"D" Cap Stamped Number

[JohnnyO]

Does the number stamped on the inside center of the original "D" caps mean anything identifiable to the car?

I just picked up a matched set of 4 with the number "1042" stamped inside of all 4.

Thanks for the input.

John

[sblake01]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't 1042 mean the 10th month and the 42nd year after the year of the Emperor (1925) which would be 1969. So, October 1969.

[Mike B]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't 1042 mean the 10th month and the 42nd year after the year of the Emperor (1925) which would be 1969. So, October 1969.

The Showa date for 1969 is 44. 1925 + 42 = 1967.

Do the hubcaps have lots of small clips around the edge to hold them on just a few larger clips? Earlier D caps have the fewer but larger clips.

-Mike

Edited November 8, 2008 by Mike B
Typo

[sblake01]

Okay, bad math:stupid: but did I get the formula right? So, 10/67?

[sblake01]

I just looked at Alan T. post in another thread about Showa dates. I got the formula right but did the math wrong. Is that actually a date on thos hubcaps? Would they have been made that early? Mike B. or anyone who would know?

[JohnnyO]

Mike,

Attached is a picture of the edge. You can almost make out the "1042" in the center.

Steven, you keep contributing to this board, we'll worry about the math;)

Thanks Guys!

[JohnnyO]

Were they using D caps on other vehicles back then?

[AZ-240z]

I have a set of D hubcaps with the larger (earlier) retainer clips that came from the same original car. One has 00.81 and another has 52.13 on the back behind the center medallion area. The formula would seem to not apply to these numbers.

Another set I have, again with the larger clips, has number "101" on one, and "107" on another along with "IKI JAPAN" printed below each number on the back center portion of each cap. Maybe someone can decipher the meaning of these numbers if the above formula may not apply.

Dan

[Arne]

Those are the later style clips. The same as on the set I sold to Mike B, which came off of a mid-71, around 4-6/71. I recall some stamped numbers on the back of mine, too. But I can't find any close-ups.

[JohnnyO]

When I first saw the number I thought it might be linked to the VIN. Guess that was totally wrong!

[Mike B]

Is that actually a date on thos hubcaps? Would they have been made that early? Mike B. or anyone who would know?

I have not seen any hubcaps dated prior to 1969 (Showa 44). Date code formats seem to vary quite a bit, and I'm not even certain that this is a date code. If it is, my guess would be April 2, 1971. It could be April 1, 1972, but I think they had gone to the later Z hubcaps by then (unless these are replacements bought from a dealer). I've seen the IKI or IKI Japan as Dan noted with a 3 digit like number like 102 or 103. Maybe that is Feb/Mar 1971?

-Mike

[JohnnyO]

they are stamped "IKI Made In Japan", but it is along the edge near the valve stem opening.

I guess it doesn't matter as long as it is period correct. Would I need the larger tabs for a 01/70 Z? (or doesn't it matter)