1973 Charger SE "U" code

[UcodeCowboy]

Howdy fellow Mopars, i'm a new member and have a few questions. First off been a Mopar man for about 3 yrs now and love it, i have a 73 barracuda project that started it all. Recently came across a Barn Find type deal, right place right time with cash in hand, so i purchased a 1973 Charger SE with a U code, first B body and only my 2nd Mopar. It is a complete all original car except the 440 is missing. The car is heavily optioned with 2 fender tags and only has 22,000 miles showing on odometer. My questions are how many "U" 73 Charger SE's were made? And how many were Brown? Thx for any info, i have always been into E-body's and this my first B-body, was curious as to the rareness of this car.

[Troy]

Congrats on the purchase. You'll have to be more specific though - lots of cars were "brown" and Mopar had a bunch of different shades of it. Same with green. The late 60s and early 70s were all about earth tones...

Troy

[UcodeCowboy]

Still trying to decode parts of the tags, but there are  a JY6, JY9 and a J67 on there.

[UcodeCowboy]

The Charger has A/C, Brougham Leather interior, Slapstick, 3:23, P/S, front and rear Swaybars, full chrome trim package, dual mirrors, and a 7000 Tach.

[Troy]

I'm no 3rd generation expert so I can't even begin to guess on the production numbers.

If it's JY9 it's definitely"brown". See here.
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=68013.0

JY6 is a lot lighter and is more of a tan/gold color. Perhaps yours is JY9 outside and JY6 inside?

J67 isn't paint related. It has something to do with the wiring from what I can tell.

Troy

[Indygenerallee]

I would say it's a run of the mill 73, Nothing too rare....

[UcodeCowboy]

Ohh Contraire its rare, only 1627 made in 73 for USA!! And yes dark shade of brown exterior and light brown or tanish interior.

[Troy]

With two tags and those miles it's a lot rarer than many cars. Rare isn't always the same as desirable so I doubt it will ever be worth a fortune. They did make an awful lot of 73s in total - which should help when looking for parts.

Where did you find out how many were made?

Troy

[UcodeCowboy]

Thru a couple of Dodge Charger production #'s in a few Chrysler history books. Still waiting to confirm this info with Galen. The Charger is a 1973 SE "U" code 440HP.

[UcodeCowboy]

Let me rephrase that, its got some real rareness to it, may not be totally Rare Rare!!

[AirborneSilva]

Here's a good fender tag decoder

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=87

[RallyeMike]

Actually I'm pretty sure the 440 HP 73 Chargers are in the 700 range as far as numbers go. I might be mistaken that that number is for Rallye cars only though. Whether 700 something or 1627, its reasonably rare but not particularly so. There are plenty of engine combination Mopars that fall into that range of rareness.

The key with the 73-74 cars is that HP is substantially reduced from earlier years, the cars are heavier, and the mushy-isolated suspension is not as broadly favored as the 72 and earlier type. Brown is also not a broadly favored color. So..... it's not a gold-mine, but it still has appeal to some and sound like a pretty cool car.

As the past owner of a 74 440 U-code Ralley, I'm always interested in 73-74 U-code cars and I would love to see the whole tag and some photos.

[UcodeCowboy]

Hey thanks for the info Mike, just found out exterior color is Dark Gold Poly with Full Black Vinyl top and Gold Poly interior color and full Leather.

[BigBlackDodge]

Ahhhh...................brown! Hence the low miles!


Just kidding!     Nice find!..................and we need pics!


BBD

[UcodeCowboy]

GOLD POLY, lol... and yes some pix, coming up.

[404NOTFOUND]

Hearing about this car brings back good memories. Got to ride in one back in '73 when they were new. Same model, engine and colour but with white top. I still remember the great sound that came from those nice, vented tailpipes.

[UcodeCowboy]

Glad to bring some good memories back to the suface for, maybe when i get it back on the road your welcome to come ride and hear those pipes again.

[surmanajaja]

its rare, but not worth RT money. I could have bought a NOM 74 440 for around 7000 usd, rust free 2 tag car. but the parts availability for those is very small, and they are harder to keep in shape comparing to 68-70 cars.

pics of interior & tags would be cool to see!

[69CoronetRT]

Still trying to decode parts of the tags, but there are  a JY6, JY9 and a J67 on there.

JY6 = Gold metallic
JY9 = dark gold metallic.

Both tend to fade to a 'brown'

A JY9 exterior code car could come with a JY6 interior code (gold and gold)

J67 = trailer towing wiring harness

Is this a Lynch Road built car? WP29U3A******

[UcodeCowboy]

Yes you are correct on paint and yes did come from Lynch Road Plant.

[69CoronetRT]

Thanks.

If this is a LR built car, your 2nd tag is an inspection tag.

The white book confirms your production figure of 1,627 cars. This would be correct for an SE (WP) 440 equipped Chargers.

[UcodeCowboy]

Cool on the 2nd tag being an inspection tag, it only has a couple characters on it, some in the lower left and some in the upper right. And does the White Book show how many of the 1627 Charger SE's in 1973 were 440HP equipped?

[69CoronetRT]

Cool on the 2nd tag being an inspection tag, it only has a couple characters on it, some in the lower left and some in the upper right. And does the White Book show how many of the 1627 Charger SE's in 1973 were 440HP equipped?

The 1,627 figure is the number of '73 SE Chargers that came with a 440.

[UcodeCowboy]

Thanks for info, but is the 1627 for all 73 SE's built for USA, or all w/440's, or all w/ 440HP's, need some specifics please. I believe the 1627 number is for ALL SE's made in 73? Which would include all engines.

[69CoronetRT]

Thanks for info, but is the 1627 for all 73 SE's built for USA, or all w/440's, or all w/ 440HP's, need some specifics please. I believe the 1627 number is for ALL SE's made in 73? Which would include all engines.

Let me try another way.....

Of all the SE's made in 1973, 1,627 came with the 440.