Living here in England makes this question quite an important one. We pay a tax yearly on all vehicles, for cars it is 165-00 or approx. $265-00, ouch ! But our government, after a great deal of pressure from enthusiasts and motoring clubs/groups, conceded and introduced an exemption for vehicles over 25 years old. Wonderful we all cried, but, yes there's always a but. They said it would not be a 'roll on' exemption. So they introduced a cut off date. 8th of January 1973. Anything built after this, is due to pay the full amount, built before this and there is no payment. So, you can appreciate why it is important to know when the car was actually built. We pay about $6-00 a gallon for gas, so any saving on running such a gas guzzler is more than welcome. I've given the VIN to the American auto club (u.k) and they have deduced it is 1973 model/year here's the number;#4V39T3Y222046# I was informed that the 3 after the T indicates the model year only and the 'trim plate' should give me the information I need to establish build year. Guess what ? yep. it's long gone. Can any of you enthusiasts and lovers of older vehicles offer any hope to me ? The office that processes the forms to tax the vehicle, recognise established bodies/groups and organizations as proof of authenticity. Once the year of manufacture has been proven or established it is a done deal, no further checks are necessary. I would love to hear from any one on this as I'm a bit stuck as what to do next. Thanks for your interest. Drive safely. Dave.
On the driver's door, above the latch there is usually a blue tag that has the month and year the car was built. Many times though, these tags get painted over or are missing altogether. It's worth a look though.
Dave: My suggestion is to request the build date and body number from people who own the same year and model. If their body number is subsequent to yours and their build date qualifies as being before Jan 9, 1973, I would argue yours does too. You may want to post this request on the BCA Board too. Also, have you checked with the Sloan Museum to see if they have any info for your car?
Dave, 4 V 39 T 3 Y 222046 4 = Buick V = Electra 225 Custom 39 = 4 drs HT T = 455 V8 3 = Modelyear 1973 Y = Wilmington, Delaware plant 222046 = Wilmington productionnumber for modelyear 1973, started at 100001 Wheelbase 127 inches Overall lenght 229.8 inches Shippingweight (without options) 4603 lbs Factoryprice (without options) USD. 5105,- Production total 107,031 Total 1973 Electra production = 177,772 Since your productionnumber is pretty high, i think it's a late modelyear car. But you can have a look at the Body Number Plate, this will tell you the week and month of production. (Or does the AAC mean this by Trim Plate?) Body Number Plate is found under the bonnet, riveted to the firewall Dave. Mail me what it says Dave, you've got my address. Tip: Take out the lower rear seat, when lucky you find the buildsheet sticking under the springs
Jim, I was wondering about the name Trim Plate. In Britain cars get a little plate with the chassisnumber on it under the bonnet, just like we here in the Netherlands stamp the VIN into the chassis to make the car unique and stop theft. But reading Dave's story again I edited my post. Best hope now is to find the buildsheet. Uuuhm Jim, it says in my signature: with a K....p
I may be a little out of whack here, but check the trim tag on the seat belts. It may get you pretty close to your date!! Hope this helps, bill g
Bill, Isn't there just a big 73 on them, and no other date like day or month? Never looked at them reallly close, just noticed the 2 digits number for the year.
have you hunted through th car for the actual assembly line options/build sheet ... i think it might have the date on it. might be under the back seat or stashed in a door, or quarter panel... th date might be a julian code or somethin cryptic.
sometimes stashed in th glovebox in the owners manual you might find service reciepts that could lead you to a person knowing the purchase date.
Sorry to take so long to get back to you. Glad you found the dates you need. On the seat belts you wil find a combination of letters and dates. Yours may say 4C73, which if I remember the coding(and I could be wrong-its been a while since I decoded a set) would mean the belts were made in 4th week of March 73, or is it the 3rd week of Apri..I forget but I know I seen letters as high as K. Hope this helps for future use, bill g
what year was my buick built Hey there guys, thanx a lot to all of ya for suggestions and ideas. Got a result. albeit a bad one, ah well, it's only money !!!!!!!!!!!!! Our Governmant needs all it can get. Oh no, thats brain cells. yeah that's right. Bye for now, Dave.
