Hi Guys, Please go to the web site for TARTC to get the correct address.  Do not use the old address that I listed in Sterling Heights, MI- that was from a 2002 advertisement.  I didn't know that they had a web site.

Dennis- Thanks a million, I was hoping someone would jump in that knew something.  Have an excellent weekend!  Nick Brann, K.C., MO

Hi Guys,  This information is a little dated, I'm waiting to hear back from a friend who knows a lot more about T-Birds than me.  I don't think there are any invoices available for the full-size cars, sorry.  I got my '57 Bird invoice from T.A.R.T.C. Invoices, P.O. Box 255, Sterling Heights, MI.  Cost $50 about 10 years ago.  They require:  1.  A data plate tracing- put a piece of paper over the data plate and rub with a pencil or dirty finger,  2.  A copy of positive proof of ownership- do not send the original,  3.  A check or money order for the amount, payable to T.A.R.T.C. Invoices.  If I find that the price is different, I'll leave another post.  Invoices for T-Birds were available for all 56's and 57's, and 55's from serial number 232214. 

It seems a lady named Lois who worked for Ford (at headquarters) saw the guys in her office throwing away all the little Bird invoices.  She immediately got some help and was able to save most of the thousands of invoices, several file cabinets full.  Some of the '55 invoices were lost.  If they have sold the original invoice to a previous owner, then they will send you a xerox copy, if this service is still up and going.  Good luck, Nick Brann - K.C., MO

It is my understanding they may have the Gate Releases for factory E & F code (8V and Supercharged) passenger cars, but TARTC does not advertise this.

Regards,

Dennis

Go to The American Road Thunderbird Club website.  The ordering instuctions are posted there.  $50, but you have to be a member.  

http://www.tartc.org/

Regards,

Dennis

And are they available for full-sized cars???

Ron Grove

Wauconda, IL

NIck= where did you order your original invoice? How much do they cost?

Hi Layour,  According to a friend of mine who has researched this stuff, the date on the production code (like your 27M) is just the scheduled production date.  If you order the original invoice for your T-Bird, it will have a date that is perforated in the invoice which is more likely the day it was built.  Also there is a blue stamped date on the invoice called the "gate release date" which is the day it actually left Ford Motor Company. 

I did order an original dealer invoice for our '57 Bird, but someone else had already purchased it and I got a black and white xerox copy instead.  It looks like my perforated date is 10-2-56 instead of the scheduled build date of 9-27-56.  Hope this isn't too much information- have fun.  Nick Brann, K.C., MO - red '57 T-Bird (that was originally starmist blue).

Bird, Nick, Dennis, thank you for the info on the date code, I have some other numbers here, I think I have got it figured out, the following are 27M20510p I know it was started on Dec 27 56, is their a way to tell what the actual number of the car is, like the first one to be made, or the 600th?

Hi,  To add to what has been said, you can get the scheduled build date for your T-Bird from the data plate on the firewall.  Look on the bottom row at the "production code".  Ford used a letter for the month ("I" was not used), and the date preceded that.  On my '57 for example, the production code starts with 27J.  Since production for the 57's started in 1956, this is the 27th day of September, 1956.  If my car had been built on the 27th day of September, 1957, the code would start with 27V.  A T-Bird built on the 10th of December, 1956 would start with 10M.  Since they built 57's clear up until mid-December of 1957, you could have a production code of 10Y which would indicate December of '57.  Hope this helps- Nick Brann, K.C., MO

What date is on the patent plate?  That is the scheduled vehicle build date.

Based on line speed and two shift operation, the car was built approximately mid to late December 1956.

Also check the date codes on other components from the engine and vehicle to see if this correlates.  The engine component date codes could possibly be anywhere from a week to a month before the vehicle build date. 

Regards,

Dennis