Fender Tag Conundrum

Dana Goetz

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I found this to be curious and I thought someone else on the forum would think so too:
The order date on my '76 NYB's fender tag is May 14 (514)
However, the build date on the door decal is May 10-10AM ( MDH 051010)
I just find it curious that the car was ordered four days after it was built.

Maybe I'm reading the tags incorrectly
 
Although the 514 indication is taken together with the order number to make up a VON = Vehicle Order Number, 514 is not the order date but rather the SPD = Scheduled Production Date. The order date would be on the dealer order sheet.

Now, scheduling things and doing things are worlds apart, so a difference of four days between the SPD and the MDH = Month-Day-Hour on the compliance statement is no big deal.

It would be nice to see pics of the fender tag and the door sticker.
 
The date on the tag is a Scheduled Production Date (SPD) while the sticker in the door jamb is the actual production date. I have cars built before their SPD too, and after. It's common. In fact, I have yet to see a car built on its SPD, I'm sure there are some out there.
 
Although the 514 indication is taken together with the order number to make up a VON = Vehicle Order Number, 514 is not the order date but rather the SPD = Scheduled Production Date. The order date would be on the dealer order sheet.

Now, scheduling things and doing things are worlds apart, so a difference of four days between the SPD and the MDH = Month-Day-Hour on the compliance statement is no big deal.

It would be nice to see pics of the fender tag and the door sticker.
Beat me by a millisecond. :lol:
 
So, we have the date on the dealer's order sheet, which was then submitted to Chrysler for processing (sent electronically, by USPS, or carried by the zone sales rep?). Once received by the Chrysler operatives, there would be that processing date, and then the date the plant received the build order. From there, when the selling dealer's allocation came up, the build order was put into the "screw it together" production que, provided that all parts/components were on hand for all of that to happen, at that time.

NOW, check the casting date on the side of the block and also the build date stamping on the block, too. Similar on the trans and possibly on the rear axle assy?

Enjoy!
CBODY67
 
Remember the MDH (month-day-hour) is (example) 051010 - May 10th, and the tenth hour of builds that day, not 10am.
 
Ah. Now it all makes sense. Just for the curious, here are the fender and door tags

1976 NYB door tag.JPG


1976 NYB fender tag.jpg
 
At least yours was in the same month. Further evidence cars were not 'built on', 'born on', or 'made on' the SPD.

190725858_10159584116611085_1922552055625728100_n.jpg
192744486_10159584119456085_5795268951859722694_n.jpg
 
May 10th, and the tenth hour of builds that day, not 10am.

Could you please back that up with some documentation? Going by the latter C-body years, the hour in the MDH sequence really stands for the hour indicated by the clock in the entrance hall of Michigan Central Station. For instance, on 1978 door stickers (35 of them) I don't get a single MDH with an hour indication in the 01-05 range.
 
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Which leaves the attentive reader wondering how those 35 MDHs for 1978 are split up hour-wise:

00: 1x
06: 2x
07: 1x
08: 1x
09: 2x
10: 6x
11: 8x
12: 3x
13: 7x
14: 4x

The single 00 value doesn't square with either theory, so I assume that's an error.

The remaining 34 MDHs are consistent with a Jefferson East one-shift operation that ran from 6 AM to 3 PM: 9 working hours with some spare time for lunch.
 
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