From the mid-1960s Fender stamped a short code into the chassis. T020366, for example, reads as the 3rd week of 1966, with the letter belonging to the stamp rather than the date.
Before the QA sticker there was the ink stamp: four digits pressed inside the chassis, read one way from the mid-1960s and the opposite way after 1979.
From the mid-1960s Fender stamped a short code into the chassis. T020366, for example, reads as the 3rd week of 1966, with the letter belonging to the stamp rather than the date.
From 1979 to the early 1980s the same style of stamp is read in reverse, so 1831 means the 13th week of 1981 rather than week 18 of an early year.
Assembly stamps are a second marker: M for Mexico and H for Hoopeston, both documented in the same reference material.
The stamp is medium-confidence evidence. It records dated work on the chassis and can be missing, over-stamped or obscured by later service.
A four-digit stamp on the inside of the chassis, not on a sticker or a plate.
Read year then week before 1979, and week then year after it.
A T or another letter in front of the digits belongs to the stamp rather than the date.
Compare with a transformer or speaker code from the same year.
mid-1960s – early 1980s · 3 rows · confidence Medium · Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) — snapshot of www.ampwares.com
| Code as marked | Meaning | Source |
|---|---|---|
| T020366 | 1966, week 03 — Gagliano Part II (FFG/Wayback): «T020366 … where the “66” denotes the year and “03” denotes week of the year» | Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) — snapshot of www.ampwares.com |
| F034267 | 1967, week 42 | Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) — snapshot of www.ampwares.com |
| 1831 | 1981, week 13 | Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) — snapshot of www.ampwares.com |
A chassis ink stamp read as the 3rd week of 1966, with the T belonging to the stamp itself.
Because from 1979 to the early 1980s the stamp is read in reverse, so the week comes first.
No. It is medium-confidence evidence of dated chassis work, and it should be corroborated by a component code.