I feel like I won the lottery.

[REM]

When I got my 60 there was no data plate on the door.
I hoped to find the ROT sheet under the seats but no luck.
Today I pulled the rear seat back backrest cushion and there it was.
It is in pretty fair shape but very dry and brittle.
What is the best way to try to preserve it?
Should I put it in a ziplock and put it back?
I took these pics of it but feel the original should stay in the car.
Thanks Richard

[Guest]

Hey Richard,
Great find!
Richard D. Hord

[kuusamon]

Carefully straighten it and then laminate it or have it laminated and make a few copies for yourself.

[Mickfly70]

Looks like its really dry. I would add some moisture by holding it over a boiling kettle. First just do it to a corner to see if that works. Then laminate it.

I had the rear seat off a couple of weeks ago when I put seat belts in. I was hoping to find a wad of green backs but all I found was a parking ticket from 1972 and a Canadian quarter.

[60 T-Bird]

Here's mine...found it in the springs of the back seat. Here is what I found under the carpet!

[GTE427]

Martin,

The engine code 'Y' on your ROT sheet would be for a 352 engine, thought your car was equipped with a 430 engine when you started with this restoration. Does the ROT match your car or had the 430 replaced the 352 at some time in the past?

[redstangbob]

I know the ROT sheet has changed over time, I have two for my 65 hardtop. On mine the 'date' has been dropped with only the 'scheduled date' shown. On REM's example the order type is 'L', and the other has a '1' , mine shows an 'L'. Has this been decoded yet? Some think the 'L' is for lease or just dealer stock?

[REM]

I find this all interesting.
What is the significance of "Date" and "Sched Date"
Mine had no data plate on it. Would one of these correspond with the date code of the data plate.
Also mine has a V color code which I find to mean something Rose but it has never been that color.
The serial # on the ROT matches the one on the car.
There was also the remanants of another ROT sheet under the drivers seat but very little of it remained. Not enough left to compare any of it with the other one except tire size and type which matched.

[fomoco59]

I don't think it's too unusual to find two ROT sheets in a car. I found a remnant of a second sheet, same "date", also with no radio, so they were probably built together at one point. The "date" would be stamped on the data plate. If you do a search, there's a lot of discussion regarding date codes in earlier posts. Check the "last squarebird" I think.

[JohnG]

Richard, if you do a Search of old threads, there is an enormous one from a couple years ago about "The Last Squarebird". Within that thread is lengthy discussion by some really knowledgeable people about Data Plates, scheduling and the ROT sheets. It is fascinating and informative and will do much to answer your questions (short answer, date on Data Plate does not match actual production date) because people were trying to decide if the Thunderbird in question really was the last one to come off the assembly line based on a collection of information which was contradictory at first glance.

John

[REM]

Thanks
I'll check it out.

[JohnG]

see also: http://www.squarebirds.org/vbulletin...ead.php?t=6382

[YellowRose]

I feel like I won the lottery

As has been stated, the Date on the Data Plate and the date on the Build or ROT sheet do not necessarily indicate the actual date the car was built. The Build/ROT sheet date is the date it was scheduled to go on the line. However, delays in line production, speed up of production or problems with a frame going on the line could either delay the actual build date, or cause it to be built sooner than the date it was scheduled for. It is my understanding that the Data Plate was created with the Build/ROT sheet, so if a car was built sooner or later than the date on the paperwork, they did not go back and make a new Data Plate.

One of the most complete breakdowns of what all the numbers mean on your Build/ROT (short for Rotation) sheet means are on Tom Maruska's website under the Technical tab. Tom has some great documentation there that we have included, as I recall, in the TRL. Here is the web page for the Build/ROT sheet breakdown. While you are there, you will want to bookmark his tbirdsquare website for future use. It has much information for all of use to use.

http://www.reocities.com/tpls63/technical/1962rot.html

[redstangbob]

There's been a lot of discussion about the date codes on the ROT and data plate, Mine was a first day of production scheduled car and the data plate and ROT are the same (Aug 3/64) but the gate sheet has an invoice date of 8/17. I have casting dates that no-way went into a 8/3 car, but could have gone into a car 2 weeks later. I was thrilled when I called the parts dept of the dealer that sold my car in late 64 and found he still had a few original license plate frames from the old days. He was good enough to send them to me, so I can sport them on my car.

[redneck]

Congrats on the ROT find

Hi guys:
Thanks to this forum, I also went searching for my ROT for my 60 bird. All I found was a #$%# old mouse nest under the back seat. I took care of that right away. Then I noticed one small corner of paper sticking out from the corner of my carpet pad just behind the drivers seat. I removed the screws that held the carpet pad down and found a fully intact ROT sheet. I have it laminated and it is fun to have with the car at the car shows.

Redneck in N. Minnesota