Thanks for all the help Guys. The rear end code is LW no B is visible and the date is 257 2. What is cool is that the rear end has never been cleaned off. I had to scrape all the crud off it. Finding the date code which matched the POP was a nice treat.
Nice car, looks like a bittersweet mist color code with white top. There are some stumpers on it. The protecto plate shows the OW trans and the TS block so the RS is a mystery? Maybe the stamper had a rough night?? The LW is correct for a 3.42 posi but most cars had the B also in 71. Maybe the stamper just fogot it? No other LW available that year. The "2" way over is 2nd shift I believe. You radiator sticker has to be original as stated above as it is too beat up to be one of my repros which I just had made. Mine are very close however. The repro sold by all the other sources does not look anything like the originals. Check out my post under Chassis restoration. How abotu some pictures of the car? Where id you find it?
Does anyone have a pic of the LWB code on a rear in the same timeline? The POP is stamped LWB and has the coresponding date code Thanks again for the info. Good info about the sticker. It does look like it has been on there forever. I believe the car belonged to a Member here. Four prior owners, which we are aware of until us.
My axle was built in late March. My car is on jackstands so I will try and get a picture and post it.
I understand the frustration of finding the stampings on various parts for ideatification. I couldn't really see the ones on my LWB until I actually sand blasted it along with a lot of other parts. I know it isn't practicle to do when the car is assembled. And as for the dates of manufacture; my car was built the third week of August 1970 and most of the date code correct parts on it are from July 1970 or August 1970. I was wondering if you have spent time with Marco at the Registry as well? By my count there are now 17 surviving verified 71 stage 1 Convertibles.
Hi Erik Stephano registered this car :beer I *think* you may have a couple to register :Brow: Everyone wants to know the numbers of the survivors, which is where I need to owners help. Thanks!
Early cars can only have early build dates as the changeover took place in the summer for most parts except maybe things like voltage regulators that were used for many years. The later a car gets the more there is a chance of something being stretched out. My ar is late March and the original frame is from 8/70. Just my thoughts.
Marco, Good to hear from you. There have been a couple of cars come out of the woodwork in the past few months. One was a car that was rumored to be in eastern colorado and is showed up for sale in hemmings in April. The cars was sold to it's new owner who lives in the Kansas City area. I have his name and the VIN for the car but nothing else so far. There is also the rumor of one lurking in either Montana or Alberta. I think this is the one that sold on ebay a couple of years ago but I'm not sure. What about the Kleiner resto car with the poverty caps etc? Is that a 70?o No:
You now have lots more info on that Stage 1. Here is the Third owner buying the Stage 1 back in the early 1980s from the second owner. The car was a personal Driver for the Dealer Principal of a Buick Dealership. It had approx 80,000 plus miles back then.
There is one here in Saint John. Currently dis-assembled. I tried to buy it a few years ago & had GM Canada verify the car for me. Heard a rumor about a month ago it might be coming up for sale but so far quiet.
Eric, Since people have seen the axle tube stamping both ways LW and LWB. I was wondering if it was a time line issue. Such as, if the axle were stamped in the First 365 days it would be LW and thereafter LWB. Just a thought? I take it that no one has seen another "R S" Engine Coded 1971 Stage? Thanks again for all the Help.
I haven't. What is the block casting number (top of the bell housing, behind the intake manifold)? PS - beautiful car! :beer
Thanks, The block is a 1231738 casting number with 455 cast next to it. Even the date code on the deck "72" matches the POP.
I have seen this scenario before... The first 'T' (representing model year 1971 engines) is probably hidden under the head (or somewhere out of sight) The lineworker probably assembled the motor and stamped the 'R', meaning a motor code of 'TR'. They realized the mistake as they actually assembled a stage1 engine, and just put an 'S' after the 'R'. I'll guess the entire motor code on your engine is 'TRS', with only the 'RS' showing to the plain eye. I have pictures of a documented 1970 stage1 (very early car) with a 'SRS' engine code (when looking at the bare block).
Stefano, my Stage-1 is a Flint Built car as were all 71 Stages. Fisher build date is 5th week March so it probably rolled down Buick line early April. My rear code is very close to build date. Thursday, March 24, 1971.
Funny how they stamped the blocks. Those letters could be all over the place. Mine are a bit apart also but both visible. That is a pretty interesting idea Marco gave. Taking off the heads soon?
