EL CAMINO Cowl tag

[derek2444]

I have a 79 el camino and can't find any information about the cowl tag. Can anyone decode this for me or give me a website to decode it myself?

 

[69hurstolds]

79 02A- 1979 model year, scheduled build date 1st week of February, 1979
1AW80- 1= Chevrolet, AW80 = El Camino
D- Doraville, GA build plant
120859- Fisher body number (found on build sheet if you're lucky and yours included one)
24D- Dark blue cloth interior
22L/22U- lower and upper = Light blue
L- Lacquer paint
AV7- 50/50 seat non-recline
0757- ?? Not sure what this denotes.
D91- Conquista option with 2-tone paint
22L- Light Blue
21U-Pastel Blue

Interestingly, from the above, it appears it's a two tone Conquista in pastel and light blue. The top and lower rocker area is light blue metallic (22L) and the middle and hood is pastel blue (21U). With this color combo, you could only get blue or black interior it seems. I hate when they do this because then you get two sets of paint codes. They're not accent colors or stripes otherwise I think they'd have an M behind them or something. But, Fisher had their procedures...

Interestingly, if you check out the color choices chart in the information kit, it APPEARS they got either the chart mucked up or the colors flipped because it says 21L would be the hood and center body and 22U would be the top and rocker area. Which if you look at the body tag, it should be the other way around. It has 22L and 21U, which shouldn't even be an available choice. Hmmm ??????????

I'm guessing it looks something like this:

 

[69hurstolds]

From another website I read a possible explanation for the 07857 number as a possible plant ID code, but the tag said 0428 and the car was built at Doraville. So I'm pretty sure that's BS as a plant ID code. The D pretty much sums it was built at Doraville (Atlanta).

 

[Ribbedroof]

My 2 cents on upper/lower codes. I think the primary code is 22U and 22L so that the paint line paints the whole thing Light blue, as opposed to the typical 2-tone with the upper one color and the lower a second color.

BUT these are really 3 tone, so that's where the second line of paint codes comes in, telling them that the upper (really middle) color is pastel blue, with the light blue as the lower (and actual upper color) remaining light blue.

Guessing they actually applied the light blue overall and then added the pastel over it (this might have been done on a second line, by hand rather than robotic), assuming the jambs would be light blue. Otherwise that's a lot of excessive back and forth masking to obtain just the exterior accent color. Not the way it's done in repairs, but we aren't under the time constraints of a production line, either. Generally, in refinish work, the upper and lower colors would just get done to slightly past the seperation lines and then jambs/outer masked for the second color. Although, some painters will spray the middle color first, depending on their take on light or dark color gets sprayed first.... jambs are seldom done, so it's not usually a consideration, other than preventing overspray

 

[derek2444]

79 02A- 1979 model year, scheduled build date 1st week of February, 1979
1AW80- 1= Chevrolet, AW80 = El Camino
D- Doraville, GA build plant
120859- Fisher body number (found on build sheet if you're lucky and yours included one)
24D- Dark blue cloth interior
22L/22U- lower and upper = Light blue
L- Lacquer paint
AV7- 50/50 seat non-recline
0757- ?? Not sure what this denotes.
D91- Conquista option with 2-tone paint
22L- Light Blue
21U-Pastel Blue

Interestingly, from the above, it appears it's a two tone Conquista in pastel and light blue. The top and lower rocker area is light blue metallic (22L) and the middle and hood is pastel blue (21U). With this color combo, you could only get blue or black interior it seems. I hate when they do this because then you get two sets of paint codes. They're not accent colors or stripes otherwise I think they'd have an M behind them or something. But, Fisher had their procedures...

Interestingly, if you check out the color choices chart in the information kit, it APPEARS they got either the chart mucked up or the colors flipped because it says 21L would be the hood and center body and 22U would be the top and rocker area. Which if you look at the body tag, it should be the other way around. It has 22L and 21U, which shouldn't even be an available choice. Hmmm ??????????

View attachment 236663

I'm guessing it looks something like this:

I would assume it looked similar. it's silver now unfortunately, but I did find evidence of it being blue in the past

 

[69hurstolds]

My 2 cents on upper/lower codes. I think the primary code is 22U and 22L so that the paint line paints the whole thing Light blue, as opposed to the typical 2-tone with the upper one color and the lower a second color.

BUT these are really 3 tone, so that's where the second line of paint codes comes in, telling them that the upper (really middle) color is pastel blue, with the light blue as the lower (and actual upper color) remaining light blue.

Guessing they actually applied the light blue overall and then added the pastel over it (this might have been done on a second line, by hand rather than robotic), assuming the jambs would be light blue. Otherwise that's a lot of excessive back and forth masking to obtain just the exterior accent color. Not the way it's done in repairs, but we aren't under the time constraints of a production line, either. Generally, in refinish work, the upper and lower colors would just get done to slightly past the seperation lines and then jambs/outer masked for the second color. Although, some painters will spray the middle color first, depending on their take on light or dark color gets sprayed first.... jambs are seldom done, so it's not usually a consideration, other than preventing overspray

I think you're correct, although probably still 2 tone. They painted 22 all over, but then the 21 blue pastel (should have been an L instead of U according to the literature) did a paint-over of the hood and main body. Jambs, top and rockers were still light blue metallic. Back in 79 in the St. Louis plant I know, they still painted the cars, at least partially, by hand. No doubt this was a tape off and manual spray job for the Conquistas or other paint jobs. They did the same deal with the drunk monkey tape jobs for 2-tone Oldsmobiles in that era along with 83-87 VIN 9 Oldsmobiles' lower paint. Although, I don't think they started putting the lower paint code on the body tags until 86 or 87.

Here's some more pics of the car's door jambs. Light blue metallic on the jambs.