What was the first day of production for 1969 Hamtramck chargers?

[Lord Warlock]

Fairly straight forward question, when did production start for our cars.  I know mine was built fairly early in Sept 68 (904 coded), but trying to find out as much as i can regarding the production cycle.  Also, any idea what the sequence number plays as far as the cars rolling off the line? what is the lowest sequence number known here for a charger model?

Lastly, where on the motor are engine stamped dates found? I'm aware of the HP stamp near the distributor, behind the alternator on the front of the motor, but haven't really looked elsewhere for the numbers.  If I can find a complete VIN on the motor, I may be able to update the registry with the fate of another RT 69 charger, since thats what i took the motor and tranny out of.  Is it hard to locate the vin on the motor...besides worrying about grease/oil on side of motor? 

Thanks,

Lord Warlock

[69bronzeT5]

Is there a registry for 1969 Hamtrack Chargers or just plain 1969 Hamtrack cars?

[Lord Warlock]

The hamtramck registry does mention the sequence number starts at 100001, and mentions the Aug 1 69 is the beginning of the 70 model year, but doesn't specifically address the 69 model year on the site.   

[Brock Samson]

this actually came out of a '70 500 parts car i got my interior from back in the late '80s...
if you don't recognise it it's the trunk divider made out of cardboard,..
BTW: I'm planning to make two out of a nice wood and sink some "big" speakers in to provide a hidden boom for my rides... 
my '69 was apparently one of the last built...

xs297lb44559*

[69CoronetRT]

... when did production start for our cars. 

Also, any idea what the sequence number plays as far as the cars rolling off the line? what is the lowest sequence number known here for a charger model?

Is it hard to locate the vin on the motor...besides worrying about grease/oil on side of motor? 

General regular production cars usually started with an Aug 1 (801) SPD but there are a few cars known to have earlier SPDs (late July) and were possibly pilot cars.

There is no specific correlation as to VIN and actual sequence. Production of a specific car may have been delayed for some reason meaning it could have a lower VIN but have been sent down the line after a car with a higher VIN.

Finding the VIN on a 69 or later is pretty easy. You just clean off the pad as needed. An early 69 block will probably have the full VIN.

Bump for Chris for more details....

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Generally speaking Doug is right on.  Aug 1st 1968  was the first "official" start for the 69 model year.

However car # 100039 had an SPD of 7/28/68.....definately a pre production model or "pilot" car

[Lord Warlock]

One of the reasons that got me to wondering was some time i spent selling cars, and the new models didn't usually show up on the dealer lots until Sept 1st at the earliest, but if production started in August it would make sense to get some volume ready for delivery in early September. 

My sequence number of XS29 L9B 128084 would indicate its around the 28,084 unit off the line in early 69 production, fairly low, but not so low as to make much importance. 

Thanks for the pic of the engine block, and vin location.  That makes it easier as to where to look for the engine vin. 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Remember thats the 28,084th car that was built at the Hamtramck plant for the 69 model year...I believe they built Darts there as well during that year.... Doesn't necessarily mean it was the 28,084th Charger....

[69CoronetRT]

There is no specific correlation as to VIN and actual sequence. Production of a specific car may have been delayed for some reason meaning it could have a lower VIN but have been sent down the line after a car with a higher VIN.

Here's a good example from 8/1/68 Hamtramck. Notice the second car has a higher VIN number but a lower SPD than the first one. Also notice the second one has a specialty VON. I've noticed this trend at 69 STL too. A lot of the early specialty VON cars (dealer demos, show cars, etc) have an 8/1 SPD but may have a VIN more aligned with cars up to 2+ weeks later.

Maybe Barry or one of the Chris' can confrim if they've seen similar trends

[Alaskan_TA]

One of the big things to remember about Hmatramck is that it had two assembly lines. Cars were usually built in groups of the same model, but not always. With two lines running the VIN numbers have very little to to with the actual build sequence. The dates are also "scheduled" production dates, it is the date they HOPED to build your car when the order entered the system, it does not mean the the cars were actually built that day. 

T/Ake care,
Barry

[71 RT]

So is the August 1 date generally the same "start date" for every year?  What about the 1971 Model year?  When in August of 1970 did the Lynch road plant begin, anyone know?  Just wondering, because according to my vin and fender tag, it would appear they started later than that, in that particular year.  My car has an 818 (August 18) fender tag date, but the vin is in the 2700 range.  If they were building 1000 cars a day, the numbers dont add up.  Not trying to cause an argument, just trying to figure it out.  I have asked before and nobody appears to know for sure when they started the 71 model. 

[Alaskan_TA]

The earliest 1971 Lynch Road SPD I have seen so far is 803, and it is on a car that ends in 1003xx


Barry