How many of you have had a TH400 id tag reproduced? The blank tag can be purchased from SS396.com. Did you find anybody that can stamp them and screen the code correctly? I have been back and fourth over the past few months trying to get this done.
I was finally able to have a phone conversation with the company I sent the blank tag to today. For what I'm getting charged it MUST be perfect. Update will follow when I get the tag back.
I was very happy with the quality of the engraving that my local place did for me. It very closely matches my original tag. I think it cost me about $25. Is your more than that? They even engraved a sample first for my approval before engraving my reproduction plate. I'm still searching for the photos.
The price quote I got was 12x that number. It would be great to see photos. I am expecting the one I get to be an exact replica of an original tag. The phone conversation I had months ago was very different than the one I had on Tuesday. It was almost like two totally different people and businesses. At this point I need the tag by July 1st. They have had the tag since February. If I hadn't checked in and been resolute in what I expect it might still be sitting on the desk gathering dust of getting other stuff piled on it.
Found the photos of the transmission tag for my ‘69 GTO. My original tag was bead blasted when I was 15-years-old and I didn’t know that I would regret it. The blank plate was the sample they made for me to approve before engraving my reproduction tag. The placement of the 69 and 26423 were not exactly the same as the original but I let it slide. Overall I’m very satisfied and like having a tag with paint on it that looks new instead of my poor condition original. I may be mistaken about the exact cost since I don’t have the receipt handy but the engraving wasn’t crazy expensive considering the time the guy put into it. Good luck with yours.
Thanks for the pictures. The PX is not on the plate I got from SS396. It is the correct '71 blue and has to have the BB and the other numbers stamped into it. It's ironic, that the transmission in the car currently is PX TH400. It took 5 years to find a BB code transmission core to build. The outside looked fine, except for a few missing items ( tag, vent tube, extension housing, torque converter, etc) but internally it spent time at the bottom of a lake or something. I know that the value of the car will be worth a lot more with a correct code transmission behind the original engine and in front of the original axle. Given the car is the one-of-one '71 Stage 1 convertible in Flame Orange. The car is owned by a member here on the board. He and I have become friends over the years since his purchase of the car. The car has a history that we are continually researching to get it as complete as possible.
I saw a '71 Stage 1 convertible at the GS Nats years ago that was special ordered with orange paint so it must be the same car as I can't imagine that there were two made that way. PX is the code for a '69 Pontiac GTO TH400 and it's a funny coincidence that the '71 Buick you are dealing with has one as well. This '69 GTO chassis pictured above is my very first car which I obtained at age 15 for free (+ a $20 tow bill) and thankfully it had the original drivetrain in place. Based on your description I assume the reproduction tag you have looks like this photo below without the two large letters. I'm not aware of anyone that has reproduced the blue '71 tag with the BB code on it so that is probably your only option at this point. Someone has reproduced the '71 OW tag which is for the Olds W30 and some '71 Buick Stage 1 cars. The '70 "BB" transmission tag has been reproduced and it does has the BB code on it but they are still not made correctly as you can see in this comparison below. The replacement tags do not have the upper blank area where the date code is stamped. FYI in these examples above, 293 is 293rd day of 1969 and 377 is the 377th day from Jan 1st, 1969 (12th day of 1970). The numbers in the lower right corner are the transmission serial number but it has no correlation the VIN of the car.
So you've seen the car. There is a gap in the cars history from about 1974 until about 1988. During that time it was changed significantly to be a car show car at what I can only guess was "World of Wheels" events in the mid-west. And it is my theory that it is in that era when the original transmission was removed and the PX installed in it's place. The car got a candy paint job, red shag carpet, different interior panels and coverings, a lot of electrical butchery for a stereo and hood tach and a few things. After 1988 it was repainted Orange, had a Chevy interior put in and the stereo removed. What happened to some of the other 71 specific items like the wheels is a mystery as well. I found a few pieces of paper that verify specific moment in the cars history but haven't found the build sheet or any portion of it. I haven't dropped the gas tank and removed the sound deadening that is on it to see if it might be there. I've been thru the rest of the car. And I looked a long time to try and find a tag like the 1970 ones in the pictures. The 71 tag is simply just different enough that it's not reproduced. Like a lot of '71 only things. The date coding of these is interesting in that it doesn't follow the car, but has a manufacture date and a specific transmission serial number but not a VIN. I suppose that is because the transmission was built separate from the car and then installed by code into the proper vehicle as needed on the production line. IIRC, the SN on the engine block is stamped at the assembly plant at whatever station before the brackets are put on and the drivetrain is put into the chassis. Adding one more step would have cost time and money.
