GM built cars at the Fremont CA plant from 1960 to 1980.  In that time many cars from Olds, Buick, Chevorlet and Pontiac rolled off the assembly line. While GM had home plants for all their makes, Oldsmobiles being in Lansing.  Fremont built them all under one roof.  They did things very differently there. The big difference was the Cowl Tag.  Lansing used GMs 5 place code system and Fremont did not.  The reason for this is not known.  Other plants that built GTOs and Chevelles used the 5 place system, so code confusion wasnt the reason why.

Lansing MI built 442

Fremont CA built 442

The most noticable difference is the shape of the tags.  Fremont didnt go to the Lansing style tag until 1966. You can see that Lansing used the code system.  This info was used by the workers at Fisher Body.  The line workers used the build sheets to build the cars not the data plate.   Fisher body only stamped codes on the tag that deviated from the base no option model car.  Since the 442 got holes in the quarter panel for the scoops, the code 4V was stamped on the tag to show that process had been done. Fremont used a tracking system based on broadcast cards and build sheets. One of the big mysteries is what the ACC. ##### means on the cowl tags. The example above has ACC. 23667 stamped on it.  This code has nothing to do with options. Page down to read about what this number represents. The Lansing build 442 in the above tag was the 24,820 Cutlass hardtop coupe built in Lansing for the model year 1965.  The above Fremont 442 was the 4,268 Cutlass hardtop coupe made in Fremont for the year 1965.  This number represents the body style produced, not the 442 produced.

The data tag and build sheet below are from a 1966 442.  The car was built at the Fremont CA plant.  The ACC code is 039090.  This code shows up in the Manifest Seq. Number box in the upper right hand corner of the buildsheet.

All 4 makes of cars had these ACC numbers.   The number represents the total number of cars, by make, produced at Fisher body.  The above is from a 65 Chevelle. The ACC numbers increased as the year passed. So the later the car the higher the number, for the most part.  Sometimes cars were dated to be built but didnt get built until a later date. Fremont tags were not painted.  They were attached when the body reached the body bank at the final assembly area.  At this point the final line build sheets, which were generated from the build order, were printed when the clerk in the body bank scheduled the body assembly for its final line sequencing. Once the ACC numbers reached 6 places they reset to zeros.  Chevrolet will have a rolled over ACC number of around 8,000. Pontiacs will have a ACC number that tops out around 68,000, and Oldsmobiles will be around 38,000.

The second place that the Fremont tags are different from the Lansing tags are the interior trim codes, TR on the tag. The first 3 numbers are the same, they are Fishers trim code for the interior.  This code was specific to the model of car.  The next number, on this tag 10, is Oldsmobiles dealer sales code for the interior.  This number wasnt specific.  I know 10 was black, my car has it as does the one above. I have seen 15 too, which I believe was red.  Its not known why Fremont stamped both codes on their tags.  On Chevorlet tags they used a letter code instead. The next Fremont only code is the wheel color code.  Cars that used steel wheels and poverty caps got a third letter in the paint code.  The plant used enamel paint instead of laquer to paint the wheels according to this code.  Fremont used the third letter system until July 1965. The last different feature was a hand stamped code that was hammered into the upper right corner of the tag.  The most popular theory is the number stamped matched the body cradle number that brought the body shell from Fisher body to the assembly plant.  If a problem was found with the body it could be tracked back to where it came from.  The number on the above tag is 11. Now this isnt fact but its what the BPC owners agree to, having talked to guys that worked there back in the 1960s.

Here is the Fremont plant in action.   Notice the 64 F-85 in front of the 64 Skylark that is being followed by a 64 Pontiac chassis.  This was the body drop line.  My car passed this point the second week of March 1965