vehicle build date question

[plr1112]

This is helping me tremendously! Mine is a Fremont CA truck. also, my vin serial number is 3,860 more than yours. FirstOwner69, did you say your built date was dec. 12 or dec.13? That means if I can find out how many were produced a day at the Fremont Plant in 1969 then I could determine the production date of my truck. Ironically, my truck is also a CST and I also do not have a headliner or cargo light. So that narrows my production date to Dec. 13 to two weeks after that roughly dec. 27. FirstOwner69 is your truck a big block truck? your engine date and truck date are closer apart than mine. My truck is a big block truck which is pretty rare so perhaps that is why there's a bigger gap between my engine date and truck date.

My dates are as follows:
engine- Nov. 20
rear end- Nov. 29
Transmission- Nov. 30

[FirstOwner69]

Mine is a small block (350) 3/4 ton. I added a few words to my post above to clarify that the 12th or 13th was the date I recall them saying my truck was built, not the date when they added options to the CSTs. My guess is that yours was built about a week after mine based on this article estimating 25 trucks built per hour.
http://www.ultra-high-compression.com/fremont-tour.html (originally posted by SSTim)

Are your side markers lighted? Are they the non-deluxe versions?

Here's a link to another '69 Fremont CST that was just posted on the Craigslist finds thread that was built 5144 before mine that also lacks the later CST options. Doesn't help with build date though.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...postcount=4335
https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/...585642903.html

[plr1112]

It didn’t have originals, but I think they’re non deluxe. And apparently they’re not lighted. I though 1968 had markers that were not lighted? When I first saw there was no wiring for the side markers I thought the harness was not original.

[FirstOwner69]

Early '69s were not lighted.

[plr1112]

thanks.

I'm stumped again with trying to figure out if I had the deluxe side markers. The truck has non deluxe dated 1968 on their, but when I purchased the truck it came with a box of miscellaneous parts and there was two red deluxe marker lights that are dated 1969, but they have the hole for a light bulb, not the non hole reflector. Plus the clear grille lights are 1969, the brake and reverse are 1967. Could you please check and let me know if your light lenses are all 1969 and if your side markers have the hole for a bulb or if they are just reflectors.


Thanks.

[FirstOwner69]

Your dates are all fine. The dates on lenses do not indicate the date of manufacture. I believe the dates are the year the lenses were first approved for use by SAE, the DOT or some other government agency. That usually (always?) coincides with the model year first used.

There were 2 slightly different backup light lenses used between 1967 and 1972. The first type used before 1971 (1970?) had a bullseye molded into the lenses in front of the bulb socket. That was eventually eliminated. I would bet the year molded into the lenses also advanced when that change as made. So, your truck should have bullseye backup light lenses. I believe all years had bullseye taillight lenses.

Side markers were initially mandated for 1968 vehicles, and they could be lights or reflectors or both. Effective Jan. 1, 1970, they had to be lighted with reflectors. Most manufacturers converted before that date. That said, your truck would have had the standard non-lighted reflector lens without a provision for a bulb as verified by the fact that your truck has no wiring for bulbs. Deluxe markers were introduced during 1969. I've never seen any non-lighted deluxe marker lights. Initially, the front lighted markers did not flash with the turn signals. Sometime before the end of 1972 they were wired to flash. I have converted my truck to the deluxe lighted side markers using wiring that I salvaged from a 1970 at the local junkyard.

Here's a picture of the back of one of my original markers.