Agreed with the common sense. Which is why I think Dave chose to take the point hit on the date code of the tires vs having original ones being worn and used. Going after OE certification means that the car has to look as it did new, not used. So, with that being said, what would you rather have done if you were in his shoes? Take the point hit for the incorrect date code but having something that is brand new appearing and perfect in every way (except for the date) or something that has a correct date but appears chewed up and used from road wear? I know if I ever go through OE with a car (not that I will cause I don't have that kind of money) I'd want it to represent something new and not used.

As for the exact date of manufacture, one thing solid can be said. If you have the original VIN sticker, then that is what the date of manufacture of the completed car was. Otherwise going off of date coded parts, fender tags, or whatever, you are only taking a guess which could be wrong. As for Dave.... I'm sure he had worked with thousands and thousands of certification labels in his 20 years or so of service to the industry. Not only does he manufacture Chrysler products but he mentioned that he does it for more than 40 different manufacturers, including motorcycles, semi-complete vehicles, union certification decals other Federal mandated labels. He has worked with every legal institution and has even been instrumental in helping to fabricate current Certification Standards under California DMV Standards. I can almost guarantee his research has gone far beyond dissecting cars from junk yards, deciphering information from grinding numbers on K- Frames, or researching wiper motors or whatever date coded part you'd prefer to chose.

The fact that his choice for choosing cosmetically better appearing tires on his Valiant had absolutely nothing to do with the original VIN label that was affixed to his Valiant. If memory serves me right, he had the correct tires that came with the car from the factory but decided to go with a better looking set of NOS versions for visual purposes only. Had he used the original tires, he would have probably been docked for them not being in pristine. new looking condition, like OE judges on. He chose to have the deduction for the wrong date codes because the "average" person like me, would have never deciphered the DOT coded numbers but they probably would have easily seen the "used" condition that they exhibited. He was going for an OE Car. Period. He probably didn't give a second thought to correct VIN certification from 1970 because he had an original to use. It's as simple as that. No guessing, no assuming what dated parts were placed on the car last, nothing. He had an original to use and therefore, did. Its just like trying to replicate a fender tag. Unless you have an original to go off of, you are only doing a "guess" as to what was on it originally. Again, like you said..... common sense approach.