Another Wixom Tag

[partsetal]

As we arrived on a cruise to a local entertainment complex in Eastern PA I noticed a very nice Yellow 1960 Hardtop. As I approached the car, the owner was also, preparing to leave. I started a conversation as he was getting in and noticed a Wixom tag on the door pillar. He knew nothing about it and was curious as to what it meant. I mentioned that it was one of 2 that I have seen and also of another that I had seen on this forum. He was preparing to drive off and I gave him one of my cards and asked if he would contact me in case I found any details. Now that some time has passed since we discussed this, is there any new information out there, or, perhaps more tag sightings? This owner was from Wind Gap, PA and mentioned that he found the car in Florida.
Carl Wixom2.jpg

[OUR5T8BIRD]

Morning Carl : I have similar tags from the company that I worked for starting in the sixties . They were attached to any equipment within the company like desks, chairs, machinery etc. . The fact that it is screwed on rather than riveted like the data plate , I would guess that this tag is of the same nature . In fact, I am sitting on chair that I brought with me from work when I retired that has a similar tag on it . Have an old drill press in the garage that also has one . I would guess the original owner of this Bird was a Ford employee at Wixom .

[jopizz]

I'm skeptical about the Ford employee theory. I saw the same tag on a '60 convertible that I was thinking of buying many years ago and the car was a one owner NJ car.

John

[partsetal]

I came across some old posts on a Lincoln Forum: https://www.lincolnsofdistinction.or...xom-tag.41047/
Was this posted to our site?
Carl

[kowalj04]

Wixom 2364!

I'm curious enough at this point about Carl's mysterious tag that I'm doing a few searches of my own. Here is an old squarebirds.org page mentioning Wixom tag 2364.

http://www.squarebirds.org/picture_g...e1960Tbird.htm

It mentions in the page that the line worker suspects these tags were inventory tags for the plant, and somebody may have occasionally put them on some cars. This was perhaps done as a joke. I wonder if anyone will stumble upon a picture of one of these tags on former plant equipment (not a car). Off to the Google machine I go.

This is the source which led me to the aforementioned squarebirds.org page.

https://www.thelincolnforum.net/phpb...hp?f=8&t=44554.

Edit/Addition:

Here are more links from squarebirds.org discussions about these tags from over the years.

Wixom 2456
Wixom 2058
https://www.squarebirds.org/vbulleti...1960-wixom-tag

Wixom 2645
https://www.squarebirds.org/vbulleti...6795-wixom-tag

***At this point I am just trying to cluster everything together and create a hyperlink repository on these tags.***

Another thought... Does anyone have the VIN of any cars which have these brass Wixom tags? It would be interesting to see if the production dates were in short period of time, as if the plant had a mandate to inventory and tag all assets during a short period of time.

I would not bet the farm on this, however

Wixom 2058 seems to have a VIN ending 18,519, or something to that effect.
Wixom 2364 does have a VIN ending 20,877

2007 squarebirds.org post on Wixom tags. I see these were discussed greatly in this forum around 2014-2016.

https://www.squarebirds.org/vbulleti...6795-wixom-tag

[kowalj04]

I have another theory to throw out there. A decade back I was a technician at a Ford dealership. Upper management would use a new vehicle for a few months per vehicle or until it sold. They referred to this as demo, which I interpreted as demonstrating. Technically they still sold the vehicles as new, however it could have a few hundred miles to the low 4 digits. The demo was supposed to be a procedural way for upper management to use company cars. Perhaps the Wixom tag had something to do with vehicles/equipment used for demo purposes?

Again, just a theory.

[YellowRose]

I think that the article that Carl ~ partsetal found is the explanation.. Look who commented on this back in 2015! I do not think that this Thread in the Lincolns Of Distinction Forum was posted by Dave on ours.
LeoC2

New member

Mar 17, 2015

• #11

HOLY OLD THREAD REVIVAL BATMAN!

OK guys, I have an answer. When this thread appeared I asked John Clor if he could find out. Would you believe I just got an answer? Better late than never I guess!

"Leo: That was a tough one! After tracking down and talking to several retirees from Michigan’s now gone Wixom plant, I hear it was a stamped brass tag affixed to random vehicles taken off the assembly line for a quality check, with the numbers identifying the test and/or tester. Keep up your good work with the “Lincolns of Distinction” club!"

simplyconnected New member


Mar 18, 2015

• #12

mlschultz pretty much got it right. Brass tags are never used on Ford products. They identify assets for inventory and tax purposes. Notice that these tags are heavy duty, they don't have high numbers and they are not meant to be removed, ever. They are normally not screwed in place but riveted using 1/8" twist rivets that are pounded in. That's why you see the mounting holes are dimpled. They are hard to pry off by design.
I'm also retired from Ford Motor but in Dearborn. Dearborn Assembly Plant NEVER put one on a Thunderbird, Mustang, Cougar, Maverick or Comet.
Rotation Forms and VINs identify every product Ford made. The Quality Control Dept. and Scheduling both used these as identification. All tests and materials go through 'Quality' and all rotation changes go through 'Scheduling'.
Company-owned (corporate vehicles) were also identified by their 'unique to Ford' license plate numbers. WHQ is only two miles from The Rouge. The basement has a car wash and gas pumps. No money changes hands. The attendant simply notes the corporate (pool car) license number and charges the appropriate dept. There are thousands of pool cars. - Dave

[normanpitkin]

i have WIXOM tag 2058 on my 1960 430 coupe.Am in London ,England

[GTE427]

I think that the article that Carl ~ partsetal found is the explanation.. Look who commented on this back in 2015! I do not think that this Thread in the Lincolns Of Distinction Forum was posted by Dave on ours.
LeoC2

New member

Mar 17, 2015

• #11

HOLY OLD THREAD REVIVAL BATMAN!

OK guys, I have an answer. When this thread appeared I asked John Clor if he could find out. Would you believe I just got an answer? Better late than never I guess!

"Leo: That was a tough one! After tracking down and talking to several retirees from Michigan’s now gone Wixom plant, I hear it was a stamped brass tag affixed to random vehicles taken off the assembly line for a quality check, with the numbers identifying the test and/or tester. Keep up your good work with the “Lincolns of Distinction” club!"

Ray/Carl,
I bought WIXON 1623 Tag (removed from a Lincoln) on ebay with a description similar to LeoC2 (lincolnsofdistinction thread #11).
I asked the seller for as much info as possible. Condensed Explanation as handed down from his Father, Tags were
Quality Control Tracking ID to be reported on Ford Form 1863 when serviced under Warranty.

[simplyconnected]

I'm pensioned from a long career at Ford Motor Co. Being a tradesman as well, I worked in many plants including World Headquarters and Manufacturing Development. Each facility used brass tags to identify Capital Equipment that does not have an identifying number, like a serial number.

Definition: Capital equipment is a good with a useful life of longer than 1 year used in the productive operations of a company. It is an investment made by a company to carry on or support its manufacturing activities.

Quality Control NEVER drills holes or puts brass tags on vehicles. They go by the same numbers on each body that ALL departments go by. There is no reason to add more numbers to a car.

QC uses stickers that you see on cars for emissions, etc. Randomly, they destroy a body for weld checks or corrosion baths. Again, that body's rotation number drops off the broadcasted schedule. There are rare occasions when QC pulls a body off the line, then later re-inserts it. All the departments are notified when this happens and the computer's rotation broadcast is changed manually.

Brass tags are used by ALL Ford facilities as an equipment identification for tax purposes ONLY because Ford depreciates their equipment. 'QC' and 'Production' have no business handling brass tags. It appears to me that someone 'found' some brass tags, didn't know what to do with them, and simply put them on a few cars. No two are in the same place, which is another 'no-no'. BTW, brass tags are usually attached with rivets so they cannot be removed. If a screw is used, like for an office chair, it's the type that cannot be unscrewed.

If equipment is sold, it usually has the brass tag still on it because that number cannot be used again. I have an old drill press with a brass tag riveted on. It says, 'AMC' (American Motors Corp.) with a number below it. The brass tag, away from the owner, holds no value whatsoever. - Dave