What was going on when I was born?

The United States said today that two Awacs radar surveillance planes had been sent to Egypt for ''an indeterminate period'' to demonstrate increased American support for Egyptian and Sudanese security. The State Department also said that the United States was considering ways in addition to stepping up arms deliveries to assist the Sudan, which has expressed concern about a possible attack by Libyan troops based in Chad. The department further expressed concern about the shooting down of two Moroccan planes yesterday but said it could not confirm Morocco's contention that they had been downed by either Libyan or Algerian antiaircraft missiles in the Western Sahara. Planes Sent From Oklahoma Base It was reported previously that the United States was sending a radar plane to Egypt after the assassination of President Anwar el-Sadat. Today's statement said two planes had already been flown there from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

Upstate Areas As the colors of autumn move closer to the metropolitan area, many seekers of beauty headed north for a preview of nature's annual art show.

Zambia's ills are laid at Kaunda's doorstep A2 Greek Premier counting on fear of left in election Sunday A3 Polish workers occupy textile mills for a second day A3 Tory delegates rally to Mrs. Thatcher A3 Helmut Schmidt reported in good condition after heart operation A4 Around the World A5 U.N. agency's work seems end- less A6 Trudeau offers a compromise on his constitutional proposals A9 Arafat meets with Japan's lead- ers A10 Government/Politics Reagan allies try anew to mold California politics A16 Panel is challenging the breadth of new C.I.A. guidelines A20 Ruling clears Connecticut town of housing bias charge B2 Liberal candidate assails Koch on minorities B6 Democrats bring out three alter- native economic plans B15 Washington Talk Briefing B10 Embassy Row B10 General Around the Nation A16 The volume of oil spilled into the world's oceans is reduced A17 Witness says Presley's doctor in- creased doses on prescriptions A22 Carter to press suit against Wash- ington Post B16 Health/Science New drug found to curb nausea of chemotherapy patients A24 Education/Welfare Summer school helped many city students pass reading test B4 Home Section Home Solar architecture: the good, the bad and the indifferent C1 Passive solar designs are old, but builders don't like them C6 Safety group split on a medi- cine cap C1 New French furniture line reaches back to primitive C10 House chores for children, 1980's style C1 Hers C2 Helpful Hardware C2 Safety group split on a medicine cap C3 Home Improvement C4 Calendar of Events C5 Mastering the medium of leather in Milan C8 Gardening C12 Arts/Entertainment Met Museum bookstore is not stocking Hoving's book C14 Alan Mandel plays an unusual piano program C15 Choreographers' night at Theater of Riverside Church C16 Music Project, a chamber quin- tet, plays Barber C17 Public radio to produce 5-hour Sunday arts "magazine" C18 Baraka's "Boy and Tarzan Ap- pear in a Clearing" is staged C18 Two one-act plays by Frank South are staged C21 Reagan names arts-endowment head; silent on humanities C21 International Book Fair opens in Frankfurt C21 Leslie Windham dancers perform C22 Silence is rarely heard in our con- cert halls C24 Richard Yates's stories, "Liars in Love," are reviewed C25 Rossini's opera "Mose" per- formed in Philadelphia C26 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is back in TV action C27 Journey, California hard-rock band, plays at Coliseum C28 Sports Yanks rout A's, 13-3, to take 2-0 lead in playoff D23 Burris and Expos top Valenzuela and Dodgers, 3-0, tie series, 1-1 D23 With bat or with glove, Nettles contributes D23 Dave Anderson on the Yankees' professional hitter D23 Rangers, with Davidson in goal, beat Canucks, 2-1, at Garden D27 Nets lose to Knicks in opener at Meadowlands D24 Burris's victory leaves impres- sion on Dodger fans D24 Montana of 49ers is No. 1 and no longer nervous D24 King, finally healthy, is fulfilling promise as Giant D24 Islanders beat Penguins, 4-1 D26 Obituaries James C. Raymond, "Blondie" comic-strip artist B18 News Analysis Drew Middleton examines Israeli military concerns A13 Martin Tolchin looks at tensions between Reagan and Congress B10 Edward T. Pound on U.S. loss of technological advantage B14 Steve Lohr views impact of Japan's trade surplus D8 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A26 Timely honor, timely warning The right help for the Sudan Distinctions about evidence Topics: righting wrongs Letters A26 Anthony Lewis: policy by gyra- tion A27 William Safire: a Reagan stal- wart's lament A27 William B. Helmreich: stereo- type truth A27 Manuel R. Gomez: Mexico's Latin policy A27

The Reagan Administration today invoked executive privilege for the first time, and refused to hand over various documents to a House oversight subcommittee exploring ways to curb takeovers by Canadians of United States energy companies. Interior Secretary James G. Watt told the subcommittee during a two-and-a-half-hour appearance that he would not deliver the subpoenaed documents, despite indications that he might be cited for contempt of Congress. The Secretary invoked a memorandum signed by the President. ''It is my decision,'' President Reagan said in the memorandum he signed yesterday before Mr. Watt's appearance, ''that you should not release these documents since they either deal with sensitive foreign policy negotiations now in process or constitute materials prepared for the Cabinet as part of the executive branch deliberative process through which recommendations are made to me.''

The House of Representatives voted 301 to 111 today not to approve President Reagan's proposed sale of radar planes and other air equipment to Saudi Arabia. The defeat in the House had been expected and is not enough to thwart the President's proposal. A 1974 amend- Roll-call of House vote, page A12. ment to the Arms Export Control Act provides that the two houses of Congress must pass a joint resolution to block a sale. The outcome in the Senate, which has until Oct. 31, remains in doubt.

Governor Carey, who has been critical of Federal cuts in aid for the needy, will propose that New York State avoid making up for all the welfare assistance that many young adults will lose under new Federal regulations. If the State Legislature agrees, many of the 36,000 people in the 18 to 21 age group who receive welfare would be cut off not only from Federal assistance but from state assistance as well. More than 1.2 million people in the state receive welfare benefits. Since the Federal cuts in aid programs were approved by Congress, social-service agencies have been urging the Governor to limit any changes in state aid programs for the needy so that such programs could become an ''alternative source of support.''

An independent survey of subway performance finds a sharp decline in service on all lines in New York City and shows trains were late about twice as often as in a similar survey conducted only a year ago. The survey, made public yesterday, documents some improvements in cleanliness and maintenance, including more working lights and doors, a greater number of legible maps and less litter and graffiti in most of the system. It attributed the improvements to a new $60 million Transit Authority maintenance program that replaced a system of ''deferred maintenance'' introduced during the city's fiscal crisis. 3,300 Trains Checked But the study reported that, even so, one out of five subway cars had broken doors, one in two cars had illegible or missing maps, and one out of 10 had dim or broken lights.

In a rare moment of relaxation between campaign stops, his athletic body stretched out in a motel chair, Representative James J. Florio reflected on how he had emerged from what he calls the "cesspool" of Camden County politics in South Jersey to become Democratic candidate for Governor. "I saw people who became totally dependent on that cast of characters," he said of the political bosses. "They were pressured, overtly or less overtly, to do things they didn't want to do. I didn't want to be in that position, so I built my own army of followers in different consituencies." The bosses included former Mayor Angelo J. Errichetti, who is appealing a conviction in the Federal Abscam investigation and who was once one of Mr. Florio's greatest fans.

''It so happened that this is my fate today, that I should stand here while he's absent.

New-car sales by the three major American automobile makers fell 34.7 percent in the first 10 days of October, the beginning of the 1982 model year. Analysts said the various sales incentive programs had failed to attract buyers and had led them to await further price cuts. The companies sold a total of 141,437 cars, down from 216,485 in the early October period of 1980, which also had nine selling days. The daily selling rate for the major domestic auto makers was the worst since 1958, a year of recession.

Inventory stockpiles held by United States businesses climbed seven-tenths of 1 percent in August as sales fell 1 percent in a new sign of a flat or declining national economy, the Commerce Department reported today. The inventory-to-sales ratio rose in August to 1.43 from July's 1.41, meaning it would take about 1.43 months to sell off inventories at the current pace of sales. The ratio is still relatively low by historical standards, but it has been rising steadily since declining to a record low of 1.37 in January and now is approaching the 1.48 of August 1980.

LTV was ordered by a Federal judge to delay its efforts to take over Grumman. Judge Jacob Mishler, in granting a preliminary injunction, said that ''substantial anticompetitive effects could be presumed'' from a merger of the two makers of aerospace and military products. An LTV spokesman said the company was ''shocked and disappointed'' and planned an immediate appeal. (Page A1.) Opponents of Penn Central's purchase of Colt Industries won substantial new support. American Financial Enterprises of Cincinnati announced it would vote its 2.2 million Penn Central shares - 8.7 percent of the total - against the proposal. (D5.)