Need help;Manual Steering Box Codes

[Larry E.]

Even though this is for a 70 Z28 I persume the Corvettes are the same.
Unit is a Saginaw Casting #5679142. It has a small date pad with A0309
on it. What does this mean? Is this some sort of Julian Date or simply
March 9th? Thanks in advance.
Larry

[Larry E.]

Re: Need help;Manual Steering Box Codes

Here's a picture of that little tab with A0309 on it.
Anybody know what this means?
Larry

[John H.]

Re: Need help;Manual Steering Box Codes

Here's a picture of that little tab with A0309 on it.
Anybody know what this means?
Larry

Larry -

That's a Julian code for the day the gear was assembled at Saginaw. We (CRG) have data on about 20 of those stamped codes, and few of them follow the same format or make much sense relative to the build dates of the cars. What's the build date of your car?

[Larry E.]

Re: Need help;Manual Steering Box Codes

John:

Build date for my 70 Z28 is 06A. Don't know the early history of the car;
box may or may not have been replaced.
Larry

[Larry E.]

Re: Need help;Manual Steering Box Codes/Attn: John Hinckley

John:

I found this statement from a previous post:

The date coding on Saginaw products was the date that the product was tested and was ready to ship. The method that Saginaw used to date code their products was as follows:

XXX Y
Where XXX was the day of the year (000 through 365)
and Y was the last digit of the year (7 for 1967 or 1977)

Would mine be then the 30 Day of 1969? Still looking for what the "A" means?
Larry

[John H.]

Re: Need help;Manual Steering Box Codes/Attn: John Hinckley

John:

I found this statement from a previous post:

The date coding on Saginaw products was the date that the product was tested and was ready to ship. The method that Saginaw used to date code their products was as follows:

XXX Y
Where XXX was the day of the year (000 through 365)
and Y was the last digit of the year (7 for 1967 or 1977)

Would mine be then the 30 Day of 1969? Still looking for what the "A" means?
Larry

Larry -

I'd say it's January 30, 1969, which means it sat somewhere for 18 months before being installed in June of 1970; about half of our data shows spans of more than 6 months between Saginaw assembly and usage at Norwood and Van Nuys. That gear was used on all Camaros, Firebirds, Novas, etc. from '67 through the mid-70's. Have no clue what the "A" means - Jim Shea will probably know if he sees this thread.