Hi, I am a newbie to both Thunderbird ownership and this forum. I look forward to learning from the other forum members and hopefully contributing where I can. I have a 1965 Thunderbird convertible that I am very much 'learning'... so please excuse any dumb questions from my side
The data plate on my car has the following information:
Body - 76A
Color - 4
Trim - 57
Date - I3E
DSO - 73
Axle - 1
Trans 4
I am primarily interested in understanding the build date and what things like DSO, Axle and Trans and what the codes mean.
Hi Kartman01,
Welcome to the VTCI forum. I would suggest you get hold of a '65 Thunderbird Shop Manual. All this information can be found in there and you'll need one if you plan on doing any work on this car yourself. I'd also present it to any mechanic working on the car!
The first thing I can tell you about your Data Plate - because it is gray in color, the car was originally painted in alkyd enamel. Acrylic enamel was typical and the Data Plate would have had a black background.
76 A - Convertible.
COLOR - 4 - Frost Turquoise
TRIM - 57 - All - Vinyl. Light Turquoise metallic w Dark Turquoise appointments
DATE - E13 - May 13
DSO - 73 - Salt Lake City
AXLE - 1 - 3.00:1 ratio
TRANS - 4 - Cruise- O - Matic
Kartman, sorry no your car and all 65 Birds were built in the Wixom assembly plant in Detroit MI
The DSO stands for District Sales Office, and in simple terms in what region the car would be shipped to for final sale. All this info can be found in the Shop manual in the index section.
I highly recommend you get the manual and get educated on the finer points of the Car. It is a wealth of information and good luck on your future fun days.
CDN Member since 1975 #2086
Flock: 1964 Landau Original Family Owned
1964 Sr Convertible "RAVEN"
Past: 2003 Blk Lab "RAVEN" "RIP"Nov 15/17
1964 Lincoln vin4Y86N00007
1964 Red Convertible
Scott6T6 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 11, 2023 6:20 pm
The first thing I can tell you about your Data Plate - because it is gray in color, the car was originally painted in alkyd enamel. Acrylic enamel was typical and the Data Plate would have had a black background.
I hate to tell you, but the gray background for '65 was a mid-year change to ID acrylic enamel vs. alkyd. Ford went to the extent of mentioning this change in background color in TSBs and the "Shop Tips" mailers that went out to repair shops and garages.
Here's a clip from the '60-'68 Master Parts Catalog describing the background color usage.
65 Data Plate Background Color ('60-'68 MPC, General Info P. 13)
In 1966, for whatever reason (probably because more cars were being painted with acrylic), the background color on the plate 'flipped' so that black was for acrylic and gray was for alkyd.
Here's a clip from the '60-'68 MPC for description of '66 plates.
66 Data Plate Background Color ('60-'68 MPC, Gen Info pg 14)
Alan H. Tast, AIA
Technical Director/Past President,
Vintage Thunderbird Club Int'l.
Author, "Thunderbird 1955-1966" & "Thunderbird 50 Years"
1963 Hardtop & 1963 Sports Roadster
I stand corrected. Well, that's interesting. Those TSBs and Shop Tips contain a lot of good information. Not to mention the Master Parts Catalogs, and I have those!
I appreciate the clarification.
I neglected to mention your Thunderbird was the 65,892nd Thunderbird built in the 1965 model year as found in the Vehicle Warranty Number (Consecutive Unit Number) stamped into your Data Plate.
The total number of Thunderbird's produced in 1965 was 74,972. Of that total, only 6,846 were convertibles.
I would also like to say Frost Turquoise was a relatively uncommon paint color in '65 and you don't run across too many T-birds that left the factory in that hue.
Back in the mid 1970s, I found a '65 Mustang Hardtop for my sister that was painted in Frost Turquoise. It had a white vinyl top and interior. It was the only '65 Mustang I had ever seen like it at the time, and she would receive compliments on the color on a regular basis!
Scott6T6 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2023 10:45 am
Kartman01,
I neglected to mention your Thunderbird was the 65,892nd Thunderbird built in the 1965 model year as found in the Vehicle Warranty Number (Consecutive Unit Number) stamped into your Data Plate.
The total number of Thunderbird's produced in 1965 was 74,972. Of that total, only 6,846 were convertibles.
I would also like to say Frost Turquoise was a relatively uncommon paint color in '65 and you don't run across too many T-birds that left the factory in that hue.
Back in the mid 1970s, I found a '65 Mustang Hardtop for my sister that was painted in Frost Turquoise. It had a white vinyl top and interior. It was the only '65 Mustang I had ever seen like it at the time, and she would receive compliments on the color on a regular basis!
Scott
Thank you Scott6T6, I had no idea my car was such a rare color combination. It certainly seems to get a lot of attention!
