C8AX production

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by David_Hayward (RIP)

Thanks for the input and correction. Somewhere out there must be #1!!!

David, we can tell you that the search has continued, despite you not being here to give your input.

Still have not located 001, but have not found any vehicle higher than 900, either. Did anyone ever find the original purchase demand or contract details that listed how many C8AX went to NZ?

I have been considering the conundrum of the build dates. I wonder if we have automatically assumed the the "5" in the date field is actually meant to represent the day of the month? All of the stampings show the 5 well over to the left side of the box, while the month and year are on the far right hand side. I wonder if the 5 means something altogether different and the build date just records the Mth/Yr?

5 Mar 43 was a Friday.
5 Apr 43 was a Monday.
5 May 43 was a Wednesday.
5 June 43 was a Saturday.

What administrative, clerical or production milestone was recorded on the 5th of the month, when they were such diverse days? Maybe 5 instead represents an assembly section or production department at Petone, in the same way a batch or lot number might be shown for other defence products?