tommyb

Hi everyone new to the group. Would someone try to decode my cowl tag? I have a 1964 f85 2 dr coupe. right now it is yellow with black interior. Thank you, Tom Here is what I found, B70=padded instrument dash, B80=Chrome roof drip molding, style, obviously=year, trim 945, probably black. the rest, ????????

Vintage Chief

Give it a shot on your own & see what you come up with. Others will reply if incorrect and/or modifications are needed and it will assist us all in determining how well the updated decoder is working. Easy to use...follow directions.

https://datatagdecoder.com/

Vintage Chief

I have some issues w/ the tag itself & I haven't been into deciphering all these cowl tags long enough to know some of the MANY which were used. I'll just highlight a couple things which are suspicious and I have no knowledge of.

(1) I "thought" BF referred to Fremont Plant, but the Cowl Tag demonstrates LANSING(?) (I'm quite confused)
(2) The Cowl Tag placement appears peculiar - I thought there were four rivets, yours show two, but the one rivet area looks like the original tag was removed(?) since it looks like the original attachment point (upper left remaining rivet hole)(?)
(3) The build date "4 B" runs up & into the word OLDSMOBILE & "6-1" runs up & into the abbreviation "CORP"
(3) I have no idea why the number "7" is embossed on the Cowl Tag.

I can decipher some of the accessories/trim codes but I can't arrive at a "CCA" paint code. Perhaps I'm using the wrong Cowl Tag from the decoder but I'm really struggling on this one(?). Others can surely assist with more knowledge. Sorry.

Vintage Chief

OK So, LANSING (Home Of Oldsmobile) is on all the Cowl Tags
BF = Fremont, CA - You car was built/assembled in Fremont
4 B = Built during 2nd week of April
Appears your cowl tag does have only two rivets as opposed to four. Reading cowl tags is like solving a crossword puzzle unless you know the exact model year, etc. and have the historical experience (which I lack) but others will validate. 1964 Fremont built cars I believe were very unique in how they elected to employ Cowl Tags.
64=Obviously year as you stated
3227
3=Oldsmobile Division (Make)
2=F85 Cutlass (Series)
27=(Post) Sports Coupe
2465=Fisher Body Sequence Number

945=Red Vinyl Interior
A20=Custom Seat Belts
B70=Instrument Panel Pad
B80=Roof Drip Molding
B90=Door Window Moldings

I'll do a search for CCA, I believe it's been asked before on CO.

joe_padavano

BF is Fremont. "Oldsmobile Division, Lansing, MI" is where the company was headquartered. For comparison, here's a tag from a Fremont Chevelle. Note that it says "Detroit, MI", which was the Chevy HQ.





All cowl tags have only two fasteners. The two offset fasteners are normal for a 1964 tag as seen above.
The date code stamp tended to move around, especially on the Fremont tags. Note the Chevelle tag below.




The "6-1" is the job number, unique to Fremont tags.
TR 945 is a Holiday Red interior
The third letter of the paint code is the wheels (this is unique to Fremont). Cars with dog dish covers got body color wheels, full wheel covers got black wheels. "A" signifies black wheels. The "CC" indicates Provincial White upper and lower body colors.
Fremont is unique in using the actual RPO codes instead of the five group ACC codes that other assembly plants used on the cowl tags.
A20 = standard front seat belts
B70 = safety padded dash
B80 = chrome drip rails
B90 = chrome trim around window frames on Sport Coupe
6569 is the build sheet number, again Fremont was unique in stamping this on the cowl tag.
The hand-stamped "7" (as opposed to the machine-stamped raised characters on the rest of the tag) is alleged to be a final inspector stamp that was obviously done after the car was finished and the tag installed on the cowl.

Vintage Chief

Joe - Fantastic. The last piece I was going to post was info regarding CCA (performing a search of course this led to Cold Cranking Amps - LOL), but what I found was another write-up as you said:

I certainly learn tons from yourself & others. One thing becomes apparent from a historical perspective is consistently inconsistent with regards to model years and production/assembly plants. Lots of information to decipher and retain.

tommyb

Special Thanks to Vintage Chief and others who replied to my post. I am new to the Oldsmobile group you have taught me so much about my car. Great learning experience. I did google image of 1964 Cutlass cowl tan and surprised that an actual tag for a '64 fremont came up. there were only 2 rivet holes so I am still searching about the 4 vs 2 holes. Thanks again everyone who replied. No more searching, thanks. tommyb

joe_padavano

I don't know what you are searching for, but there are no Fisher Body cowl tags with four holes. All of them have two fasteners.

Vintage Chief

Yeah, Joe put the 4-hole vs. 2-hole notion to rest in Post #5...so, don't look to hard for something which doesn't exist.