Hi, can you explain the numbers a bit more? Why did the factory need location numbers of a fender? It was obviously not difficult to tell a left form a right fender.
Its not about getting one drivers and one passenger fender but getting the ones painted for the car (out of the same supply as the rest of the body) for that specific car. The fixture where the fenders were hung and painted has been described as something similar to the racking system we see in a dry cleaners. A bunch of hooks on a conveyor system that go round and round (these numbers do repeat themselves if you collect enough of the samples). Unpainted fenders were placed at the beginning of the rack and the number of each of the two hooks were written on the frame rail corresponding to the drivers and passenger side fender. Body and parts then travel down their paths each being painted from the same source.
Later in the line after painting the rack and body come back together, the worker identifies the correct fenders for the body by the numbers, they are removed from the rack and placed on the car. The hooks continue on their path, back around, to the start of the process again.
Don't know how this accountability was accomplished at Dearborn or NJ in 65-66 as of yet. Maybe they just eye balled it