Anyone up to helping me decode the fender tag on my '73?

[Corey Dean]

The top row of numbers is throwing me off. At this point, not sure if they are actually meant to signify anything.

Additionally, the 28 I can't find anything on.

The rest I think I have.



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[Wingnut426]

28 IS THE SIZE OF THE RADIATOR OPENING.

[72Charger72]

Top number decodes to nothing?
heres the rest
WH23:
Dodge Coronet,Charger
High
2 Door Hardtop

P3A: 400 260HP(net) 1-4BBL 8 CYL
1973
Lynch Road, MI, USA

151738:   Sequence number

E68:    Unknown
D21:    4 Speed Manual Transmission
JF8:    Dark Green Poly Exterior Color
H6F6:    Trim - High, Vinyl Bucket Seats, Green
JF8:    Dark Green Poly Int. Door Frames
C01:    Build Date: December 01
237637:   Order number

V4W:    Unknown Top Color
U:    USA Specifications
J54:    Sport Hood
heres the link http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=87

[Chargerguy74]

Do you have a build sheet for this car?

It looks like a Rallye (J54 hood code). I've owned a few Lynch Road Rallye cars, but none had J54 on the tag. I've seen J54 on a St. Louis Rallye car. Very interesting. Could be more of a '73 thing as most of mine were 74s. I wonder if J54 was used when V21 wasn't optioned???

E68 is the 260hp 400 high performance engine.
V4W is a white Halo roof.
Also a 3.55 sure grip 8 3/4 diff. (992 Axle build code)

[polywideblock]

lynch road , the top numbers decode to what engine  gearbox brakes etc here are some earlier examples           http://andy440.com/tag2.htm
I'm sure someone will chime in with the 73 info   69CoronetRT where are you 

[Corey Dean]

Do you have a build sheet for this car?

It looks like a Rallye (J54 hood code). I've owned a few Lynch Road Rallye cars, but none had J54 on the tag. I've seen J54 on a St. Louis Rallye car. Very interesting. Could be more of a '73 thing as most of mine were 74s. I wonder if J54 was used when V21 wasn't optioned???

E68 is the 260hp 400 high performance engine.
V4W is a white Halo roof.
Also a 3.55 sure grip 8 3/4 diff. (992 Axle build code)

I do not have the build sheet. Original owner might, I will ask.

[ODZKing]

I am told if the dealer knew what to check on the order sheet, you could get a j54 on an SE.
I met a fellow at Moparfest who had one.

[69CoronetRT]

Everything on the tag signifies something.

Engine sales codes, like E68, only tell you what the engine was (400-4bbl). They do not always tell you which assembly, and associated HP rating, came in the car. Most times you have to look at the application to know the assembly.

21= gate number
105=base number
155817= sequence number. These are related to producing the body in white.

056= engine assembly number. This indicates a B body, 400-4bbl, with manual transmission and without a/c.
992 = rear axle assembly  B body 8.75 3:55 gears, SG, 11 drums. A36 package
807= transmission assembly. B body four speed.

[Nacho-RT74]

What's the diff between J54 and V21 ?

[ODZKing]

What's the diff between J54 and V21 ?

V21 is vinyl code, probably tape stripe for hood

[69CoronetRT]

What's the diff between J54 and V21 ?

J54 is the actual hood.
V21 signifies the hood treatment. Typically a stripe kit or special paint mask. V21 can be different treatments on different models.

[Chargerguy74]

I am told if the dealer knew what to check on the order sheet, you could get a j54 on an SE.
I met a fellow at Moparfest who had one.

Now that is a fender tag I would love to see.

[Chargerguy74]

Do you have a build sheet for this car?

It looks like a Rallye (J54 hood code). I've owned a few Lynch Road Rallye cars, but none had J54 on the tag. I've seen J54 on a St. Louis Rallye car. Very interesting. Could be more of a '73 thing as most of mine were 74s. I wonder if J54 was used when V21 wasn't optioned???

E68 is the 260hp 400 high performance engine.
V4W is a white Halo roof.
Also a 3.55 sure grip 8 3/4 diff. (992 Axle build code)

I do not have the build sheet. Original owner might, I will ask.

It's interesting there's also no stripe code on the tag. Did this car have the Rallye instrument cluster?

[Corey Dean]

Do you have a build sheet for this car?

It looks like a Rallye (J54 hood code). I've owned a few Lynch Road Rallye cars, but none had J54 on the tag. I've seen J54 on a St. Louis Rallye car. Very interesting. Could be more of a '73 thing as most of mine were 74s. I wonder if J54 was used when V21 wasn't optioned???

E68 is the 260hp 400 high performance engine.
V4W is a white Halo roof.
Also a 3.55 sure grip 8 3/4 diff. (992 Axle build code)

I do not have the build sheet. Original owner might, I will ask.

It's interesting there's also no stripe code on the tag. Did this car have the Rallye instrument cluster?

It does have the Rallye cluster. The OO told me his intent when buying the car was to race it once the 1 year or 12,000 mile warranty (which ever happened first) came about.

Not sure if you can tell from the tag, but the third member currently on the car is a 742 with sure grip...not sure of the gear set. Believe them to be low, 4:10 probably as you can definitely hear the diff whine once you get up around 25-30 mph. I figured it was the original to the car considering he wanted to race it, but now that you guys are saying he ordered it with a 3:55 gear set it makes me think that the third member is not original.

Which might make sense as somewhere along the line either the 2nd or 3rd owner took the original motor and trans out and replaced it with a 440 and automatic. Why?, who knows. Can speculate but doesn't mean anything at this point. (the clutch pedal is still there tho)

One thing about the vinyl top. The car was ordered without one, the factory accidentally (or what ever term you want to use) installed one. When the OO went to pick the car up from the dealer, he told them to send it back as he didn't want a vinyl top. Dealership offered him a discount on the purchase price if he would take it with the vinyl top, he accepted and removed it himself. Somewhere along the way in the ordering process the car was marked to have a vinyl top when it shouldn't have been.

This car has been an enigma. Long story short it showed up completely unlike how it was described to me. Nothing worked. I mean nothing. Electrical, mechancical. Nothing. Couple tires were even flat. It was disppointing to say the least. "runs and drives like a top" were his famous last words. The "rebuilt" transmission wasn't even hooked up. There was a brand new shifter in the box in the trunk, so there was that. Anyway, I put the car away in storage as I didn't want anything to do with it while I licked my wounds, and was simply going to sell it on and take my loss. I'd always loved muscle cars but never had one and even though I thought I was being diligent it didn't work out so well buying my first one. The red flags were there but as they say hindsight is 20/20.

It sat for a while and once I was over the whole thing I decided it was time to sell and I should at least get it running first so I had the transmission and shifter installed. New tires and some other stuff. It still drove and handled like shit so I sat it aside again and earlier this year took it to a guy who has a little shop here and does good work and told him my story and that it ran and drove like garbage. He looked it over and found out the carb was a 500 CFM and a 440 should have a 750, the manifold was leaking and he suggested replacing it with an aluminum one. He also suggested a new distributor, automatic choke, electronic ignition, etc, and fixing the wiring so the guages worked. The factory tach still does not work but that has to do with not being compatible to the new ignition. I told him to go ahead and do it. I figured with it running fine it would be worth more given that it only has 37,xxx miles on it, was originally a 4sp and a body with no rust.

Anyway, when I went to pick it up after he was done, and he told me I should give the car a second chance, that it was a great car. So now it runs well, but drives and handles horribly still. I attribute that to the low gears and the worn out shocks. But I got to drive it again and despite how bad it rode, it was kinda cool. I started looking around at shocks and reading what I could find online about the different brand and stlyes.....I didn't grow up messing around with cars so I have to educate myself on all this. In my reading, mostly forums, I saw many people comment about how shocks made such a difference/imporvement, so that got me to thinking I should put good performance ones on and see if that makes much of a difference. I mean, I've done a lot to the car now, it's getting closer to being something.

So I wound up ordering some Billstein rear shocks and they should be here at the end of this week. I'm going to install them and see how well that improves the ride.

This is all over the course of 3 years or so. If the shocks don't improve the ride enough to enjoy driving it more, I'll sit it aside again and sometime next year tackle the third member and get something with better gearing (3:55). Repairs or upgrades are not cheap on these cars so I have to work on improvements over time. I'm sure I am not the first person to take 4 or 5 years or more getting the car in good working order.

That's my story. Or part of it anyway.

.

[RallyeMike]

Corey: Neat car!

Does it have a rear sway bar? ....Another clue that it is a Rallye.... though with the gauges and bulge hood, it most likely is.

A beefier front sway bar and larger diameter torsion bars will make this car drive a lot nicer. Replacing the rubber biscuits that the front suspension is hung on with aluminum spacers also makes a big difference.

[Nacho-RT74]

What's the diff between J54 and V21 ?

V21 is vinyl code, probably tape stripe for hood

What's the diff between J54 and V21 ?

J54 is the actual hood.
V21 signifies the hood treatment. Typically a stripe kit or special paint mask. V21 can be different treatments on different models.

Gotcha!

[Corey Dean]

Here are some pics. Has torsion bars and they are welded to the axle. OO told me he had them put on by Jerry Ruth at Northwest Racing in Seattle WA to meet NHRA specs for D Mod in 1974.

I was thinking, and have been told, they were probably not helping the ride.

The back side of the gear housing has been welded on also at some point too as you can see. God only knows what happened there.












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[69CoronetRT]

I think auto fill got you. It typed torsion bars instead of traction bars.

[Corey Dean]

I think auto fill got you. It typed tortion bars instead of traction bars.

I did say the wrong thing. I do that sometimes! I do appreciate you trying to give me an out. 

[Corey Dean]

Here is a pic of the car.



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[6bblgt]

it had a rear sway bar - the brackets are still sandwiched  between the shock plates and the rear axle

[Nacho-RT74]

[400sforever]

Do you have a build sheet for this car?

It looks like a Rallye (J54 hood code). I've owned a few Lynch Road Rallye cars, but none had J54 on the tag. I've seen J54 on a St. Louis Rallye car. Very interesting. Could be more of a '73 thing as most of mine were 74s. I wonder if J54 was used when V21 wasn't optioned???

E68 is the 260hp 400 high performance engine.
V4W is a white Halo roof.
Also a 3.55 sure grip 8 3/4 diff. (992 Axle build code)

My 73 rallye has both j54 and v21 but it's not a lynch road car. My lynch road rallye just has v21. I've never seen j54 on a lynch road car either. Maybe it was stamped that way because the v21 hood treatment was a deleted option but they still wanted to make sure it got the bulge hood..I'll post my St. Louis cars tag

[400sforever]

here's my 73 rallye tag

[Chargerguy74]

Nice!