Being an owner of a "Z" stamped car, this makes sense to me that Ford would want to account for cars manufactured after a certain date. And, it is more feasible than the previous explanations given this new information.
Also, the "Z" appears to be a definite add on after the vin was applied to the tag, given the size and different font.
Greek
I believe we have talked about the ‘Z’ Stamp getting added after the VIN plates were already on the cars.
Someone mentioned impressions on the inner fender from a heavy handed stamping on their car.
Let me add another detail about the ‘Z’ stamps and our SRG theory about Ford’s takeover…
As mentioned in my first post, Shelby sent an invoice to Ford for the ‘Loss of Use’ on company cars…it was issued on
4/26/67…
That was the day before I noticed the ‘Z’ stamps appearing on VIN plates of completed cars.
Ford also opens up the sales channels to noted 1,000 non franchised Ford dealers in a letter also dated
4/26/67.
Officially, the Ford takeover likely happened on May 1st, 1967.
I believe Brian noticed that in some document changes, but I forget the complete discussion as to why he thought it was that date.
Another important detail was with the accounting depts. at both SAI and at Ford
The ‘Profit/ Loss’ of SAI in the three years of Shelby Mustang production and operations were not good.
-In 1965 SAI showed a ‘Loss’ of about $300K
-In 1966 SAI made up that loss with a ‘Profit’ of about $400K (no doubt helped by the Hertz deal)
-In 1967 SAI showed a ‘Loss’ of $750K.
That last big $$$ ‘Loss’ most certainly led up to Ford stepping in with a complete takeover.
The ‘SRG’
Google Group is not a social media site. It is just another place to discuss details specific to 1967 Shelby’s.
Non sense posts are not appreciated and are dealt with swiftly.
The SRG
Google Group is independent of the ‘SRG Facebook’ and the SRG ‘MeWe’ sites.
Each has their own following and offer unique benefits to our research efforts.
Regardless, we all benefit from the shared research.