Reconciling differences in mfg. dates - engine vs axles vs vehicle title

[US6x4]

My M813 is titled as a '79, the engine was manufactured in 4-'81, and I don't know how to decode my axles tags but I'm trying to figure out which date would be the most accurate in terms of indicating when the truck left the assembly line. Does it make sense for a 4-'81 engine to make it into a '79 truck?



Are there any stories about how AM General operated with contract runs and delivery dates? For example, in early 2008 PACCAR was still producing 2006 model year Kenworths because of a huge pre-order that couldn't be fulfilled in a timely manner.

 

[simp5782]

Engine probably blew and it was replaced is the most likely answer. The trucks went thru refurb. An 81 engine could have sat in a crate until 88 or 91 or somewhere along those lines

 

[US6x4]

A refurb process would usually leave behind an MWO tag or depot data plate wouldn't it? Could the color of an engine be a clue as to being a replacement? My engine is a dark metallic gray color. I see others that are od green or black.

 

[simp5782]

Not necessarily. Not every MWO is placed in the door. If it needed a new engine then the pool just might have replaced it. Most returns from RRAD were black engines. No telling but it is more than likely not the original engine.

 

[US6x4]

Well I just perused Carnac's historical VIN thread and found my truck listed as a 1981 year of manufacture so maybe it is still sporting its original engine or at least its original engines data plates. This is exciting for me because I was hoping to get an '81 truck from the start but could never find one. Looks like my truck and I were made in the same year

 

[porkysplace]

Well I just perused Carnac's historical VIN thread and found my truck listed as a 1981 year of manufacture so maybe it is still sporting its original engine or at least its original engines data plates. This is exciting for me because I was hoping to get an '81 truck from the start but could never find one. Looks like my truck and I were made in the same year

Somebody might have just picked 1979 as the year when they applied for the SF-97 from GL and that's what was put on the title.

 

[Ajax MD]

I agree with @porkysplace. I think your truck is an '81 but the paperwork for your title got fudged up somehow.

But, Wes is also correct in that a part manufactured or refurb'd in a particular year might sit on the shelf for a decade before being installed.
A prime example is my "new" transfer case which was rebuilt in 1994 at Letterkenny but I just installed it in 2019. Also, my transmission has a refub tag on it that is a couple years newer than my truck. There's no telling when it was actually installed after being refurb'd. 1980's? 1990's?

You're lucky, your truck is probably 10 years newer than mine! You may have got one of the last 809's.

 

[US6x4]

The previous owner did not get a title for the truck when he bought it and had to apply for a lost title, wait three years, and then get a new one created so that's where the year could have gotten changed. It may have been unknown to everyone downstream of it getting surplussed out.

 

[MWMULES]

Did it not have a data plate on the right side of the dash?

 

[US6x4]

Did it not have a data plate on the right side of the dash?

It does with a registration # and a vin # but the delivery date is blank

 

[98G]

It does with a registration # and a vin # but the delivery date is blank

My guess is it went through reset and got a new data plate then. Frequently they didn't get date stamped.

Best guess says the engine is original to the truck.

 

[US6x4]

My guess is it went through reset and got a new data plate then. Frequently they didn't get date stamped.

Best guess says the engine is original to the truck.

Can you explain more about a reset? Is that like coming out of storage and getting reallocated?

 

[98G]

Can you explain more about a reset? Is that like coming out of storage and getting reallocated?

Reset for 939series trucks came in two flavors -

1) RSMS, which was essentially a frame off restoration to as new condition (more or less)

2) IROAN, which was "inspect, replace only as needed".

Data plates which were damaged or faded frequently got replaced. Vehicle serial numbers were stamped onto the new data plates, but original date of delivery wasn't a high priority.

Presumably 809series trucks had similar programs. I know that Maine had an RSMS program for the hmmwv. Oshkosh was doing reset for the 1070s and the HEMTTs.

 

[Robo McDuff]

Not so quick with the dates, I ended up with almost certainly the wrong MFG date on my truck. It now mentions 1973, but that is definitely the date of overhaul. All other signs point at 1965.

To quote myself from the same CARNAC thread

Just to emphasis this for others; as mentioned earlier by Carnac and Dave Doyle, vehicle information can be incomplete or even sometimes wrong.
Case in point is my M51A2. Almost certainly it was manufactured and brought into service in 1965 in the USA, and sold as surplus in 1999 or early 2000 in the Netherlands. However, the available documentation only describes the period 1973-1986. If I ever find more information on the missing periods, I will share it here in my thread on the truck and reference it also in this thread, but don't hold your breath.

Try find a VIN number or a hood number. When I started looking into this deeper, I checked the sequence of VIN numbers and style of hood numbers, and found out that they were definitely from before 1973, and later found out that the numbers from around 1965 came closest. My engine has an overhaul tag also, but the block itself has the year of MFG 1965 on it (hard to see on the pic)



I am not sure if the engine and truck were overhauled as one (dates fit), or if they just put an already overhauled engine in the truck and the 1965 is coincidence.

 

[MWMULES]

It does with a registration # and a vin # but the delivery date is blank

any contract numbers as they usually are correct within a year or so?

 

[US6x4]

any contract numbers as they usually are correct within a year or so?

There is a co. # DAAE07-79-D-5015

 

[Robo McDuff]

I would say a truck cannot be older than a contract number (date of the start of the contract) but a contract number can definitely be older than the truck?

 

[MWMULES]

I would say a truck cannot be older than a contract number (date of the start of the contract) but a contract number can definitely be older than the truck?

Yep but only by a year or two newer that I have seen, however that doesn't stop folks from making them a time traveler!
This was sold by GP as a
1971 AM General M814 5 Ton 6x6 Cargo Truck

1971 AM General M814 5 Ton 6x6 Cargo Truck

6x6, Cummins NHC250 Diesel Engine, 5 Speed Manual Transmission, 11.00-20 Tires, Hard Top, Heater, Fuel Tank, 44,909 lbs. GVWR.

www.govplanet.com

​

 

[Robo McDuff]

My granddaughter would really love that truck just because of its colour. She has a color-match violin to go with it.

I don't know the contract number codes, how old is this truck according the date shield you showed?