Is this right?

[Guest]

Just because the Sloan Museum does'nt have anything on any '71 Buicks ("except Opal"), and the only other suggestion was to drop the gas tank & virtually strip the interior of my '71 Skylark (including the dash)...there's no other possibility for obtaining Build Sheet information...Is this right?

[YellowLark]

I think you've covered the bases.<P>But, don't lose sleep over it. Many valuable cars have also lost theirs.

[Guest Skyking]

Do you really want to tear your car all apart to find a build sheet? You may do all this and still not find any. Out of all the Buicks I've owned, I only found the one in my 66 Skylark, and that was when I pulled the back seat out to clean it.

[Guest]

This is a long shot but if possible contact previous owners. Sometimes they may have come across the sheet during their cleanup/restoration and saved a copy.I know I must still have two dozen different copies from different cars I have owned.I still have the one from my first car some 20 years ago.Good Luck

[NTX5467]

A build sheet can be neat documentation, but it's not necessary documentation. The additional copies stuffed into the back of the seat springs and such helped make sure the right seats got in the correct vehicle, but if two vehicles had the same interior, the line worker might not grab the correct (according to the build sheet) seats for the vehicle. I suspect there should be one sheet for the front seat and the back seat. I never did understand the gas tank location though. I have seen pictures of (what I did not know at that time) build sheets taped to the cowl of the car before the fenders went on. Having it on the basic body shell prevented the line workers from having to look at the trim (i.e., body) plate on the cowl, I suppose, and expedited them doing their job.<P>From what I've seen in the front of the old Chevy parts book, there was a lot of information stamped onto the old warranty plates that came with the vehicles and were supposed to be correctly mated with their respective vehicle. I guess that if the car came with a Holley carb and the warranty repair parts were for a Rochester, that might make them deny the claim for "incorrect parts" if they could look at the imprint of the warranty plate and see that as they processed the claim at the zone office.<P>As far as the major items, you can get that off of the body plate on the cowl (without twisting any wrenches). It might be possible to decipher the engine from the VIN and further inspection of the vehicle could determine if the engine, trans, rear axle are correct for that particular year and model of vehicle (by the stamping codes). The build sheet, naturally, would nail down all of the questionable variables if you knew how to read and understand it (from the codes and such). It's not nearly as neat and easy to document those earlier GM cars as it is the similar Chrylser products.<P>At this point in time, "numbers match" for an earlier vehicle is a neat thing to have, but it's not necessary considering how many component failures could have resulted over the years. What should matter is how things fit together as they are or could have been when the vehicle was new (i.e., option packages, colors, trim). I suspect that if you're trying to document a genuine GSX over a regular GS or Skylark, for example, the time you spend might not be justified. In other words, it would be nice to find the build sheet but it's not totally necessary.<P>You could spend your time better by getting appropriate sales literature or even the Dealer Order Guide for that year and model. There are also some other publications out there that might help find what you're looking for.<P>Enjoy!<BR>NTX5467

[Guest 455stage1]

Build sheets...Skyking hit the nail on the head.<P>Some (probably most) cars don't even have build sheets - my GS didn't. I've heard stories that when a build sheet was found, it wasn't even for the car it was found in (a couple serial #s off). The Buick line workers did not pay close attention to make sure that each and every car received the correct buildsheet.<P>What is so important that you are trying to identify? It's probably not worth tearing your entire car apart looking for a build sheet that, in all honesty, probably does not exist. Again, what is your goal? What are you trying to learn that you don't already know?<P>I'd also hate to see you tear apart your car for no reason.