Frequently Asked Questions

Short answer: A car is considered “numbers matching” if all the part numbers and casting codes are correct and pre-date the car by the usual 1–3 months. Use the year-specific drivetrain ID pages on FGF as your guide:

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Short answer: A 1967 trim-tag model number like 67-2-2637 decodes as: 67 = year, 2 = division (Pontiac), 2637 = style — where 26 = Custom Trim and 37 = Firebird coupe. The “23” listed in the ID books is the VIN identifier, which didn’t distinguish standard vs. custom trim.

The RPO options (Fisher Body accessory codes) are listed along the bottom of the 1967 trim tag — for example L, 2GW, 3F, 4Q, where 3F denotes the “400” option. These are the “Five Group Accessory Codes.”

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Short answer: On 1967 body tags, accessory options are encoded in a “Five Group” system (along the bottom of the trim tag), discontinued after 1967. The letter codes for each group are below — some remain unknown, and the Registry is still decoding them.

278     07B
ST  67-22667      LOR     9854   Body
TR  256-Z                  K-2   Paint
          EX  2EWGH  3M
          4F   5Y

Also note: the consecutive build number on the body tag won’t match the VIN’s sequential production number — they had different meanings at the plants. Have codes to add? The Registry is still solving these — use the contact/report link to help.

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Short answer: Trim code 281 is the saddle (tan/brown) leather interior — a genuine 1968 option, though a late-year addition (around early June), so check your invoice/billing date.

On a matching original car, the dash pad should be brown/tan/gold, and the convertible boot and deluxe wheel (if applicable) should be tan/brown to match. Note the 281 door panels used tan/brown vinyl with a “faux leather-grain” finish.

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Short answer: On a 1969 paint code like 61F, the “61” (PNT 61) is the body color — Expresso Brown — and the trailing letter is the Cordova (vinyl) top color. The “F” most likely represents Dark Fawn.

The 1969 order form used numbers for top colors while the firewall data plate used letters, and the crossover between them is inconsistent (which is why this one is hard to pin down).

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Short answer: The body build-date code lives on the Fisher Body trim tag (firewall) and the Protect-O-Plate — it’s unique to the body shell and doesn’t appear on the Billing History. The body build date was generally about a week before the Billing History invoice date: the tag date is when Fisher Body sequenced the shell for build; the invoice date is when it cleared Final Assembly and certification just before shipping.

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Short answer: A code like C363 in the upper area of the trim tag is from the Van Nuys, CA assembly plant — most likely an internal Fisher Body plant-sequencing code, loosely tied to the vehicle order number. No formal documentation has surfaced, and it has no connection to the VIN, body number, build date, or options.

  04d                          c363
ST 68-22637      LOS      1721
TR 259                       I-I

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Short answer: A code like K464 is an internal Van Nuys assembly-plant sequence number. It has no connection to the Body Unit Number, VIN, engine unit number, or invoice number — it’s strictly a plant sequencing number, and no GM or Fisher Body documentation has surfaced to decipher it.

 05D            K464
 ST 68-22437 LOS 3573 BODY
 TR 253            I-2

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Short answer: A code like T339 is an in-plant tracking / special-options code. Each 1969 assembly plant (Los Angeles, Lordstown, Norwood) used its own coding system, and since no plant records have surfaced, these can’t be reliably deciphered.

ST-69 22367 VN 516941 Body
TR 208        67B    Paint
       12D       T339

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Short answer: The Fisher Body Unit Number on the firewall trim tag is an internal sequencing number, unique to each assembly plant — it is not sequential and has no direct relationship to the VIN or build date. The Broadcast Department assigned it based on the order’s color, model, options, etc., and cars weren’t built in the order received.

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Short answer: The 1968 Custom Trim Option is code 554, and the trim-tag style number tells you what your car has. Note that the Custom Trim Option (554) and the Custom/Deluxe interior are separate — you can have the option with standard interior.

Any of these items could be ordered individually on a standard-interior car (22437/22467) — except the deluxe interior itself, which defines 22637/22667.

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Short answer: A few weeks’ gap between an engine’s date code and the Fisher Body trim-tag date is completely normal — nothing to worry about. The rule of thumb for drivetrain parts is roughly 2 weeks to 3 months before the body build date (about 6 weeks is the usual maximum), and generally not after, though exceptions exist.

As always with date codes, there are no absolutes — inventory control 30 years ago wasn’t what it is today.

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Bulletin 68-I-12 — Pontiac Motor Division Dealer Service Information Bulletin, Section 2, dated October 10, 1967. Attention: Service Manager.

Subject: 1968 Refinish Paint Specifications.

Short answer: Copies of the 1968 Pontiac refinish paint charts from Ditzler, DuPont, and Rinshed-Mason were attached to this bulletin; a complete listing of 1968 exterior and interior paint color names, codes, and stock numbers was scheduled to appear in the November Pontiac Chassis Parts Catalog.

Short answer: 1969 body-tag color coding is notoriously confusing — it varied by plant and even by shift, since these were built “BC” (before computers). Two expert readings of that “G”: it may be the Antique Gold convertible-top color (an “Upper Color” on the 1969 order form), paired with Verdoro Green paint; or, converting GM corporate codes to Pontiac codes, “73” = Verdoro Green and the following “G” = Dark Green. The trim code (206) is standard green vinyl.

ST 69-22367      VN514538  BDY
TR 206           73  G  PNT
      12C        S093

Bottom line: 1969 tags really only tell you body style, color, and trim — and even those have plant-to-plant deviations. As the experts put it, 1969 is the hardest year of the three to decode.

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Short answer: A three-digit code to the left of the build-date code on the top line of the trim tag (e.g., “111” before “05C”) is most likely the Fisher Body Sequence Number used for production scheduling.

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Short answer: “Special” means the car got the Special Paint Option — a color Pontiac didn’t offer as a standard choice. In 1968 these were usually Pink Mist, Carnival Red, Marigold Yellow, or Windward Blue Iridescent (“Irid.” = metallic; the others were solid).

Some were late-year spring-release colors, and essentially any color was available if the supplier could provide it — such cars often shipped with an extra quart of paint. (The number after “Special” denotes the top.)

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Short answer: A “PRIME” paint code (PRIME-XXX) means the car was handled as a special paint situation — primer only or special-order paint, seen on things like special orders, race cars, or company cars. It’s uncommon. The “2” indicates a black top.

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Short answer: A “SHOW” code (SHOW-1, SHOW-2, etc.) means the car was built as a show vehicle — scheduled during pre-production by Engineering or Styling, built on the regular line but treated specially, with better fit and finish and unique extra-shine paint. They’re rare (usually very early production), and a “SHOW” first-gen Firebird is a genuinely rare find.

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Short answer: Carousel Red was a special-order paint (code SPR) for the 1969 Firebird — and despite the popular legend, there’s nothing more special about it. It was GM’s answer to the bright colors Ford and Chrysler were running in the psychedelic era.

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Short answer: The important 1968 tracking numbers and where to find them:

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Short answer: The number on the body tag and the VIN won’t match — that’s normal. The VIN is the sequential production number; the body-tag number is the Unit (consecutive build) number. They’re separate systems.

Sources: Firebird Red Book; Catalog of Firebird ID Numbers 1967–93; Pontiac Historic Services; Year One catalog.

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