Date codes? on fuel & evaporator tanks.

[Bonzi Lon]

Has any one else noticed these? I removed the steel evaporator tank from my 73 and noticed on the back side (up against the quarter panel) a 2 inch round white stamp on it. The stamp was divided into 3 parts. The top had a Japanese character, the center line has the number 3 then two spaces and then 6 26. The bottom line has another Japanese character. I found this interesting because my car was born 7-73, and I would like to think it was born on my 18th birthday of July 6th. I dropped the fuel tank and found another stamp on the very top of the tank. In order to view any of these stamps the tanks MUST be removed. On the fuel tank, the top line was the same character, the second line was 49, two spaces then 7 3, the bottom line had two Japanese characters. I guess my question is has anyone else noticed these and why are they the only parts on the car that have codes on them? Were these for legal reasons? (date made in case of failure?) Or were they for on time delivery and inspection codes in the factory. Nothing to make it run better, just something to make my brain ask why? Any other thoughts, comments or observations?

[sakijo]

Yes, this has been discussed before. Alan???

[HS30-H]

I guess my question is has anyone else noticed these and why are they the only parts on the car that have codes on them?

Miles is right - we have discussed inspection / manufacturing date stamps many times on this forum, so you have come to the right place

Actually, if you start looking closely you will find these little clues all over the componentry of your car. The coding can differ depending on the manufacturer of the part ( there were a lot of independent companies and Nissan affiliates involved in supply ) but most of them can be deciphered with a little work. If you cross-reference as many as possible, you can often take a pretty fair stab at the likely manufacturing date-of-birth for your car ( which may or may not correspond with the date stamped on the door-jamb tag of the USA-market cars ).

Look for threads and posts by the likes of forum members 'Kats' and '26th-Z' ( as well as many others ). The 'SEARCH' function of this forum is a positive gold mine. I don't think I use it enough myself - let alone advising anyone else to make use of it.

To continue this discussion ( if you wish ) I recommend you try to take some close-up photos and post them here. There are a number of us here who love to see this kind of 'carchaeological' excavation ...........

Good luck!

Miles,

Hope you have a nice 'Golden Week' holiday. This is a very nice time of year in Japan. I'm feeling nostalgic.

Cheers,

Alan T.

[26th-Z]

I'm tuned in. Would love to see some pictures. Please look for other markings, paint dabs, or brush strokes. Chances are, the original gloss of the paint surface is present around a stamp like yours. It's always fun to describe the finish. The people who built these cars used a braided cable pull chord to fish the rear wiring harness over the wheel well. 26th still has hers.

[Bonzi Lon]

I have finally gotten some good photos of these date codes. Each one is about 1 inch in diameter not the 2 inch as stated before. Before they go back in I think I will mark and date them also. Enjoy.

Bonzi Lon