Need help determining mfg date for new vin sticker

[Mark Wilson]

I need to get a new door jamb vin sticker made and the original was unreadable. Is there any chance any of you know cars next to Annie's vin and can look at the mfg date. The COA did not list it. It looks like 0x/72. Car is a 73S and the vin is 9113310098. Thanks

[jc4me2]

I have 9113310083, and I know it was delivered to Art Bunker KC 9/72, but my DOT sticker is missing too.

[Mark Wilson]

Thanks JC. Helps narrow it down to August or Sept!

[304065]

Mark you should get the COA, who knows what it would say. And that way you could be absolutely certain of the date.

[NorthernThrux]

And that way you could be absolutely certain of the date.

Tee hee. We had a thread a year back where a 73S owner got a COA with no date of manufacture and we tried help narrow it down.
I'm saying September since they built about 140 Esses coupes a month and Targa production was 925, likely meaning 90 Targas a month. First month is usually off to a slow start as the line gets going. So yes, September.

[Mark Wilson]

Tee hee. We had a thread a year back where a 73S owner got a COA with no date of manufacture and we tried help narrow it down.
I'm saying September since they built about 140 Esses coupes a month and Targa production was 925, likely meaning 90 Targas a month. First month is usually off to a slow start as the line gets going. So yes, September.

Exactly - Got the COA and date said not available. September sounds reasonable. thx

[Dmill]

I own 429 and it was built 10/72

[RSTarga]

My bet is August, beginning of production. It took at least 20-30 days to get the cars to the dealers. Mine is 830, May production, and I bought it the first week of August.

[NorthernThrux]

I call BS on DMill. No way half of the 925 S Targa cars were built by 10/72.

My recipe for determing build dates goes as follows.
(1) We all agree that production starts in August.
(2) Production lasts 10 months tops with German holidays and line changes.
(3) Germans take 2 weeks for Christmas at that time.
(4) May Day 1973 was a Tuesday meaning 2 production days were lost.
(5) 925 S Targas were built.
(6) That means an average of 92.5 per month or 4.x per week.
(7) The first week on a manual production line is spent stuffing the parts bins and running the first few test cars through and figuring out out problems.

So I'd argue that fewer than 92.5 cars left the Factory in August. Likely 75-80. In September they have to pick up the pace as they have 9 month to produce 925-80 = 845 cars. So 94 cars per month. Putting Marks's car in the 1st week of September.

So try this with David's Car. It is a minimum of 7 months from the 80 cars built in August. That means May's range is 94x7+80 =738 to 940. Voila, David's car lies smack dab in the middle of May and I don't even have to account for the fact May Day 1973 was a Tuesday and 2 production day were likely lost, knowing my wife's German relatives. however, take 2 weeks off for Christmas and you need to subtract 47 from the range. Still comfortably in May.

So I stand by the first week of September for Mark's car, 098.

PS. This works more accurately if you figured the total working days of production, do the startup math I did and then add (925-80)/(production days) to get cars per day of production for the rest of the year, leaving out holidays. I took a few shortcuts, which are irrlevant for Mark, being so early in production and won't shift David out of May. And if David has a May car, then Mark's car was not built in August.

[BrentF]

Check the date stamps on the back of your dash gauges. That might help narrow it down.