I have decoded my cowl tag on my 1969 coupe, but I still have a few questions. Here is the tag:



First, does it look authentic? I've read a lot about fake tags.

Second, the date code is 08E, meaning 5th week of Aug during the 1969 model year. BUT my research shows that the 1969 model year lasted from Aug 1968 to Dec 1969, so the aug date code was used twice. What year is the trim tag from? The body number seems low, but I read that they reset them in mid 1969. The VIN number is very low (let's just say within the first 1500 units from that factory). Could this be a very early 1969 car made in Aug 1968? Does anyone know when production actually started in 1968 for the 1969 model year?

Thanks in advance.

 

As I understand it the vin tells you exactly when it was done.. Ignore the cowl tag as primary information and check the VIN.
1969 Mode l LOS Angels Norwood
Month Last vin units End Vin total End Vin total
Sep-68 4825 4825 9L502310 2310 9N512133 12133
Oct-68 13440 8615 9L506631 4321 9N530337 18204
Nov-68 21359 7919 9L510583 3952 9N551862 21525
Dec-68 27840 6481 9L513816 3233 9N569987 18125
Jan-69 32566 4726 9L520247 6431 9N589720 19733
Feb-69 37310 4744 9L525388 5141 9N607164 17444
Mar-69 45956 8646 9L528108 2720 9N623587 16423
Apr-69 54708 8752 9L530155 2047 9N637106 13519
May-69 54708 0 9L530155 0 9N650323 13217
Jun-69 58446 3738 9L531026 871 9N664008 13685
Jul-69 59028 582 9L531163 137 9N669119 5111
Aug-69 0 0 0 0 9N678253 9134
Sep-69 0 0 0 0 9N692607 14354
Oct-69 0 0 0 0 9N707932 15325
Nov-69 0 0 0 0 9N711922 3990


It actually shows no actual production in Aug 1968 for model year 1969.. The vin number where there are duplicate months Chevrolet rolled the vin over to indicate a 7 instead of a 6 in the vin number.... Only Norwood built cars beyond the cut off for the 69 model Aug 1969 and Los was setup for the 1970 model during this break..
To answer your question it is more than likely a Aug 1969 production car...

 

Thanks for the reply. The VIN is 124379N50XXXX, where XXXX is less than 1500. From the chart, wouldnt that make it a Sept 68 car? Which digit in the VIN changed from a 6 to 7? If you are referring to the 8th digit, mine is a 5.

 

Sheet metal screw on the right, and what looks like a conventional style pop rivet on the left, your trim tag has been removed/tampered with.
1969 production began late in August 1968, the car was released in September, hence your confusion. This chart makes it easier to follow month to month production numbers: VIN Dates
Some sources don't show the August numbers (only 2,999), others do. With the VIN starting at 500001, your low number (within the first 1,500) means it was a very early production car. To add more confusion, the trim tag was attached when the body was started being built, not later when the car was being assembled. Body build would have been a few days before final production of the car. So the cowl tag shows body build date, not car assembly date.
To your reset the numbers point, yes due to the production overrun, the body numbers (NOT VIN) were reset to 100000 in August 1969 for the Norwood plant. No more production at the Van Nuys plant. The body number on the cowl tag and the VIN have nothing to do with each other.
With all that said, it's quite likely your trim tag is right, but was removed for restoration purposes. If there's nothing special about your model, trim tag fraud isn't as likely a scenario.

 

I would guess with your VIN number it is a body produced the 5th week of Aug 1968 and most likely assembled in September of 1968. A low body number and low vin don't tell much just one of the early production. The screw and wrong rivet indicate removal and I agree that's probably the right cowl tag just been removed. it also has no X11 or other code which is correct for early production 69 model year. The problem with it is nobody can say for sure accept it has been altered. The vin numbers in the 8th position tell you early to second time around by the 5 or 6 or 7. The production over run did happen and Chevrolet and Fisher designated the second time for that month by changing the5 to a 6 to a 7...

 

The tag is 'REAL', but may have been removed or might be from a different car.

 

I was working with a client interested in buying a 69 Camaro. He backed out of the purchase because the trim tag had been removed. The thing is, the car wasn't a Z28 or an SS...it was a resto-mod Camaro! I tried to explain to him, we're not trying to authenticate that it's a Camaro, we can tell that by looking at it!

 

Thanks for the replies everyone, you have confirmed my suspicions about the build date. I think it's cool that it's that early in the production, even if it doesnt add any value or anything to the car.