starting to fall into place.

The 12 bolt rear end: RA 11 29 W
RA= 3:07 open
11= Nov
29 =29th of Nov
W= Warren Gear

Turbo 400 tag:

335
CJ-69- 6798
335 =Nov 30th 1968
CJ=Big Block, Chevy Truck, 10,20,30 series
69 = 1969MY
6798= Trans serial number(this number is unique to your trans)

I take as the 12 bolt; November 29, non posi

Transmission; 335th day witch is late November, CJ- big block, 1969

My 396ci engine date code: T1120YP, November 20, 1969 (Truck)
T =Tonawanda engine assembly plant
YP = 1969 396ci, 310hp, th400 trans, L47 RPO, 4bbl carb, 10, 20 30, series.

Can you guys help me finish decoding the rear end and transmission.

Thanks.

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by bruceman1968

Yes Jim. The D is for December.
1 thru 0(zero) for January thru October, N for November and D for December. You can see the other dates on your Protecto o Plate are for the end of November. Nov 30th on your engine assembly, Nov 20th on your rear axle and 328 is the Julian date for your Trans which is the 23rd of Nov. (1968 was a leap year)
The R is for Rochester and the Chevrolet bowtie is the makers mark.

Thanks for the info.

Incidentally, part of the reason I posted my Protect-O-Plate is that my dates are pretty similar to his, and I'm wondering if the OP's is also a Fremont truck since he's in California. As I've said in some other posts, I contacted Chevrolet soon after I purchased my truck in 1969 to ask why my CST was missing some CST options (specifically, deluxe and lighted side markers, headliner and cargo light). The response was that my truck was a mid-December build and those options were added a week or 2 later. Unfortunately, I don't recall the exact date they said my truck was built but think it was Dec.12th or 13th.

Perhaps this will help the OP zero in on his build date, especially if his is a Fremont truck. His dates appear to be a week to 2 weeks after mine.

[plr1112]

This is helping me tremendously! Mine is a Fremont CA truck. also, my vin serial number is 3,860 more than yours. FirstOwner69, did you say your built date was dec. 12 or dec.13? That means if I can find out how many were produced a day at the Fremont Plant in 1969 then I could determine the production date of my truck. Ironically, my truck is also a CST and I also do not have a headliner or cargo light. So that narrows my production date to Dec. 13 to two weeks after that roughly dec. 27. FirstOwner69 is your truck a big block truck? your engine date and truck date are closer apart than mine. My truck is a big block truck which is pretty rare so perhaps that is why there's a bigger gap between my engine date and truck date.

My dates are as follows:
engine- Nov. 20
rear end- Nov. 29
Transmission- Nov. 30

[FirstOwner69]

Mine is a small block (350) 3/4 ton. I added a few words to my post above to clarify that the 12th or 13th was the date I recall them saying my truck was built, not the date when they added options to the CSTs. My guess is that yours was built about a week after mine based on this article estimating 25 trucks built per hour.
http://www.ultra-high-compression.com/fremont-tour.html (originally posted by SSTim)

Are your side markers lighted? Are they the non-deluxe versions?

Here's a link to another '69 Fremont CST that was just posted on the Craigslist finds thread that was built 5144 before mine that also lacks the later CST options. Doesn't help with build date though.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...postcount=4335
https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/...585642903.html

[plr1112]

It didn’t have originals, but I think they’re non deluxe. And apparently they’re not lighted. I though 1968 had markers that were not lighted? When I first saw there was no wiring for the side markers I thought the harness was not original.

[FirstOwner69]

Early '69s were not lighted.

[plr1112]

thanks.

I'm stumped again with trying to figure out if I had the deluxe side markers. The truck has non deluxe dated 1968 on their, but when I purchased the truck it came with a box of miscellaneous parts and there was two red deluxe marker lights that are dated 1969, but they have the hole for a light bulb, not the non hole reflector. Plus the clear grille lights are 1969, the brake and reverse are 1967. Could you please check and let me know if your light lenses are all 1969 and if your side markers have the hole for a bulb or if they are just reflectors.


Thanks.

[Mudflat]

Mine is a 69, no wires, appears it was never lighted.

[FirstOwner69]

Your dates are all fine. The dates on lenses do not indicate the date of manufacture. I believe the dates are the year the lenses were first approved for use by SAE, the DOT or some other government agency. That usually (always?) coincides with the model year first used.

There were 2 slightly different backup light lenses used between 1967 and 1972. The first type used before 1971 (1970?) had a bullseye molded into the lenses in front of the bulb socket. That was eventually eliminated. I would bet the year molded into the lenses also advanced when that change as made. So, your truck should have bullseye backup light lenses. I believe all years had bullseye taillight lenses.

Side markers were initially mandated for 1968 vehicles, and they could be lights or reflectors or both. Effective Jan. 1, 1970, they had to be lighted with reflectors. Most manufacturers converted before that date. That said, your truck would have had the standard non-lighted reflector lens without a provision for a bulb as verified by the fact that your truck has no wiring for bulbs. Deluxe markers were introduced during 1969. I've never seen any non-lighted deluxe marker lights. Initially, the front lighted markers did not flash with the turn signals. Sometime before the end of 1972 they were wired to flash. I have converted my truck to the deluxe lighted side markers using wiring that I salvaged from a 1970 at the local junkyard.

Here's a picture of the back of one of my original markers.