I found some info on this site. The Body unit no. is assigned by Fisher and is not sequential and based on options. I have some rare options thus the Build Unit no. is smaller.
This does bring up an interesting question. Where were the original bodies fabbed before being sent to assembly? I do know there was a large Fisher body site in Hamilton, Ohio that closed down in the late 80s. It would make sense that they were assembling the shell for Firebirds/Camaros for the Norwood location.
Also, did the Fisher body no. show up on the documentation provided by PHS? Perhaps on the Billing History card?
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)
The Fisher Plants for 1st Gen Firebirds and Camaros were co-located with the GM assembly plants.
According to "The 1972 Lordstown Strike" - August 12th, 2013 by aorchard
"The General Motors' Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant was built in 1966 with modern technologies enabling more automation and promising new efficiencies. Originally, Lordstown was divided into two separate divisions, Chevrolet and Fisher Body. By 1971 when Chevrolet introduced its new car, the Vega, the two employee divisions were consolidated under the General Motors Assembly Division..."
According to the CRG (Camaro Research Group) - "The First-Generation Camaro Assembly Process" 2004-2003 by John Hinckley:
"Norwood was a very old plant that was typical of the old standard model for Fisher Body/Chevrolet assembly facilities; the Fisher Body plant and the Chevrolet assembly plant were on the same piece of property, but were operated by two separate GM Divisions. Fisher Body built the body shell from the firewall back, and shipped it through a hole in their common wall to the Chevrolet plant, fully painted and trimmed, including the interior, minus the instrument panel, dash and floor-mounted components, and front carpets. Chevrolet then assembled all the rest of the trim, chassis, and final assembly components, including all the front end sheet metal, and shipped the finished cars to the dealers."
"Van Nuys had been a traditional separate Fisher Body/Chevrolet assembly operation for many years, similar to Norwood, but was one of the first Fisher/Chevrolet plants to be consolidated under GMAD (GM Assembly Division) management in 1967-68, replacing the formerly separate Fisher Body and Chevrolet managements with a single GM Division in charge of the entire operation."
I do not see the body number on my PHS documentation but it is on the Body Broadcast Sheet I found under the rear seat.
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)