Quote:
Originally Posted by mike-81-240d
What year did the intermediate plate change?
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I believe 80 is the first year for the new plate. I have 4 1980 W123s here and all of them have dowel holes. Two of them are 240Ds with iron 4 speeds. By 1981 all the 4 speeds I've seen are Getrag. I suspect the plate was changed in advance of the transmission change.
I looked up the plate on EPC and found the new part simply supersedes the old one. There is no VIN split for the plate. The transition to the new plate has to occur before the introduction of the Getrag or a VIN split would be required and it would match the introduction of the Getrag.
There is a VIN split for the Getrag and it starts at 219675. I looked at one of my 80 240Ds and the VIN is 204xxx yet it clearly has the new plate.
I suppose the new plate may go back to 79 but I haven't seen it. I know the 77 and 78 cars I've parted didn't have one. I think pinpointing the exact timing for the introduction of the new plate will come down to anecdotal evidence but it arrives at least a year before the Getrag.