Hello! I go by the handle Galahad144 and thank you for the approval to join from the Niagara region of Ontario Canada.
I recently picked up a 1966 Beaumont Sport Deluxe 2 dr hardtop that is supposedly 1 of 845 2 dr hardtop sport deluxe cars built for 1966.
The supposedly original 396 is gone and replaced with a 454 from 1973 that has been rebuilt into a stout 468 backed by the original TH350 3 speed auto and the supposedly original 12 bolt replaced with a mopar 8 3/4 with 4.11's and suregrip
I'm having some issue finding a way to decode 1966 numbers and was hoping someone here could be of assistance.
V.I.N. 673617012771
Cowl tag numbers
STYLE 73617 2-6-246
BODY NO. 842838
PAINT N
TRIM 385
A51M35
If anyone could help me what the numbers mean and how to go through the decoding process I would very much appreciate it.
To add to what the others have said, 6 is 1966, 736 is a Beaumont V8, 17 is a 2 door hardtop, O is Oshawa, 12771 is the sequential number for production. The 2-6-246 baffles me. 2 is the second shift at the factory, 6 is the month (June) but the 246 makes no sense. If it was 24 it would mean June 24th but I can't figure out 246. 842838 you know is body number. N paint is Maroon (I don't know the actual name for it) 385 trim is red bucket seat interior, A51 is the Sports Equipment option (Sport Deluxe) and M35 is Powerglide.
A51 in 1966 and in early 1967 (up to about the start of Dec 1966 production) got you a Sport Deluxe. After that A51 became the option code for bucket seats and Sport Deluxe was a model, not an option.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
To add to what the others have said, 6 is 1966, 736 is a Beaumont V8, 17 is a 2 door hardtop, O is Oshawa, 12771 is the sequential number for production. The 2-6-246 baffles me. 2 is the second shift at the factory, 6 is the month (June) but the 246 makes no sense. If it was 24 it would mean June 24th but I can't figure out 246. 842838 you know is body number. N paint is Maroon (I don't know the actual name for it) 385 trim is red bucket seat interior, A51 is the Sports Equipment option (Sport Deluxe) and M35 is Powerglide.
A51 in 1966 and in early 1967 (up to about the start of Dec 1966 production) got you a Sport Deluxe. After that A51 became the option code for bucket seats and Sport Deluxe was a model, not an option.
Thank you. This is a huge sigh of relief. Is there anyway to know if it is an original big block car?
I have been debating on many colours to paint it. I didn't even know it was maroon until I read the comments now. Knowing the original colour has thrown a curveball in the decision making.
As Carl mentioned above your best way to verify the car is to contact Vintage Vehicle Services. For a fee they will pull the GM Docs on your car and provide you with a report on when the car was built,
shipping date, dealer that sold the car new and all the options your car had. They will also provide production numbers. Well worth the price.
Thank you. This is a huge sigh of relief. Is there anyway to know if it is an original big block car?
The only way to know 100% for sure is to contact GM Vintage Vehicle services and get the documentation for it. Any other way would not be secure.
A couple of questions-
Does it have a 3/8" diameter fuel line from the tank to the fuel pump? Only 327/396 had that.
Do your frame mounts look like this? Notice how the curved edge has a "trough" stamped in it? That is unique to big block frame mounts.
The entire fuel system has been redone and the car has a 468BB in it now and the fuel lines have all been replaced so unfortunately that likely won't be accurate. I will look at the frame mounts and look into VVS and see what I find.
Please let us know what you find after receiving their packet - and maybe if you might be so kind, you could share a scan of the page.
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1970 Formula 400 Carousel Red on black (std) interior "no drivetrain option" car (same base drivetrain as GTO) 1:411 1970 Firebird Formulas originally sold in Canada