Website design By BotEap.comThe hood trim tag was used on Chevrolet cars during the classic car era to record descriptions and installed options. The hood trim tag is a thin aluminum plate that was riveted to the firewall or “hood” of classic GM cars.
Website design By BotEap.comThe hood edge tag is often mistaken for the holy grail of classic car identification. I’m sorry to say, he won’t reveal all the details about his classic car.
Website design By BotEap.comWELL. So who needs to know these things? Anyone who knows what classic car series was a popular item, like an SS, would want to check out an SS series classic car if they were restoring or buying one. If a classic car were to be drastically modified over the years, you would need this information. Considering that the selling prices of some hot classic muscle cars are now higher than those of new cars, you want to be sure that you get what you pay for.
Website design By BotEap.comPicture this… You recently purchased a 1964 Impala that appears to have seen better days. Someone in the car’s past thought it would look better in white paint with a crushed red velvet interior…with dingle balls. Just go back to the original, they wouldn’t see you dead in that interior.
Website design By BotEap.comSo let’s take a look at the deck trim label on this 64 Impala and see what it says. Please note that the hood edge label format is different for other year ranges. This format only applies to the years 1964 to 1967.
- CHEVROLET GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
- 04D DETROIT MICHIGAN
- STYLE 64-1847 AT013173 BODYSUIT
- FINISH 874 975 PAINT
- ACC E 2KS
- THIS CAR ENDED WITH
- MAGIC MIRROR ACRYLIC LACQUER
- FISHER’S BODY
Website design By BotEap.comLine 2 on this hood trim tag has the production date code. This is important when Regular Production Option (RPO) codes may have changed at some point during the model year and you need to be sure which option belongs on your car.
Website design By BotEap.comLine 3 is the model year: body style, assembly plant, and chassis number. The body style number says it was a v8 model 2-door sports coupe. AT means the car was assembled in Atlanta. The chassis number would only mean anything if it was something special like the first ’64 Impala ever produced. The chassis number is also in the VIN.
Website design By BotEap.comLine 4 is for the finish code which tells us about the interior and then the paint code. In this case we want to know that the interior was done in red cloth with a split front bench. The paint was 2-tone, Desert Fawn on top and Sunfire Red on the bottom half. Hmm, that sounds like a good color combination!
Website design By BotEap.comLine 5 is the accessory code. This line is made up of 1-5 groups of codes. This hood trim label only has the first 2 groups. If the deck trim label does not have codes in the other groups, you should assume those options were never installed. The E in group one tells us that it has factory tinted windows around it. Number 2 describes group 2, K is air conditioning, and S is manual rear antenna.
Website design By BotEap.comHow would we use this cover edge label information? If we needed to replace any glass, we’d look for tinted windows, or if the rear antenna was missing, we’d know we had to replace it.
Website design By BotEap.comThis doesn’t reveal anything fantastic about the car, except that it would be useful information if the car were missing the indicated parts. The option codes would be in group 4 on line 5 if the car was an SS. Since there aren’t, we know we have a factory air red and beige 2-tone 2-door v8 sport coupe. In this case, this information helps a lot!
Website design By BotEap.comI would use the information found on the hood trim label in addition to the Suffix Code Guides, and in conjunction with the Factory Parts and Casting Number Guides to get a complete picture. Along with the Factory Shop Manual and Assembly Manual, taking your classic car apart and putting it back together is almost like painting by number.
