Topic: 65-68 Front Fender Date Code Pattern Running Change

[J_Speegle]

Thought I would post a thread on a subject covered in the Decoding Date Code article concerning a running change in how front fenders were dated/stamped. To begin this thread, I will focus on the visible date stamp along the top edge of the fender where it attaches to the inner fender panels. Typically, on most years there are two other stamped dates on the headlight bucker insert panel and the rea fender reinforcement support at the rear of the fender. 

Starting before and during the start of stamping front fenders for production Mustangs and Shelby?s the pattern used for the stamp was our familiar Month ? Day of Month- Stamping Plant-Shift pattern we see on most sheet metal pieces through the classic years. In some cases, the Stamping plant and the Shift may be reversed on some panels or production periods.

Starting in December 1965 at the Dearborn Stamping Plant, the plant that supplied the original outer front fender panels, we see a change in the pattern to one where there is no stamping plant identified in the stamping just Month- Day of Month- Shift. This pattern continued until around (Fender date stamp not car production date).

The return to a stamping pattern, from what I?ve collected, where it again included a stamping plant initial was during 1968 production but the earlier no stamping pattern initial style continued. This might be because one set of dies had holders that only allowed for up to 4 digits while another set of dies was machined fir 5 individual letters or numbers. Based on what I?ve collected so far the pattern with the stamping plant returned in February fender production while the no stamping plant pattern continued possibly until May 1968 on some fenders.


By 1969 and those new dies we start to see a completely different arrangement and pattern to the date code stamping of the outer fender panel but that is a subject for another thread.


Some pictures to illustrate the details mentioned in the text above


Examples of the pattern that included the stamping plant.




Examples of the shorter no stamping plant pattern




Picture showing on 65-66 examples of the other two secondary panels that make up these fenders were other date stamps were stamped but are not visible with fender installed most of the time.

[J_Speegle]

While on the subject thought I would share how service replacement front fenders were stamped through the decades. None of the examples are from 1969 and up cars and for those of us that are older there was a time were the common practice during a restoration was to replace everything you could with service replacement parts rather than repair originals and our understanding and valuing of differences between NOS/service parts and factory original was much different than today in most circles
 

[J_Speegle]

NOTE: The following post focuses on a 1966 production specific details. This question came up again the other day so thought I would share it with all here in an effort to help others if they run across this.

To add to the stamping date discussion there were times during the production of sheet metal panels and brackets were the worker inserting the individual ingots into the die incorrectly. There are little ones like placing the letter "D" or number "2" upside down so that it is backwards when viewing the rest of the stamps that we see from time to time. They appear to rarely have caught these little mistakes or if they did but were more focused on getting parts stamped and out than these little details.

For some of us that follow, collect and compare these details, these mistakes create sub-patterns within a production period or year, on the individual fender and on the car they were installed on, as we can identify these loads of mis-stamped fenders,  after they arrived at the individual car plants. 

Such a period took place during 1966 production were a group of fenders were produced with a stamp pattern that did not fit the regular pattern and can lead some to assume that something is incorrect about a fender they may have on their car. The purpose of this post is to inform owners about this finding through the data collected and shared below.

First the driver side fenders in this post are marked 2 91 4 as shown below. This may be the case where the worker reversed the "9" and the "1" or the "2" and the "4" since we know there was not ?91? days in any month and no 4th shift. Pattern shows up at San Jose plant on Mustangs and Shelby?s where other shipments of fenders are dated in March.
From the sample I've collected (about a dozen cars all from scheduled April and May car production period at San Jose there is definitely IMHO a solid identifiable pattern and belief that these are original fenders installed at the plant so if you have a car with this stamping on the driver?s side fenders all of these examples and data should provide you with confidence that it is original to the car from that period.

As of yet I have not found any driver's side front fenders , as described in this post no Mustangs built at Dearborn or Metuchen but would love to hear about any findings of such. Its possible that all of the fenders that day from that die were sent to only one plant.


Just four examples from four cars from the period identified above. Same pattern and same somewhat deep stamping on all of them