1970 Chevelle Fisher Body Number Plate General Information

• It is a proven fact that for 1970 the series/model designation is a trim level and not an indication of the engine type installed in the vehicle as Fisher Body didn't care what engine type was to be installed.

• 1970 continued the Concours Estate wagon the 13836/46 series designation as well as the newly introduced Monte Carlo 2-door sport coupe with series designation 13857.

• The SS Equipment option package (RPO Z25) was dropped from the 300 Deluxe (aka, Standard) series 2-door hardtop & 2-door sedan and was limited to the Malibu series 2-door hardtop, convertible, and sedan pickup. Although there are theories about certain letters appearing on certain final assembly plant body number plates indicating the SS option was installed on the car, there is NO PROOF in the form of GM documentation. The Monte Carlo only offered the SS454 package (RPO Z20) with the 454 engine.
  * Strong evidence, yes.
  * Proof, no.

• Indications are the body numbers are sequential for the particular series/model per plant at some plants but not all. Baltimore, for example, showed a data processing number from block #24 on the trim tag and not the body number from the build sheet.

• Numbers in parentheses after the STYLE are number of units produced and are for total production of the series/model depicted on the body plate except where noted. Unless otherwise noted, this production number assumes the trim tag STYLE to match the VIN series/model number. This is not always the case as noted in the first bulleted item.

• A popular publication states, "On all 1965 through 1971 trim tags, the engine identification portion of the model identification number always indicates a V-8 engine. No 6-cylinder engine identification numbers are stamped on any trim tag." This is an incorrect statement for not only 1965 through 1971 but includes 1972 as well. There are numerous examples of trim tags with an odd 3rd-digit style on this web site.

• Atlanta, Flint & Van Nuys continued their trim tag physical size of 1 3/4" x 4" compared to 2 3/16" x 3 1/2" of Arlington, Baltimore, Kansas City & Oshawa. This size change also affected the text along the bottom half of the tag to be printed on 5 lines instead of 4.

• Links to Fisher Body Number Plates (a.k.a., trim tag, cowl tag, firewall tag, etc.)

• A ~ Atlanta, Georgia
  
  Click tag to see more Atlanta examples...
  • Assembly month padded with leading zero where applicable.
  • Almost all have a hand-stamped number visible. This is an Final inspection stamp indicating the vehicle was ready for shipment.
  • Two pair of 6-digit numbers are found on the last line. These are data processing tracking numbers and have no significance today. The first 6-digit group and the last 4 digits of the second 6-digit group are found on the build sheet in block 24. The first 2 digits of the second 6-digit group are found on the build sheet in block 10. Matching the Fisher Body plate to the build sheet for an Atlanta Chevelle is shown here.
    
• B ~ Baltimore, Maryland ~ El Camino
   
  Click either tag for more Baltimore examples...
  • Assembly month padded with leading zero where applicable
  • All examples of 2-door sport coupes (37), 2-door convertibles (67), and sedan pickups (80) have either the letter "B", the letters "B" and "D", or the letters "B" and "L" following the assembly date. The meaning of these letters is not known. It is suspected the "B" is for SS cars but not confirmed.
  • Numbers following plant designation code (B for Baltimore) are not the body number shown on the build sheet (in this case BB00292) but rather the first 6-digit number from block 24.
  • The 4-digit number at the bottom right is a data processing tracking number and has no significance today. This number is found in block 24 of the build sheet.
    
• BL ~ Los Angeles (Van Nuys), California ~ El Camino
   
  Click either tag for more Van Nuys examples...
  • Assembly month not padded with leading zero where applicable.
  • Two pair of 6-digit numbers are found on the last line. These are data processing tracking numbers and have no significance today. The first 6-digit group and the last 4 digits of the second 6-digit group are found on the build sheet in block 24. The first 2 digits of the second 6-digit group are found on the build sheet in block 10.
  • Special paint trim tags show DuPont mixing formula such as 926-99616.
• BT ~ Arlington, Texas
  
  Click tag for more Arlington examples...
  • Assembly month padded with leading zero where applicable.
  • Three digit number after assembly date is a data processing tracking number and has no significance today. The number is found in block 10 of the build sheet.
• FL2 ~ Flint, Michigan
  
  Click tag for more Flint examples...
  • Assembly month padded with leading zero where applicable.
  • No data processing numbers other than the body identification is found on Flint body plates.
• KAN ~ Kansas City, Missouri ~ El Camino
   
  Click either tag for more Kansas City examples...
  • Assembly month padded with leading zero where applicable.
  • A 5-digit number follows the assembly date. This is a data processing tracking number and has no significance today.
  • Controversy continues over the letter "L" that appears after the data processing number. Of the examples I have, the letter "L" appears on every known SS-optioned Chevelle Malibu and does not appear on Chevelle Malibus known NOT to be SS-optioned. Other Chevelle owners have stated they have seen the "L" on other known non SS-optioned Chevelles and not just the Malibu series. Other body plates are displayed with the letter "Z" or no letter at all.
  • To continue with this, it appears that sometime around late March, early April, Kansas City began including "B" or "W" when applicable to indicate black or white hood & deck stripes. If you have access to a late March, early April or later Chevelle with "B" or "W" on the trim tag and can document via build sheet that it does indeed have black or white stripes, please contact me at dalem@chevellestuff.com with particulars.
  • Conversely, if you have access to a late March, early April or later Chevelle that has "B" or "W" on the trim tag but build sheet does NOT show hood & deck stripes or vise versa, no "B" or "W" on trim tag but build sheet does show hood & deck stripes, I'd be very interested in those cases as well.
• OS ~ Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
  
  Click tag for more Oshawa examples...
  • Assembly month NOT padded with leading zero where applicable.
  • Paint color names differ from U.S.-built paint color names. Canadian color name is listed with U.S.-built color name in parentheses.
  • Some RPO codes are listed on the body plate making it easy to identify an SS-optioned Malibu built in Oshawa.

Just for fun, here's a trim tag for a full size Chevrolet convertible from Tarrytown, N.Y. Information is generally the same as found on 1970 Chevelle trim tags. Fisher Body style number 16467, TA to identify assembly plant (and the only year TA was used for Tarrytown), Fisher Body unit number 02525, interior trim color/material identification (806 is black coated fabric bench seat), paint code of 25 B noting Astro Blue with black convertible top, body date of 05D for May, 4th week, then alphanumeric tracking codes used at Tarrytown.