VIN Creation and Car Documentation.

[Dangermouse]

This is something I have been wondering about. - when was the VIN assigned.

Did the factory just make up a consecutive batch each month, or was that dictated from the NY office?

Did someone dictate that VIN 01234 would be a black/auto or did the factory mount the plates on the available cars and then record the configuration?

When was the MSO printed and by whom? Was it printed at the factory and shipped with the car, or was it printed in NY?

Did the cars leave the factory with any documentation other than a Bill of Lading which was used for the ships manifest?

[Mark D]

All interesting questions that I was wondering about as well...

[Dangermouse]

Yes, I'm not expecting too many people to know this.

To paraphrase Liam Neeson: What I need is a person with a particular set of skills, skills acquired over a long career

[lazabby]

I'll throw in some additional questions. Why did they start with VIN 500? Why not 1? And why did they skip to VIN 10001 when starting the 1982 models after ending 1981 models at 7199? What happened to VIN 10000? Maybe James Espey or Nick Sutton knows the answers

[jawn101]

I'm also curious how pertinent the date of manufacture on the VIN plate really is to when the car was made. From what Shannon tells me, mine may be the first July 81 build. But what does that really mean? Maybe the plate was stamped in July of 81 and the car didn't roll off the line until September. I know that the original sales records combined with the VIN plate date would give you a window, but still.

[Shep]

This is something I have been wondering about. - when was the VIN assigned.

Did the factory just make up a consecutive batch each month, or was that dictated from the NY office?If you mean the VIN numbers themselves, they just incemented the number by one for each car made and adjusted the check digit to make it a valid VIN. Then they changed "BD" to "CD" for the '82 models, and again to "DD" for the '83 models.


Did someone dictate that VIN 01234 would be a black/auto or did the factory mount the plates on the available cars and then record the configuration?I don't recall auto/manual configurations being recorded on DeLoreans anywhere other than the transmission itself and the frame, but I suspect they simply had a batch of transmissions and frames available and picked at random from the stack, in a manner similar to the HVAC panel selection process (whatever was on top or within reach). In the beginning, they tried to do a 50/50 mix of auto and stick since they did not know what demand would be, but later adjusted this number. The transmissions and frames were likely produced in the desired percentages and provided to the factory, where they were assembled at random and went through the line.

Nowadays factories tend to have records on all those little details that each car comes with for record keeping (warranty service, recalls, etc.), but computers back in the 80's could not keep up with production, nor were they reliable enough for any serious operation, so that kind of thing would have to be done by hand. I doubt anyone was tasked with randomly deciding what transmission type each D came with and recording it for the factory; not only would this delay production if they got behind, but it would also mean the factory workers would have to comply with these records, know where find them, etc., which isn't practical for any large-scale manufacturing process. Even now that task is computerized, and either factory workers are shown what options to select via a screen, or the options are selected for them by automated processes.


Why did they start with VIN 500?Some of the prototypes were given actual VIN numbers. Because of this, they couldn't start at VIN 1 or VIN 0, so they opted to go with VIN 500. Case in point: VIN 20 was given a VIN number of SCEDT26T5BD000020:
http://www.citizenkidd.com/DMC/images/vin/plates/images/00020.jpg
(Image from the Texas DeLorean Club VIN Photos page (http://www.citizenkidd.com/DMC/pages/vins.asp?start=1&stop=2000))


I'm also curious how pertinent the date of manufacture on the VIN plate really is to when the car was made. From what Shannon tells me, mine may be the first July 81 build. But what does that really mean? Maybe the plate was stamped in July of 81 and the car didn't roll off the line until September. I know that the original sales records combined with the VIN plate date would give you a window, but still.Usually the date is stamped shortly before it rolls out of the factory. At least in modern cars, the date of manufacture is when the car was completed, not when it was started nor when it was in progress. I would think DMC would be no different considering every now and then a VIN has a date later than the surrounding VIN's, even though the entire batch was started sequentially over a period of a few days.

[Dangermouse]

Shep

I understand the mechanics of physically creating a VIN plate. That's not really what I was asking about.

I am more interested in the logistics of this. Standardized VIN numbers has just been introduced to the auto world for the 1981 model year. Was it computerized? Manual?

[David T]

We can guess at why DMC did what they did but if you really want the logic and reasoning behind it the only way to find out is to ask someone who was involved with the process. This was the beginning of the computer age in the industrial world and some things were automated and others were not. The vin standardization was being pushed by the US DOT and DMC probably had guidelines to follow, for instance building in the check digit. In most industries production control creates the paperwork (orders for the shop). In this case it would be the build sheet for each car. So the best guess is when Production control is told to build a block of cars they would issue the vin #'s as per the guidelines they were given.
David Teitelbaum