I have discovered the ID plate @ the driver's door jamb is missing. Probably long gone (likely remained attached to the original left rear fender when it was replaced in late '80s when all fenders were replaced and rust issues addressed. Yes, this has been a long & delayed project). Do have the original VIN plate located on the pass. side strut tower in the engine compartment. Have found some online sources for a new jamb plate but need to confirm '72 "birth month". I looked at Z Car Registry on the Internet Z Car Club site, my VIN falls btwn 66605 & 67382 which according to the Registry were built 02/72. So I'm guessing mine was 02/72 as well, anyway to confirm? Has anyone had their jamb ID plate "re-created" & if so will sources stamp the appropriate VIN & build date numbers? Any pros/cons on sources for this?

In advance, Thanks
Chris

Hi Chris ~ very glad you finally said something in here!

We consider Carl Beck and his resources to be the Guru of dating our Z cars. If his charts say your VIN falls into Feb72, it's very probably true.

HOWEVER ~ we have witnessed exceptions. The door jamb 'build plate' shows the month the car was RELEASED from the factory, after passing Quality Assurance inspections. In most cases that would correspond with the production date of the sequential VIN, but not always.

The QA inspections were apparently very strict (a good thing!) and any car with a defective 'widget' got returned to that particular 'widget shop' for correction. If that was a speedy process, the car made its way back to QA inspection *maybe* in time to be shipped with its VIN brothers.

BUT ~ if it took awhile to correct the defective widget, the car might have been delayed for many months. We in fact have a car in our Club with a VIN which places it squarely in mid-June 1970. But the build plate shows the car was released very late in 1971 ~ and it was titled as a 1972 model So things *could* have happened which might have delayed your car from leaving the factory 'on time'.

Unless you have some original paperwork which indicates something strange, you can pretty much count on Carl's stats to indicate your production date. If you contact him directly (and he's a member here), Carl is sometimes able to pinpoint the production of your Z down to the actual WEEK it was produced.

That data plate on the passenger side fenderwall is held on by screws rather than by rivets. I've never actually known any cases of anyone swapping them around, but Ive always been cautious to compare the numbers listed on it to the numbers of the car it appears on. The engine block number is very visible (near the motor mount) to be quickly compared with that data plate. The car's original VIN is pressed into the driver's side firewall, near the MasterVac brake booster. You can compare that to the VIN plate appearing on the dashboard ahead of the driver.

I've heard of some restoration firms who can re-create doorjamb build plates. Somebody in here surely has an address for them.......?

Frank T

_________________
1970 240Z

There are 5 data numbers to be concerned with on a 240Z:
1. Door jamb plate with chassis number and month/year of manufacture - riveted.
2. Left side of dashboard with the chassis number - riveted.
3. Engine bay data plate on right strut tower with chassis number and engine number - screws.
4. Engraved chassis number on firewall above the brake booster.
5. Right side rear of engine block, 2 pads with engraved "L24" and then engine number. This should match the engine bay plate if the engine is original.

The best place to get new reproduction data plates is from Mike McGuinness of Banzai Motorworks: http://zzxdatsun.com/ . Check out his website, it's a must for any restoration.

You can get any die stamping kit at most hardware stores, Harbor Freight, Home Depot, etc. Simply tap the correct numbers onto the plate.

_________________
John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

I hope that I might be of some assistance. In my records, I have
compiled the following from the VIN numbers I am aware of:

65659 is latest 1/72
66034 is earliest 2/72.....gap of 375 unaccounted for.
70494 is latest 2/72
70075 is earliest 3/72.....suggests 70494 (and possibly others) to
be one of those QC aberrations which Frank addressed above.

_________________
All Z Best,.......Kathy & Rick

1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)

Thanks all. Mine is 67322

Chris