SAI District changes 71->84->89
Brian Styles
When, and perhaps more importantly, why did Shelby American G.T. special orders change from Sales/Ordering District 71 to 84, and again from 84 to 89, during the 1967 model year?
Topic that identifies and explains Ford Regions, Districts and Dealer Codes
When treated as a ‘dealer,’ SAI’s District was 71.
(Region 7 = western United States; District 1 = Los Angeles area).
Domestic Special Orders (DSOs)
Sales/Ordering District ‘71’ was reflected in the first few months of ‘67 DSOs, the first of which was typed and received in mid-August 1966. This is when SAI’s orders were still being processed through the Los Angeles Sales/Ordering District as if they were a typical dealer.
DSOs 2501 - 2524: “Los Angeles” typed in upper-left district box. Code ‘71’ in the upper right.
Perhaps this made sense for low-volume production like ‘65-’66, however, the plan for ‘67 included a much higher volume of units.
Another indication of SAI’s anticipation of increased demand for ‘67 G.T. units is indicated by their decision to change the SAI VIN from a 4-digit sequence number, allowing for a maximum of 9,999 units, to a 5-digit sequence which allowed for 10,000+ units. The letter was dated November 10th, 1966.
Starting in mid-October, with DSO 2524, we observe the Sales/Ordering District numerical code change from ‘71’ to ‘84’. It remained ‘84’ through the last known orders, placed in late March 1967. You’ll notice that “Los Angeles” is now missing from the District box in the upper left corner of the form.
DSOs 2525 - 2540: The District box in the upper left is blank. Code ‘84’ in the upper right.
However, “Los Angeles” returns to the District box in the upper left of the form on DSO 2541 and remains there through the last DSOs found on microfilm.
DSOs 2541 - 2614 (end): “Los Angeles” is once again found in the District box. Code ‘84’ remains.
We’re told that Sales/Ordering District ‘84’ is “Ford Home Office Reserve.” Exactly what does that mean? Perhaps another way of stating it is that the 84 Ordering District is reserved for the home office, i.e. corporate, use. ...i.e. not a 'regular' dealership's order.
Note: on some SAI company cars, typically engineering use, we find the acronym “HOR”. It is our opinion that HOR = "Home Office Reserve."
Why was the Sales/Ordering District changed from ‘71’ to ‘84’ for Shelby American shortly after the launch of ‘67 model production?
Is it a coincidence that this change from district ‘71’ to district ‘84’ happened at the same time as Ray A. Geddes’ name replaced G.W. Nuznoff’s on the order forms? Is this our first clue of something more substantial that happened? In the past, we’ve referred to these notable mid-October changes as “Ford’s intervention.” The official title/positions of both people are:
Ray A. Geddes - Special Vehicle Manager, GT & Sports Car Department
Gerrald “Jerry” A. Nuznoff - Buyer, Experimental and Hi Performance Parts, Special Materials Department.
Special Vehicle Order and Parts Specification sheets (SVO)
In addition to the changes found on DSOs, the SVOs (a/k/a/ “add/delete” sheets) we also find changes to the District throughout production. The only SVOs we have are those that have been found in the cars, usually under the carpet.
The earliest SVO we have is 2528, dated 11/19/66. It bears OD ‘84’. The last SVO we have with OD '84' is SVO 2596, dated 4/25/67.
By SVO 2602, dated 5/1/67, the OD changed to ‘89’. This would seem to indicate that the Ordering District on SVOs changed sometime between 4/26/67 and 5/1/67.
We’re still hoping to find SVOs 2597-2601 to fill in the gaps so we can pinpoint the exact date the changeover happened.
Now would be a good time to pose this question: were there any other substantial events or changes that took place circa late April? How about expanding the sales network to non-Shelby-franchised Ford dealers? Or perhaps adding “Z” stamps to the SAI VIN plates of cars invoiced after April 27th?
Ford Vehicle Computer Records
The Ford post-build computer record (reflected in Marti reports), is another data source that provides multiple key dates related to each vehicle. No vehicle computer records indicate District ‘71;’ they only indicate District ‘84’ and District ‘89.’ This is why it’s important to understand that vehicle computer records are updated AFTER the vehicles are built. How long after? We’re not sure, but long enough that they clearly ‘backdate’ and ‘overwrite’ the original Districts found on the DSOs.
I believe the most important change to monitor is district ‘84’ -> district ‘89’.
Again, according to the above DSO Code reference:
‘84’ = “Home Office Reserve", and
‘89’ = “Transportation Services.”
Both are ‘Ford Corporate,’ but what does the change in the second digit signify? Is it possible that the 84->89 change took place when Ford formally took over Shelby American, Inc. and/or spun-up Shelby Automotive Company?
Note: Specially-ordered test & engineering Ford (Non-Shelby) vehicles continued to be ordered under district ‘84’, Home Office Reserve, through at least 1970 (based off of Marti reports collected). That means the change from district 84 to 89 only affected Shelby vehicles.
Let’s examine the raw data...
Filtering and sorting the vehicle data (post-build Ford records)
Notes regarding above data:
The above table is based on our SRG database which, at the present, includes 114 DSOs, 3,225 vehicles and approximately 23 SVOs and 350 Ford vehicle computer records.
The actual Ford San Jose build date is not tracked because it has proven inconclusive to this particular exercise.
:
Visualizing the data
This time-plot tracks changes in the Ordering District using the three (3) different documents encompassing five (5) different dates identified in the data above. The DSOs and SVOs are pre-build documents. The Order Received Date, Serialized Date, and Scheduled Production Date are taken from the Ford post-build records for individual units.
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As you can see by the unknown data areas represented by question marks [ ? ], the precision of pinpointing the changeover(s) can only be increased by the collection of more SVOs and Marti reports.
Worth Noting:
District Item Number sequence breaks/resets happened on:
DSO 2524 (typed 10/13/66) - coincides with OD 71->84 change on orders.
DSO 2541 (typed 10/31/66)
DSO 2571 (typed on 12/14/66)
See Also:
