Protect-O-Plates were for warranty and ease of writing repair orders when the car came in for service. Sometimes were pasted into the back of the Owners Protection Plan booklet. Others were slipped into the back cover of the owners manual.
Was the Protect-O-Plate for 1968 metal, or was it plastic?
Has anyone got a (plastic) Protect-O-Plate for a 1971 or newer Cadillac? If so, please e-mail me at the above address.
Ive still got the metal Protecto-O-Plate from my Grandfathers 68 Wildcat. If Buick used metal that year, I would imagine Cadillac did, too.
Could some kind soul please explain to me just what these Protect-o-Plates are?
What do they do?
What do they actually "protect" and from what?
Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV
09-07-06
Bruce, I think G M has tried just about everthing to entise costomers. During the years they tried the
"protect-o-plate which was used to document warrenty information so the service manager would not have to write-out the VIN and other information whenever an owner took his GM vehicle in for warrenty repairs.
HTH to understand the "do-dad" a little better.
Good Luck,JIM
Quote from: JIM CLC # 1500009-07-06
Bruce, I think G M has tried just about everthing to entise costomers. During the years they tried the
"protect-o-plate which was used to document warrenty information so the service manager would not have to write-out the VIN and other information whenever an owner took his GM vehicle in for warrenty repairs.
HTH to understand the "do-dad" a little better.
Good Luck,JIM
As I remember they were sort of like little credit cards with the owners info on them. When you took your car in for service, they had a machine that would make an imprint on your service orderk using the plate.
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General Motors Protect-O-Plate Decoding Guide 1965-1972 Chevrolet Models
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This decoding guide covers Camaro, Chevelle, Chevy II, Nova, Corvette, Corvair, and full-size Chevrolet 1965-1972.
In 1965 General Motors devised a plan to track and provide better service to cars that were under warranty. Born was the GM Protect-O-Plate. Looking like a metal credit card, it provides clues to most of the major equipment installed on the car. From engine to carburetor, transmission to axle, from exterior colors to options. Today the Protect-O-Plate ranks as one of the best all-time documentation pieces for your car. The trouble is all this data is in code.
What does code 133311 mean? It is simple to understand once the codes are broken down. And, with this handy little guide you will be able to decode your Protect-O-Plate line by line, and you will know what all those codes mean.
Table of Contents
What is the Protect-O-Plate? ¦ VIN ¦ Interior Codes ¦ Exterior Colors ¦ Steering Options ¦ Generator Options ¦ Radio Options ¦ Windshield Wipers ¦ Air Conditioning ¦ Power Windows ¦ Seat Equipment ¦ Owners Name and Address ¦ Engine Code ¦ Carburetor Manufacturer ¦ Axle Ratio Codes ¦ Vehicle Build Month Code ¦ Transmission Code ¦ Brake Code
PRODUCT DETAILS:
Publisher: PAH Publishing â€" 2002
Author: Paul Herd
Binding: Spiralbound â€" 5½ x 8½ inches
Pages: 66
ISBN: 0971645914
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Thanks Jim and Johnny,
So I take it that the Protect-o-Plate would virtually look like a Vehicle ID Plate that is attached to the Firewall, but with the owners Name and address, and then the vehicle name, Model, and then all the codes, a bit like the Accessory Codes?
This plate would be either carried in the Owners Wallet, Purse, or Vehicles Glove Box?
Am I close?
Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV
09-08-06
Bruce, If I didnt know better,I would think that you were looking at a protect-o-plate as you typed the post.
The protect-o-plate was about the size of a "credit-card", there was a pocket in/on the owners manual that the protect-o-plate was kelp in until needed. (Since it was metal it took a special machine to type the protect-o-plate, similar to what was used to imprint GI dog tags, the protect-o-plate was about four(4) times the size of a G I dog tag.)
HTH
Good Luck,JIM
P.S. It didnt look anything like the "data plate" that was attached to the firewall.
Gday Jim,
Thanks for the description, but as I have never actually seen a US GI Dog Tag in real life, I cant imagine what one 4 times the size would look like. I have seen them in the pictures, but that doesnt help either.
So, I would still like to see a picture of one.
Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV.
Quote from: Bruce Reynolds # 18992Gday Jim,
So, I would still like to see a picture of one.
Bruce,
Hi
This was how it was up to 68, metal plate attached to the back sleeve:
http://tinyurl.com/gzejo TARGET=_blank>
http://tinyurl.com/gzejoAnd this is from 69, plastic card:
http://tinyurl.com/jakjn TARGET=_blank>
http://tinyurl.com/jakjnRegards
Lars
Okay, thanks, youve answered the first part of my question. The 1968 ones were probably metal. Has anyone got one for a 1971 or 1972 Cadillac, preferably a RWD car? (Auto delivery date is on the plate to prove when the warranty started.) If so, I would like to include an image of it in the Authenticity Manual. A photocopy will probably do.
Gday Lars,
Thank you very much for that information.
Now I am educated even more.
I had always had visions of something like a stick-on plate that protected the paint and bodywork on a new car around the door handle and key opening as some sort of "protecting" piece at the first point of vehicle entry. As in a "Protecting Plate" of some sort of thing.
Now, why would they have called it a "Protect-o-plate" when it was simply an "ID" plate.
Bruce,
The Edumacated Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV
The warranty manual at this time was called the Owner Protection Plan. The metal (later plastic) warranty plate was likewise the Protect-O-Plate. Because it showed the date of delivery of the new car, it was possible for any Cadillac service department to determine quickly if the car was still in the warranty period, even if the car had been purchased from a dealer far away. It therefore saved the servicing dealer research into whether the warranty had expired and helped him make a timely claim to GM for reimbursement if the repair was on warranty.
Gday Tom,
Thanks for the update.
It is funny how a person can think of something totally different without realising it.
So, if I read correctly between the lines, it was actually designed so that the Automaker didnt unsuspectingly pay out on unauthorised repairs.
Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV
Quote from: Bruce Reynolds # 18992Gday Tom,
Thanks for the update.
It is funny how a person can think of something totally different without realising it.
So, if I read correctly between the lines, it was actually designed so that the Automaker didnt unsuspectingly pay out on unauthorised repairs.
Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV
I guess that one of the purposes, possibly the main reason. As a consumer I looked at the plates as assurance that GM was going to take care of me during the Warranty period.
The dates listed for the Chevy book referenced earlier (1965-1972) are misleading. I recall my parents 1963 Le Sabre having the metal protect-o-plate, and my cousin recently showed me the protect-o-plate from his parents 1964 Grand Prix. Im not sure when these were introduced, but it was correctly stated earlier that it was used for warranty-related purposes.
Thanks, Mr. Skelly. I was not aware that other GM brands had Protect-O-Plates before 1965. Im pretty sure that Cadillac got them starting in 1965; I have a bulletin to Cadillac service departments on their introduction and its for 1965.
When I bought my 66 Eldorado back in October of 95, the Protect-O-Plate was in the glove box with other warranty information and of course, the owners manual. All this was in its own blue plastic case with the word Cadillac on the cover. I had heard of these plates and was THRILLED when I found it with the car! My car was originally purchased by a corporation in MN. All I can figure was it was some CEOs big blue toy!
Greg McDonnell
66 Eldorado in shimmering Cobalt Firemist
I have a photo from the internet (no longer remember where online I found it) with a 1959 Eldorado Biarritz with a "Protect-o-plate." I've never seen one on any other 1959 Cadillac. Does anyone have any information about their use for 1959?
You win the prize for dragging up the oldest post ever ... 13 years.
Quote from: Johnny #662 on September 08, 2006, 04:02:14 AM
As I remember they were sort of like little credit cards with the owners info on them. When you took your car in for service, they had a machine that would make an imprint on your service orderk using the plate.
More like oversize credit cards.
The one for my 1968 is plastic, but I think it was issued in 1969 for the 2nd owner, because it matches the name of the 2nd owner not the first owner. That is if I remember correctly. My 68 was also very late production made in the first week of July 1968.
Plastic for '70.
Quote from: tomrigirozzi on October 10, 2019, 10:00:54 PM
I have a photo from the internet (no longer remember where online I found it) with a 1959 Eldorado Biarritz with a "Protect-o-plate." I've never seen one on any other 1959 Cadillac. Does anyone have any information about their use for 1959?
That is not a "Protect-O-Plate."