Production serial numbers/build locations?

[ChevLoRay]

My '69 was built in St. Louis. The sequence number, if production starts at 100001, would indicate that over 700000 trucks were built at St. Louis before mine was built. Does that sound right to you?

I am wondering if each plant had a sequence number starting point? Anybody know the answer?

[Hutch]

I think that they all started the same.
My understanding is that 100001 was the fist built and 100002 was the second unit built.
They run consecutively
70,000 sound right
700,000 not sure

I can see where you question is coming from but I am not sure of the correct answer.
I just always took for granted that they were built one after another.
It may not reflect the actual date that it was built but more the number that was assigned to it

[ChevLoRay]

My "Standard Catalog of Chevrolet Trucks" says that a total of 268,233 long bed C-10's were built. This is the single-largest number of any body style built. My SWB Fleet is one of 54,211. Even if ALL of the C-10 thru C-30's were built in St. Louis, there wasn't anywhere near 700,000+ built.

The book lists a total of 633,733 trucks built in '69, which is everything from G-series, C-series, K-series and P-series, 1/2-ton thru 1-ton. There is no way that ALL of them were built at St. Louis. So, maybe there is a way to look at the serial numbers/VIN's and compare the numbers to the plant. So, if St. Louis all had sequences from 700001 and up, what did the others start with? So, here are the plants:
A - Atlanta
B - Baltimore
F - Flint
Z - Fremont
J - Janesville
N - Norwood
P - Pontiac
S - St. Louis
T - Tarrytown
1 - Oshawa (it's a 1, not an I)

For the years 60-66, the statement in my '69 Dealer Data Book says, "Unit Number - begins at 100,001 at each assembly plant regardless of truck series." If St. Louis built in excess of 700,000 trucks at that location in '69, how many were built at the others?

Bottom line: How many millions of '69 trucks were built???

[Rod]

The Chev assembly manual lists starting numbers at 100001 regardless of plant also for 1969.
It also lists GMC start at 50001 at each assembly plant in 1970.

I'm not sure what your vin is... does it really have number above 700000 at the end.

[ChevLoRay]

Specifically, ...812417. This insinuates that my truck was the 712,417th vehicle built at St. Louis, in '69. Does anyone wanna believe that St. Louis built nearly 3/4 of a million vehicles in '69? Did anyone on the "board" work for GM, during '69, and if so, do you know how many vehicles Chevrolet built? I was in Taiwan for the first half of the year and in VietNam the last of the year. So, I am in the dark for the year '69....short of the moon landing. Very little of the year has any significance beyond my truck being produced and my extended "senior trips" half-way around the world.

P.S. If we assume that St. Louis had 330 days of production, out of 365 days/year, they would have built nearly 2200 vehicles per day! That would be about 91 per hour. Is it possible? Henry Ford would be proud to know that his mechanized assembly line process turned out so well.

[Rod]

Post or PM the whole Vin... I wanna check it all out. It is a Chev aint it ... or GMC? I see the C10 in your sig.

[ChevLoRay]

Rod....Here's the complete VIN. CE149S812417. My son's '69, also built in St. Louis, was similar, except for the last five digits. I sold it last year, and I don't have the VIN handy, at the moment.

[ChevLoRay]

My son's 69, was also built in St. Louis. Here is the complete VIN: CE149S867820. So, check your trucks. Where were they built and what is the first digit of the last 6 digits in your VIN?

[nightmare]

mine is a 69 and has a J in there, so Janesville. But it also has an 8 for the first digit of that last 6. weird.

i've got a 70 from Janesville also, but is has a 1 on the first of the last 6 and a 71 from Freemont, Z, that has a 6 for the first digit of the last 6 digits.

has anyone thought of this? maybe they are production time frames. you know like, they took the calendar year and split it up into different sections. like january through february 15 would be a code of 1 with the possibilty of making 99,999 trucks. february 16 through march 31 would be 2 with the possibility of making 99,999 trucks and so on. or even destination region codes. i mean, i bought the 69 in texas, the 70 from colorado, and the 71 from new mexico. just a thought.