I found the attached sheet on the internet. It shows the difference between a T and U as different horsepower rating. It appears from this document that T would be a 455 and U would be a Stage-1 I will keep looking Mark
This document has '69-78 lumped together so it doesn't seem possible to draw any conclusions. Keep looking Mark, more power to you!
I just purchased a Buick VIN Decode book for 1972-1999. When I get it I will see what it says. It could be a couple weeks. I have not purchased anything from this place before and it says if they use standard mail it can take 4-8 weeks to get it. I went UPS but not sure how long it will take. I also have a copy of the American Car Decode book at home for 1970-79. I will check it tonight. Mark
I checked my "Cars and Parts Catalog of American Car ID Numbers 1970-79" for 1973 it indicates the following for Engine T (L74)* V8-455 4-BC U (L74+N10)* V8-455 4-BC Dual Exhaust V (L75) V8-455 4-BC Stage-1 W (L76) V8-455 4-BC Stage-1 *In 1972 L74 was 455 4-BC and N10 was Dual Exhaust for L74 and L76. I check the 1972 VIN codes and the engine codes are the same. I went to the 1972 assembly manual and found the above information in parenthesis which matches the "Car and Parts Catalog" informtion for both 1972 and 1973. Mark I will let you know what I find out what else it shows when I get my other document. What does it say in the front of the 1973 Assembly Manual. I currently do not have a 73 Assembly manual but I was thinking in the front of them it shows what the VIN code information means. I will continue to work on this. Mark
I'm hoping to have mine in the 10's when I get all the bugs worked out. Great work on gathering all this info Eric.:TU: :TU: Phill, that yellow car is beautiful.:TU: :TU:
Eric, I will try to get VIN's from a few Biel, Switzerland and Antwerp, Belgium built 1973 - 1974 Gran Sports for you.
Eric, Does the T or U have any significance to a 455-4 in a century non GS car. Nice job on the data, let us know when the 74 stuff is dun
http://buicks.net/shop/reference/engine_ident_63_75.html Also shows the difference between T an U as single and dual exhaust. Mark
Thanks John. :beer Flattery will get you far (but it probably won't get me to do the '74 stuff). Next time I am in Spring Lake Park to visit my brother I will look you up and we will have a beer for real. There were only 99 non-GS Century Colonades with 455 engine and they were all T VINS as far as I know.
Thanks Mark! That's the mystery. GS455 option A-9 included dual exhaust. So what is the difference between a T and U VIN GS455?uzzled: Let us know as soon as you figure it out (again, no pressure).:grin:
I just received my March/April GSXtra and Dennis Manner has posted all the BB engine codes available from 1963-1974. For the 1973 Century Gran Sport: XF 250 hp dual exhaust - optional on Century Gran Sport XS 270 hp dual exhaust Stage 1 - optional on Century Gran Sport These were the only engine options for the Century Gran Sport. So again, it appears there would be no engine difference between a T and U VIN GS455. :3gears:
Because there was not distinquishing difference between "T" and "U" was it an interpertation difference. Were all the "T" cars built in one plant or all the "U" cars built in one plant? This would show that it may have been the decision of the person at the plant who was in charge of assinging VIN numbers. Just a thought. Mark
I am taking my T code 73 down to BG! Leaving Sat PM. BRINGING ALL MY INFO FOR ALL MY 73'S. (manuals, books, papers, too much to list) See you guys there (this is all last minute):3gears: :beer PS Doug H. is towing it and I am going for the ride. All I need are his used tires:grin:
Back in the day. I drove a black 73, it had a 2-barrell 455 and single exhaust, it was supposed to have been 1 of 50 made?
Guys, First off I have to say I am sorry about not answering emails,questions and such to all that have sent me things and pm's. I had some personal things I needed to care for and now that I am finally getting things back in line,I will participate alot more in the Q&A that has been posted here. So to get the thing rolling again here is some info that may be helpful. Of the 1973 T (WF2 CODE)cars,most seem to have been produced at the Flint plant(49),23 at Framingham and 29 at Fremont plants respectively. This is from the Daily Car Reports. In 1974 there were 103 T cars built at the same 3 plants. Both the U cars as well as the T cars used the same engine code stamped on it which was XF.I do not see any thing to differentiate any things in the motors.According to the DCR'S,the breakdown for 73 GS cars is 99 T cars,979 GS 455 cars,728 Stage 1 cars and 4930 350 cars made in all plants Flint,Fremont,Framingham. Unless someone like Eric does some digging,we may never know if there is indeed a difference between the T and U cars.I have been slowly working on getting things switched so I can put the info on a better website,but man,there is alot of info to go through.I want to take Mark up on his offer to his site hosting a better 73-75 Registry,but I am not quite ready to have all the info ready as of yet. I keep plugging away and hopefully soon I can get something more organized. I am also working on some 1986 Century GS info that perhaps will be helpful to owners of those rare cars too.I will keep working and try to be helpful as much as I can trying to answer questions.Thank You for understanding. Pat
Now that I am on a roll...I have been scratching my head for a long time about this and would really like to have an answer to this. According to the Daily Car Reports there were 6,637 cars produced with the following GS specific items: BW1 REAR ORN DL1 GS DECAL TL1 MONOGRM T83 H/L DRS T93 GS TLMP So, as I have the actual documentation from the DCR's it breaks down as this 6637 total GS cars produced - 728 Stage 1's =5909 - 4930 GS 350 cars =979 which is how many GS 455 (U) cars produced. I know there is also 99 T cars made besides the U cars as stated in my last post. Now I would like to have an answer to this question. As you can see now, this is why the confusion I have about the T cars being a GS. I still am not convinced. I also seen a copy of the Century 350 order form at Carlisle and I am betting the form Sloan sends you which has Gran Sport on the top is the only one they use. I am wondering if the Century 350 wholesale order form has more info about the T cars? Any ideas??
All I know for sure, is that I get a sick feeling in my stomach everytime I see a pic of Phil's "T" code car that I passed on buying:ball:
