Doug,
Since all my commission plates are still in boxes (except for the one on
My Mk1, which has no date), I can't tell by looking what date you are
describing. My question is, "Is this date actually stamped onto the
plate, or is it printed onto the plate?" It seems to me that certain
date information was printed and refers to safety requirements in effect
at the time of manufacture.
The build information I have on the Spit 1500 (US versions) is:
First car in 73- FM3033
First cat in 74- FM12217
Doing some quick math, it appears that fewer than 1000 US Spec cars were
made each month, so the 4723 and 4879 cars might actually have been
built in April. But it is highly unlikely that the 11191 car was, since
by its number must have been built late that year.
Another possibility is that Triumph pre stamped the dates and commission
numbers on the plates and added the paint and trim codes later.
Joe
Doug Mitchell wrote:
>
> Spitted Ones and John,
>
> After discussions here the last few days about commission
> numbers and build dates, I have started wondering whether
> or not the date stamped on the plate has any correlation
> to the real build date.
>
> Some examples:
> My Spit is FM4879U and is stamped April 1973.
> Walt Fogle's Spit is FM4723U and is stamped April 1973.
> Steve Yemo's Spit is FM11191U and is stamped April 1973.
> Steve's TR250 is 6826L and is stamped April 1968.
>
> Did BL just pre-stamp a number of plates with April 19XX
> and throw them on the car? Was there some reason for BL
> to have done this? Safety/emission/? certifications?
>
> I know, I know, I should get the build certificate from
> Gaydon, but that would only answer the question on my
> car.
>
> Inquiring minds want to know.
>
> Cheers,
>
> --
> Doug Mitchell
> dmitchel@ford.com
> '73 Spitfire 1500
--
"If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort."
-- Dave Weinbaum in National Enquirer
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