HAPPY 44th

[Fred]

Well my baby's 44 years old today (sun 27th May) and she's never looked better
I"m as crazy about her today as the day she was born.
So far she's given me 12,000 miles of good times.
Here's to the next 44.    Long may she live!

Definitely worth celebrating!

[A383Wing]

both of mine turned 46 last month....May 2nd & May 6th.....

No candles here....we got a burn ban

Happy Birfday to yer car

Bryan

[ChgrSteve67]

Mine turns 45 on June 1st
Kinda scarry that we know this

Happy Birthday Freds Charger

[Fred]

both of mine turned 46 last month....May 2nd & May 6th.....

No candles here....we got a burn ban

Happy Birfday to yer car

Bryan

Are you living in the right month Bryan? 

[A383Wing]

sorry....took pain meds again.....

Bryan  (shutting up now)

[ChgrSteve67]

Didn't you all know that Bryans black Charger is a time machine.
The first 4 bbl runs the motor and the second 4 bbl controls space and time.

But don't tell anyone its a secret.

[Fred]

Is there room for us all?  I'd love to go back to 1968 and watch my charger rolling off the assembly line in Hamtramck. 

[1BAD68]

 

Mine will be 45 this year. Me and my Charger are only 5 months apart.

[ChgrSteve67]

My Charger was built 6 months before I was born.
Its funny when people ask me if I'm the origional owner.
But I have owned it longer than anyone else.  26 Years.

[cdr]

Mine will be 45 this year. Me and my Charger are only 5 months apart.

what month was your car built ?

[doctor4766]

Mine's a Hamtramck Charger too Fred.
Maybe they're related?

I must check on it's birthdate and maybe give it a wash on the BIG DAY.

Enjoy your festivities together.

[1BAD68]

what month was your car built ?

September

[rarefish]

I want a black 68......

[lloyd3]

Not surprising that the members here took the time to figure out the Julian calender and their car's birthday.  Hamtramck turned mine out on July 5th, 44-years ago this Summer. Just looked that up; it was a Friday! (maybe they weren't too hungover?)

[cdr]

mine will be 44 june 19th,mine is just barely a 68 lol

[1BAD68]

Anyone know if the factory assembled cars on Saturday's?
Mine was built 9-09-1967 which was a Saturday

[cdr]

Anyone know if the factory assembled cars on Saturday's?
Mine was built 9-09-1967 which was a Saturday

good question, mine was Wednesday

[A383Wing]

call me stoopid.....but I have never been able to figure out the "Julian Calendar" scenario

Bryan  

[lloyd3]

Can't imagine any union shop working on Saturday under normal circumstances, but you never know.  I would doublecheck that decode to make sure of your date first.  

On another tangent, I'm guessing that the line would get shutdown for the model-year change sometime after the 4th of July holiday. Does anyone here know when the model year shutdown occured at Dodge Main in the late 1960s?  My memories of that era had the new Cars-of-the-Year hitting the lots about mid-August.  Moreover, I'm told that my power brake booster (which is currently being rebuilt, and that I only recently discovered was what largely-caused the need for it's ongoing restoration) was only used in big block Chargers, and only in late 1968.  Does that sound right? Something about it needing only so many inches of vacuum verses other versions that would need more?

[cdr]

i do know that they couldent build 68 chargers fast enough

[Bob T]

Hope you went for a long cruise and a smoky skid and a couple of cold ones later on ....mines a few months away, 7th September   

[cdr]

so when was the 68 production stopped & 69 started?

[1BAD68]

Well maybe I got the date wrong. It says 909 on the fender tag.

[Fred]

Can't imagine any union shop working on Saturday under normal circumstances, but you never know.  I would doublecheck that decode to make sure of your date first.  

On another tangent, I'm guessing that the line would get shutdown for the model-year change sometime after the 4th of July holiday. Does anyone here know when the model year shutdown occured at Dodge Main in the late 1960s?  My memories of that era had the new Cars-of-the-Year hitting the lots about mid-August.  Moreover, I'm told that my power brake booster (which is currently being rebuilt, and that I only recently discovered was what largely-caused the need for it's ongoing restoration) was only used in big block Chargers, and only in late 1968.  Does that sound right? Something about it needing only so many inches of vacuum verses other versions that would need more?

Production for the new model year generally started Aug 1st.

[Fred]

Hope you went for a long cruise and a smoky skid and a couple of cold ones later on ....mines a few months away, 7th September   

Thanks bob T,  I did take her out and yes, I did a tiny bit of hooning! but not too much................don't want to attract the wrong attention. 
I see that yours is going to be 45.

Mine's a Hamtramck Charger too Fred.
Maybe they're related?

I must check on it's birthdate and maybe give it a wash on the BIG DAY.

Enjoy your festivities together.

related?..............2nd cousins twice removed maybe 

[Fred]

so when was the 68 production stopped & 69 started?

not sure when it stopped but it started Aug 1st.

[Fred]

Well maybe I got the date wrong. It says 909 on the fender tag.

Sept 9th 1967

[Bob T]

Well maybe I got the date wrong. It says 909 on the fender tag.

Sept 9th 1967

Cool, two days after mine 110853 
I found out a mate of mines GL's build date is 7 april 69, the day I was born, pretty cool, he only lives half hour drive away  , that'll be a double celebration next year 

[Fred]

Just checked the calendar and mine rolled off the assembly line on a Monday.
They must have had a good break over the weekend and were eager to get on with the job as it rolled off perfect.

[1BAD68]

Cool, two days after mine 110853  

Thats interesting, mine is 095481. Seems backwards

[cdr]

Cool, two days after mine 110853  

Thats interesting, mine is 095481. Seems backwards

yes a little confusing mine is 171033

[1BAD68]

Apparently on the 1967 Julian calender September 9th was a Friday. On the regular calendar it was a Saturday.
Why? Whats the purpose of a Julian calendar?

[nvrbdn]

happy b-day freds charger. hope you got to drink heavily and hope it had a little extra octane to celebrate the great day.

[cdr]

then mine is monday

[cdr]

the order of the von is not making since to me ?

[XS29J8]

Well my baby's 44 years old today (sun 27th May) and she's never looked better
I"m as crazy about her today as the day she was born.
So far she's given me 12,000 miles of good times.
Here's to the next 44.    Long may she live!

Definitely worth celebrating!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Fred's Charger!
My Charger was born Today 5/28/68.............

[lloyd3]

August 1st started the new model year?  Thanks for that!  Any sense of how long Dodge Main was down to switch over from one year to the next?

[lloyd3]

Folks have probably already looked this up, but the Julian Calender was a Roman calender revision set up under Julius Caesar in what, like 45BC? We now operate on a Gregorian Calender that was set up (by Gregorian Monks) much later to better deal with leap-year and other astronomical events that were out of wack with the older design.  Just why Corporate America (and in this case Chrysler Corporation) tracked operatons on a Julian calender in the 1960s is anyone's guess. I'm not aware of anyone operating under the Julian calender at present (business or otherwise).

So...Julian Calender or otherwise, when did the Model Year officially end at Dodge Main in the 1960s?  If the "New Year" began on August first (which makes sense to me, as I would start to see the "new" models on the Dealer lots in mid-August), when did production on the previous year cease?  Figuring on the time it would take to revise operations to change over for different model production, I'd guess about ten days to two weeks before August 1st?  So...somewhere around July 15th?

[Fred]

the order of the von is not making since to me ?

I think you guys are getting it wrong. It's the 3 digits before the last 6 digits you've been posting.
Bottom line, right hand side of fender tag.

[Fred]

Well my baby's 44 years old today (sun 27th May) and she's never looked better
I"m as crazy about her today as the day she was born.
So far she's given me 12,000 miles of good times.
Here's to the next 44.    Long may she live!

Definitely worth celebrating!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Fred's Charger!
My Charger was born Today 5/28/68.............

My charger thanks you.  Happy Birthday to your's too.
They're almost twins. (not identical twins though as your's is red and mine is black) 

[Fred]

A big thankyou to you all for the birthday wishes. 

[cdr]

the order of the von is not making since to me ?

I think you guys are getting it wrong. It's the 3 digits before the last 6 digits you've been posting.
Bottom line, right hand side of fender tag.

yea mine is 618,so is that june 18 julian, is on monday,so that would make my cars bday on the 17th of a regular calender ?

[Fred]

the order of the von is not making since to me ?

I think you guys are getting it wrong. It's the 3 digits before the last 6 digits you've been posting.
Bottom line, right hand side of fender tag.

yea mine is 618,so is that june 18 julian, is on monday,so that would make my cars bday on the 17th of a regular calender ?

No it's still June 18th (date stays the same) only the day is different. In your case that would make it Sunday but unless they were turning them out around the clock 24/7.............something is very wrong. 

[cdr]

june 18 1968 is on a tues,thank you fred for your help

[Fred]

june 18 1968 is on a tues,thank you fred for your help

No worries mate but tell me which calendar did you use? the 2 below show the 18th being either sat and sun.

[cdr]

june 18 1968 is on a tues,thank you fred for your help

No worries mate but tell me which calendar did you use? the 2 below show the 18th being either sat and sun.

thats a 1967 calander,mine was a late 68,so built june 18 1968,almost the last 68's

[Fred]

june 18 1968 is on a tues,thank you fred for your help

No worries mate but tell me which calendar did you use? the 2 below show the 18th being either sat and sun.

thats a 1967 calander,mine was a late 68,so built june 18 1968,almost the last 68's

Oh yeah, I'm with you now. 

[AirborneSilva]

44 and she still has a sexy body 

[lloyd3]

Who has the latest "born on date" for 1968 here?

[HeavyFuel]

Folks have probably already looked this up, but the Julian Calender was a Roman calender revision set up under Julius Caesar in what, like 45BC? We now operate on a Gregorian Calender that was set up (by Gregorian Monks) much later to better deal with leap-year and other astronomical events that were out of wack with the older design.  Just why Corporate America (and in this case Chrysler Corporation) tracked operatons on a Julian calender in the 1960s is anyone's guess. I'm not aware of anyone operating under the Julian calender at present (business or otherwise).

So...Julian Calender or otherwise, when did the Model Year officially end at Dodge Main in the 1960s?  If the "New Year" began on August first (which makes sense to me, as I would start to see the "new" models on the Dealer lots in mid-August), when did production on the previous year cease?  Figuring on the time it would take to revise operations to change over for different model production, I'd guess about ten days to two weeks before August 1st?  So...somewhere around July 15th?

I doubt that Chrysler used a true Julian calendar, but rather used a day of the year calendar code. 

http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/julian_calendar.shtml

[Fred]

Very interesting.

I don't believe they would have use the Julian calendar either.

[lloyd3]

Maybe this is something Galen dreamed-up, but the last decode manual I read (his?) stated very clearly that Chrysler used "the Julian Calender" to track production dates.  How else do you explain the numbering convention?      I believe that I also have an old "Glenn's Tuneup and Repair Manual" that repeats that assertion.

[lloyd3]

My bad! I reread your day-of-the-year NASA calender and I believe that might actually explain the numbering convention we're seeing. Perhaps the "misunderstanding" printed in those decode manuals has helped to propagate the Julian Calender idea?

[HeavyFuel]

My bad! I reread your day-of-the-year NASA calender and I believe that might actually explain the numbering convention we're seeing. Perhaps the "misunderstanding" printed in those decode manuals has helped to propagate the Julian Calender idea?

Yep, the Julian numbering system has evolved into something commonly used, a variation of the original, and is not really true to the system's origin or intent.

Kinda like how the R/t badging on vehicles now doesn't really mean squat.  You see "R/t" on friggin' Neons and Durangos and 318 cars. 

Sorry for the hijack, Fred.

[68neverlate]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Fred's Charger!
My Charger was born Today 5/28/68.............

Mine too.  We both had a little high octane stuff that night!   

[Fred]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Fred's Charger!
My Charger was born Today 5/28/68.............

Mine too.  We both had a little high octane stuff that night!   

  which one of you back fired first? 

[68neverlate]

Can't recall... I was too drunk! 

I can tell you which one of us woke up the next morning with a hangover, and who did not!       

[Fred]

Can't recall... I was too drunk! 

I can tell you which one of us woke up the next morning with a hangover, and who did not!