Decoding 1969 Trim Tags
Decoding your trim tag is easy if you have all the information you need. Fortunately, we're going to provide that information for you here.
Listed below is each position on the trim tag and how to interpret it.
Model Year
Very simple, it will appear as "69" for all 1969 Chevrolets
Series Number or Division Series
Regardless of the series, this 3 digit code will always start with a "1" indicating Chevrolet Motor Division. The next two digits indicate if it is an Impala, Caprice, Bel Air, or Biscayne, but unlike the VIN they DO NOT indicate if it has 6 or 8 cylinders. This is because Fisher Body did not follow exactly the same system as the Chevrolet VIN. For example, if your VIN indicates you have a 6 cylinder car, let's say the first 3 digits are 155, the trim tag will read 156, and will not reflect that information. This is why some cars with 6 cylinder VINs may appear to have 8 cylinders by the trim tag.
154 = Biscayne |
| 156 = Bel Air |
| 164 = Impala |
| 166 = Caprice |
Body Style or Body Type
These two digits indicate the body style as per the chart below:
| 11 = 2-door sedan, 6 passenger |
| 36 = 4-door station wagon, 6 passenger |
| 37 = 2-door sport coupe, 5 passenger |
| 39 = 4-door sport sedan, 6 passenger |
| 46 = 4-door station wagon, 9 passenger |
| 47 = 2-door custom coupe, 5 passenger |
| 67 = 2-door convertible, 5 passenger |
| 69 = 4-door sedan, 6 passenger |
Assembly Plant
The assembly plant is determined by a 2 or 3 digit code. The chart below shows codes only for assembly plants where full size Chevrolets were produced.
| BC = Southgate, California |
| BA = Atlanta, Georgia (Doraville) |
| FL1 = Flint, Michigan |
| FL2 = Flint, Michigan |
| JAN = Janesville, Wisconsin |
| LOS = Los Angeles, California |
| BT = Arlington, Texas |
| STL = St. Louis, Missouri |
| TAR = Tarrytown, New York |
| LOR = Lordstown, Ohio |
| BW = Wilmington, Delaware |
| OS = Oshawa, Ontario |
| ST = St. Therese, Quebec |
Unit Number
This is a unique number assigned to each car by the factory it came from. It is the sequential build number for the body, but has no correlation whatsoever to the VIN or any other number, nor does it relate to the vehicle assembly unit number in the VIN.
Time Built Code
The time built code on most tags is a 3 digit alpha numeric code consisting of two numbers and a letter. The first two numbers indicate the month the car was built, while the letter represents the week. See the chart below:
| 01 = January | 07 = July | A = First Week |
| 02 = February | 08 = August | B = Second Week |
| 03 = March | 09 = September | C = Third Week |
| 04 = April | 10 = October | D = Fourth Week |
| 05 = May | 11 = November | E = Fifth Week |
| 06 = June | 12 = December |
Therefor, a time built code of "03D" would equal 4th week of March, 1969.
Some Canadian built cars have a different system on early 1969 tags. They consist of three hyphenated numbers. At this time we do not have an exact reference to understand these codes, but will list it here once available.
