DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE B80 MEANS ON A 1969 FIREBIRD CONVERTIBLE COWL TAG?

I remember this from a few months back. Got a picture this time?

I can get one..

That would make it a lot easier. If you could describe the options that you believe to be original it would help too. That code is not something you see often.

It looks like this

ST 69 22367 LOR 541170 BDY
TR 206 59-G PNT
03 B B80

That looks like it's in the same position that the D80 would be on a TA. Anything unusual about the car?

No,There's no special options that I can see.
I traded a 1969 chevelle rear end for the car.
The car came with a rear spoiler. But it was not on the car it was in the back seat & theres no trunk lid on car so it hard to tell if its for the car.I know the trans am came with the D80 code but I never heard of a B80 code.

On the Camaro, the D80 means rear spoiler. On the many 69 tags I have seen they do not put the options there. I'm thinking that I remember looking at at least several hundred tags and the only 69 trim tag that I can remember having any option there is the TA with the D80. It would have to be something very 'out of the ordinary' for the assembly plant to deviate from standard operating procedures. It would most likely be some added work as the car went down the line. You have the best clues right there with the car. Did you get the PHS? Did you find the build sheet under the back seat or above the gas tank? It's a fun mystery to solve.

03 B B80 =built second week in march....but dont know on B80,

Copied from code/data site:
"Each Plant in '69 (Los Angeles, Lordstown, Norwalk) used a different code system for In-Plant tracking, special-options, etc. The code "B 80 " is probably one of them. Since no records from the plants have ever surfaced, this is hard to decipher. "

I inserted " B 80 & is probably"!

Bjorn,
Have you ever seen an option code on a 69 other than the TA?

I will have to send the $35 dollars to PHS to find out what it means..The only reason I traded the rear end for the car was because it had a real 1969 trans am spoiler in the back seat.I didnt know about the B80 Code on the cowl tag until I got the car home...I thought they located all the convertible trans am made?
Then when you read other info about 1969 trans ams they say they made more then the 697 cars.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Bjorn,
Have you ever seen an option code on a 69 other than the TA?
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Nope....I need to look at mine , but dont think so...
maybe the B is a misprinted D? but I really doubt that....there are a couple of 69 TAs in town , I could ask two of them whats there on theirs?

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> I thought they located all the convertible trans am made?
Then when you read other info about 1969 trans ams they say they made more then the 697 cars. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">supposedly only 8 converts made , they located 7 I think...(or is it 9 and located 8?)...heard no 8 (9?) was possibly wrecked ,& nobody knows for sure... yours??

I did send out a 'feeler' to 2 local 69 TA owners to see what they have where your last 3 digets are, we`ll see if anything comes up there....hopefully they are also from Lordstown that would help

Looked at my PHS doc. 1) there were 8 TAs made ,689 coupes= total 697...
could not find any spot on my sheet for options and accessories that match B80..., guess ill look at my body tag later to see if anything is there ,looked last too long ago, and too old to remember 100%....(but mine is also made in Lordstown....)

There is a tricky way to tell if it's a true 'rear spoiler' car. I learned it on the Camaros. The trunk lid spring is slightly different.

The PHS should clear it up. Most likely the add-on was not free so there will be a record on the bill. I have seen some deletions not show up on the PHS and show up on the broadcast sheet found in the car. If it was a deletion the PHS will most likely not have it.

Heres some other info I found Historian, Jim Mattison, related that the engineering car used to develop the '69 T/A package was actually silver, not white. And Fred Simmonds of Pontiac and also a noted historian warned that the production numbers are approximate but these strangely optioned T/As were built:
2 T/As with green interior
2 T/As with gold interior
1 T/A with red interior
4 T/As with dark blue vinyl tops
1 Ram Air IV T/A with wire wheel covers

Good stuff! I always wanted the one with the red interior.

All the TA droptops were built at the Norwood plant. Sixteen years have passed since the VIN's of all eight TA's convertibles were published and the eighth one still hasn't appeared. Likely gone for all time.

RA-IV TA with wire wheel covers????

I checked my tag just a few min`s ago...does not show anything as I thought where Pontiac10th`s B80 is...

so WHAT could B80 mean from Lordstown?

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> RA-IV TA with wire wheel covers???? </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">but the car is a convertible, Right?

B80 is the RPO for chrome roof drip rail moldings. Obviously, they do not exist on a convertible.

Since there was a "misread" on "PNT", perhaps the tag is defaced somewhat. Could you post a clear photo of the tag, and perhaps a few of the car?

FWIW, all "production" 69 T/A's were either Norwood or Van Nuys builds, never did find out why Lordstown was left out of building them.

"Each Plant in '69 (Los Angeles, Lordstown, Norwalk) used a different code system for In-Plant tracking, special-options, etc..... "

That's referring to what is sometimes called the work order (for lack of a better term). Plants that produced multiple carlines used the codes on the Fisher side to track the bodies. Basically a Fisher rotation / sequence #. That's not this code.

B80 isn't an RPO that I've seen for 67-69's F-birds (or Camaros). It may have had internal usage, but I'm curious to see a pic.

I notice that this is one of the last 69's out of LOR. Wonder if it was a late change....

The TA spoiler in the back seat is a neat twist too. If you talked your salesman/dealer into getting the TA spoiler and the guys on the line wanted to call it out on the tag, maybe they used the B80 to not confuse with the complete TA package D80. Pretty far fetched BUT what else could it mean? Whatever it was it should be on the billing history. At this point I'm ready to chip in on the PHS.

pontiac10th,
Did you look for the broadcast sheet???

you mean like a B-illed 80 item?

Yeah, like that! Why not? Just having that code there makes it an important piece of 1st gen history. One of the very last pieces.

could be...who knows ...would like to see what Mattison (PHS)says...

I recall reading in a mid 80's Pontiac Magazine about the problems with identifying 9 t/a's. I would be willing to bet money that the article said that D80 code didn't mean it was a t/a. It only signified a rear spoiler, and there were a considerable number of non t/a cars produced with the D80 option.

Doesn't one of the packrats around here have a collection of Pontiac Mags? To help narrow down the search, it would have appeared sometime around 86 to 89, and if I had to narrow it down to a single year, I'd start with 1988.

Yeah, I have those mags. They are not organized though. I don't think there has been a single non TA with that D80 code though. That would be something I would remember. Could be wrong..... This would be the car to prove it if the PHS shows a spoiler billed. I think it would be easier to get the PHS than look through all those mags! If the car was a little closer I could tell you right away if it had a factory spoiler. Maybe it's time for a road trip...

I will post a pic of the tag later today...
I also want to thank eveyone for all the help with this.....

No problem on my part. Thank you for providing the information!

Just off the phone with Joe (one of the local TA owners) he will check tonite , but so far he seriously doubts its a TA...
here his email to me:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Hey Bjorn, I haven't looked at my car yet, but I just got off the ph with Jim Mattison (PHS), and he said it is probably a D80, which means spoiler. (the same as a '69 Camaro). The car IS a T/A right? Call me on my cell.
Joe
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">but then I told him its a convertible and he doubts it would be the "missing " TA, but he`ll check his tag tonite and maybe we can compare notes...
The other item is that acc to posts abv no TA was built at LOR ,as this car is... but could ONE have been built there?

mystery is growing? where`s Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie) when you need him?

And "pontiac10th" ...if you havent done this already , you could run a sand paper flat over of the numbers/letters on the body tag before you take a picture, make it stand out...
I`m assuming its all black now?

I missed that last one??? Gone before I could read it.
OK I get it. It was the editing of the cowl tag info post that kicked out the email notification.

pontiac10th,
You have a PM.

Looks like D80.

Yes, it does.

Looks like the B on the date to me, compared to the D in BDY. I'd say it's a B.

When talking with Dave on the phone he mentioned that after he read Bjorn's post about sanding the tag, he went out and sanded it. He says the more he sands away the paint the more it looks like a D. Since D80 is fairly commonly used and B80 is unheard of, I'm seriously leaning towards it being a D.

Also, it does NOT look like the repro tags that I've seen either.

D80 is the designation for the rear spoiler. If there are no known D80 69 Firebirds with the D80 that are not TA's then this may be another 69 TA convertible. PHS will clear this up.

But ,that would mean the only TA convertible from LOR?


and if </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> ..The only reason I traded the rear end for the car was because it had a real 1969 trans am spoiler in the back seat. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">this was the payment , I`d say thats probably a record low price for a 69 TA convertible , if it shows to be the real thing!
and also would mean all 8 would be accounted for!

What that means is that the VIN should be checked against the book and the body, and the PHS ordered.

we`ll see what it is if he orders PHS ,otherwise it sounds like Joe (personal friend of Mattison) could find out with another ph call?

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Hey Bjorn, I haven't looked at my car yet, but I just got off the ph with Jim Mattison (PHS), and he said it is probably a D80, which means spoiler. (the same as a '69 Camaro). The car IS a T/A right? Call me on my cell.
Joe
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

Just got off the phone with Dave and he is going to order the PHS today or tomorrow. Any help/input from Joe would be worth hearing in the mean time. Dave is not an avid first gen guy so he did not even know about the missing TA. It seems to be, at least, a TA spoiler car. Lets say it is a 69 Firebird convertible ordered with a rear spoiler and it is not a TA. That's 1 of 1 that I have heard of. Maybe it's even rarer than the TA's. I have not heard mentioned what the missing TA was ordered with. Was it green? LOL