Should I call my GMC K1000 Suburban a 1961 or 1962?

[Ledslinger]

I bought my GMC K1000 Suburban on a silent auction from the University of Missouri Geology Department in 1978. They put University plates on it and never titled it. They went through the procurement process in the summer of 1961, assumed it would be a 1961 model and took delivery in the fall of 1961. To all involved, it was a 1961 model and that's what is on all paperwork.

I ran the serial number through a decoder, and it turns out it was apparently around the 37th 1962 built at the GMC plant in Pontiac, Michigan. I would suspect that would be on the first day of 1962 production, but maybe the first day of model changeover doesn't produce many.

When I bought it while attending their field camp in Lander, Wyoming, the auction was described as "As is, where is" I drove my 1963 Chevy Nova to field camp, planned on renting a tow bar and dragging back with the Suburban. Since they didn't want me to be driving University property and couldn't find the title to transfer it to me, they hauled it back to Columbia, Missouri where I lived.

I have the affidavit they submitted to the Missouri Department of Revenue to procure what I assume was it's first title in 1978. One of the partys on the affidavit was the Geology Department head who managed procurement in 1961. The state appears to have believed everything the university submitted, never verified the model year, and produced a 1961 title.

Is it probable that the 37th vehicle produced in a model year would be on the first day of production? Of course I call it whatever I want, should I call it a 1961 as all paperwork shows, or a 1962 by its real production year?

[Keith Seymore]

Does it have a VIN?

What does the VIN decode to?

Sounds like a '62 based on what you are saying. A non automotive person at a University might not have been fully up to speed on the whole model year vs calendar year cadence like we are, and which still causes confusion.

I wouldn't put a lot of effort into the whole "1st day of production, 2nd day of production" thing. The first builds in the model year start out slow, maybe even one or two on the first day, and then ramp up to full production over a period determined by the program team. It varies for every program for every plant for every model year, based on complexity of the change, line rate, number of production shifts, etc.

There's really no way to know unless you happened to be standing right there.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Also - the sequential portion of the VIN does not necessarily translate into the order it was built.

Most plants have the ability to shuffle the order between body shop and paint, and then again between paint and trim, in order to level the downstream workload (ie, can't have too many manuals in a row, can't have too many A/C units in a row, can't have too many multiple carb vehicles in a row, etc) or to accommodate part shortages or more involved repairs.

Some plants run multiple nameplates, with differing starting points based on the product (ie, Chevy start with 100001, GMC starts with 500001, Cadillac starts with 600001) or even engine descriptors (ie, V8's start with 100001, 6 cylinders start with 600001). In my day every ninth vehicle was a GMC so yours could potentially have a couple hundred Chevy's built before the 37th-ish GMC.

All of this confuses what you are trying to do; the number you really want is the General Assembly sequence number which is, sadly, not normally readily available*.

Nobody cares about the VIN in the assembly plant. It's just another part to make sure gets on the correct vehicle in the correct manner. The GA sequence number is the gold source in terms of vehicle identification.

K

*You could look for a build sheet in the vehicle. In the seat cushions, under the carpet/flooring, inside the doors, behind any instrument panel trim or headliner are all fertile ground. The GA sequence would likely appear somewhere on the build sheet.