kjalltrac
Well-Known Member
I'm very interested in the first dealership that sold the car (in my case 1964) will this information be included as well?
FCA Historical Services?
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Look at post #12 in this thread. It's what you can receive plus they sent me all kinds of literature from that year. Great job!
kjalltrac
Well-Known Member
Thanks, will write them a letter.
JimCoronette
Well-Known Member
The email [email protected] is still valid.
She responded right back with this reply:
Hello Jim,
The FCA Historical Archives is happy to be able to provide you with a copy of the build card for your historic vehicle without charge. However, due to the volume of requests we receive and the modest staff that we have, we are unable to offer the decoding service and copied material that we have in the past. Please provide us with proof of ownership, i.e. a copy of the title or registration, and your mailing address and we will send you the build card.
We will, when possible, provide you with the original selling dealers name and city.
Thank you for contacting us and we hope that the build card information is helpful to you.
Danielle Szostak-Viers
She responded right back with this reply:
Hello Jim,
The FCA Historical Archives is happy to be able to provide you with a copy of the build card for your historic vehicle without charge. However, due to the volume of requests we receive and the modest staff that we have, we are unable to offer the decoding service and copied material that we have in the past. Please provide us with proof of ownership, i.e. a copy of the title or registration, and your mailing address and we will send you the build card.
We will, when possible, provide you with the original selling dealers name and city.
Thank you for contacting us and we hope that the build card information is helpful to you.
Danielle Szostak-Viers
kjalltrac
Well-Known Member
Well, got the ibm card today (happy happy)
Anyone know how to decode it?
Anyone know how to decode it?
kjalltrac
Well-Known Member
I just did post a picture, the copy from FCA is really blurry.
69L48Z27
Well-Known Member
There’s a guy on the web called Fastback John who decodes these and make reproductions of the actual cards. I used him to do mine, pretty neat service.
I just spent 15 minutes searching the web, I can’t find him.
rarefish
Well-Known Member
Here is some of the things that I come up with in decoding the IBM card.
1964 Belvedere 2 door hardtop.
White paint with a red interior.
Built in the St Louis plant.
Auto Transmission.
A/C
Tinted Windshield.
Seat belts, 2-Front.
Tires 7.50x14 black side wall.
Undercoating.
318 engine?
1964 Belvedere 2 door hardtop.
White paint with a red interior.
Built in the St Louis plant.
Auto Transmission.
A/C
Tinted Windshield.
Seat belts, 2-Front.
Tires 7.50x14 black side wall.
Undercoating.
318 engine?
69L48Z27
Well-Known Member
JimCoronette
Well-Known Member
Ok here is how to decode the alphanumeric values.
Vertical columns run left to right 1-80 labels are at the bottom
Horizontal rows run top to bottom R,X,0-9 labels are on the right or run all the way across.
The columns are arranged in groups of 1 to many columns
The punch(es) correlate(s) a column to a alphanumeric value for what that column represents by what is written in it.
One punch in a column represents a numeric value 0-9
Two punches in the same column represent a letter A-Z
Here is a link to the complete punch card character set
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/026-card.jpg
Example:
columns 16 - 28 are the Vehicle Identification Number which should match the metal tag in the door jam.
WP27F77107048
In column 16 (car line) there are 2 punches, one in row 6 and one in row 0, this represents a W
In column 17 (price class) there are 2 punches, one in row 7 and one in row X, this represents a P
In column 18 (number of doors) there is 1 punch in row 2, this represents a 2
In column 19 (roof type) there is 1 punch in row 7, this represents a 7
In column 20 (engine) there are 2 punches, one in row 6 and one in row R, this represents a F
In column 21 (year) there is 1 punch in row 7, this represents a 7
In column 22 (plant) there is 1 punch in row 7, this represents a 7
In column 23 (sequence number) there is 1 punch in row 1, this represents a 1
In column 24 (sequence number) there is 1 punch in row 0, this represents a 0
In column 25 (sequence number) there is 1 punch in row 7, this represents a 7
In column 26 (sequence number) there is 1 punch in row 0, this represents a 0
In column 27 (sequence number) there is 1 punch in row 4, this represents a 4
In column 28 (sequence number) there is 1 punch in row 8, this represents a 8
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kjalltrac
Well-Known Member
Thanks, but where can I find what the numbers represents? Let say, no 23 in a column, how can you tell what the no 23 is?
JimCoronette
Well-Known Member
Here is a link to the option codes. It's not perfect, but it might answer a few questions
https://www.themoparshop.com/shop/userDocs/options.pdf
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Here's the thing with the "decoders" that you find online, they don't work for 1965 or older. 1965 and older are totally different animals in the way the option codes were done and a lot of the plants didn't use the same format. In a lot of cases you have to know the assembly plant before you can even start decoding what's on the tag and build card.
The codes for the early years are being deciphered more and more every year and are being recorded when they are proven. There's still a lot of these codes that are unknown at the moment.
FCA has a lot of these codes and they were giving you the meanings of yours when you requested a copy of your build card. Now that they are not doing this anymore, (too time consuming) everyone who receives a copy of their card doesn't have a clue what their options are. Anyone taking the time to decode this for you needs to be thanked because it can be very time consuming. Also the codes can be misleading with this age group and they have to be double checked to make sure the info is correct. Difference plants with different codes for the same item can make this difficult. That's just one thing that can be misleading when doing the early models.
One thing you can do is get yourself a "Chrysler Corporation Production Option Code Book". This book has a lot of info. More than anything that I've seen. Looking for their availability, Year One is advertising them. (Contact them and make sure you're getting the 1962-1965)
https://www.yearone.com/Product/chrysler-b-body/ggb6
This book will describe the different plants and how their codes were used. Then they have the list of codes that you need to match to your particular vehicle.
You almost need a magnifying glass and you'll need a lot of patience and practice to use it. It's the best out there that I've found.
Here's an example on doing the 1962 codes and you'll get how they can be quite complicated. The newer the vehicle the more info you'll find.
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/tag-decoding-1962-dodge.121197/#post-910549974
The codes for the early years are being deciphered more and more every year and are being recorded when they are proven. There's still a lot of these codes that are unknown at the moment.
FCA has a lot of these codes and they were giving you the meanings of yours when you requested a copy of your build card. Now that they are not doing this anymore, (too time consuming) everyone who receives a copy of their card doesn't have a clue what their options are. Anyone taking the time to decode this for you needs to be thanked because it can be very time consuming. Also the codes can be misleading with this age group and they have to be double checked to make sure the info is correct. Difference plants with different codes for the same item can make this difficult. That's just one thing that can be misleading when doing the early models.
One thing you can do is get yourself a "Chrysler Corporation Production Option Code Book". This book has a lot of info. More than anything that I've seen. Looking for their availability, Year One is advertising them. (Contact them and make sure you're getting the 1962-1965)
https://www.yearone.com/Product/chrysler-b-body/ggb6
This book will describe the different plants and how their codes were used. Then they have the list of codes that you need to match to your particular vehicle.
You almost need a magnifying glass and you'll need a lot of patience and practice to use it. It's the best out there that I've found.
Here's an example on doing the 1962 codes and you'll get how they can be quite complicated. The newer the vehicle the more info you'll find.
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/tag-decoding-1962-dodge.121197/#post-910549974
Last edited:
Hey just wanted to let everyone know Danielle replied back to me. I sent her everything she needed via email and she replied back stating I should have the information in 3-4 weeks. Appears that these items no longer need to be snail mailed in. 
Hello Lance,
Thank you for the documentation. It may take up to 3-4 weeks to process and mail the build record. If you have any questions in the meantime, please let me know.
Danielle Szostak-Viers
FCA Historical Services
CIMS 410-11-21
12501 Chrysler Freeway
Detroit, MI 48288
Thank you for the documentation. It may take up to 3-4 weeks to process and mail the build record. If you have any questions in the meantime, please let me know.
Danielle Szostak-Viers
FCA Historical Services
CIMS 410-11-21
12501 Chrysler Freeway
Detroit, MI 48288
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Cool! Would you mind sharing just what you sent via email. Photo copys, pdfs ?
I sent a 2 page PDF with a color copy of my title and a picture of the vin tag and she replied via email about 10 days later.
Paul Boucher
Well-Known Member
Ha, got it! Thanks everyone for all the info. I was able to use this, some other things I found online, and use it to decode my IBM card! Plan on recreating the card in Adobe Illustrator and printing a legible copy on card stock to have. Thanks guys!
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