68 R/T on ebay with some fender tag questions

[familymopar]

Ok guys, there is a 68 R/T for sale on ebay right now.  The listing is here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Charger-R-T-440-1968-DODGE-CHARGER-R-T-440-AUTOMATIC-/331157943303?forcerrptr=true&hash=item4d1a8d3407&item=331157943303&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

It peaked my interest because I have never seen an SS1 yellow charger with green vinyl roof, green interior, and green stripes.  That is not to say that there weren't any, I have just never seen it.  So I asked him for a picture of the fender tag, which he gladly sent along with an email decoding it.  Seems like a very nice guy.  My questions I guess are these:

1) has anyone seen the yellow/green combo before?
2) what is the R3 code?  I thought that the R code was 1 or 8 for AM or AM/FM radio (maybe the 3 is 8 track or something that I haven't seen before).
3) under the S in UBS isn't there always an indicator for stripe color or stripe delete?  I don't know that I have seen one blank before.

I am far from an expert in these tags.  I am just trying to figure it out   Since I have recently learned, through this forum, that these tags are faked and/or reproduced regularly and easily I have become skeptical of all of them.  There may be nothing strange about this tag at all and I simply have more to learn.

The pic he sent me is below

Thanks!

[cdr]

fake tag

[familymopar]

I was leaning that way myself, but can you tell me what led you to that conclusion?

[69CoronetRT]

fake tag

Agree.

[70 sublime]

If it was me just looking at the tag not knowing any of the number stuff I would wonder why the metal on the tag looked so good but the inner fender has pitting right beside it

[6bblgt]

Fake tag!

..... but I know of a '68 Charger (318 car) that is "yellow" with green top & interior.  I also know of a 440 4-speed '68 GTX that is "sunfire yellow" (same paint code - "S") with green top, stripes, & interior. sorry, no pics.

[VegasCharger]

I question the VIN plate 
No Chrysler logo and it appears that the rivets are incorrect 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Green on yelow is absolutely putrid!   

[tan top]

 looks to be a early built 68 car     built 1967 , from the trunk picture   although the fender tag SPD  is april 22 nd  vin XS29L8B357641 suggest other wise   but i'm no expert ,

ignoring  that ! looks a nice charger  
the rear quarters have been replaced too or just skins or lower parts  






there are a couple of guys on here with 69s that are Y2/SS1 & green , infact I tried to buy a 69 R/T that combo a year before I got mine , thought it looked good   although if I did buy it , would of changed the green to black  

[tan top]

 

[tan top]

 

[moparfan53]

Ok guys, there is a 68 R/T for sale on ebay right now.  The listing is here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Charger-R-T-440-1968-DODGE-CHARGER-R-T-440-AUTOMATIC-/331157943303?forcerrptr=true&hash=item4d1a8d3407&item=331157943303&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

It peaked my interest because I have never seen an SS1 yellow charger with green vinyl roof, green interior, and green stripes.  That is not to say that there weren't any, I have just never seen it.  So I asked him for a picture of the fender tag, which he gladly sent along with an email decoding it.  Seems like a very nice guy.  My questions I guess are these:

1) has anyone seen the yellow/green combo before?
2) what is the R3 code?   I thought that the R code was 1 or 8 for AM or AM/FM radio (maybe the 3 is 8 track or something that I haven't seen before).
3) under the S in UBS isn't there always an indicator for stripe color or stripe delete?  I don't know that I have seen one blank before.

I am far from an expert in these tags.  I am just trying to figure it out   Since I have recently learned, through this forum, that these tags are faked and/or reproduced regularly and easily I have become skeptical of all of them.  There may be nothing strange about this tag at all and I simply have more to learn.

The pic he sent me is below

Thanks!

I have seen yellow with green top and/or interior. Green stripe was not available from the factory, black,red and white were the choices. The stripes on this car look black to me, however dark colors are sometimes hard to tell from black on a monitor. It is possible he had a green stripe custom made.

I am not aware of a R3 radio code. According to the dealer information there were 3 codes; 0 - am/8 track, 1 and 2 for the two am radios available.

As far as I know, there usually is a stripe code under the "S", however I have heard the sometimes the standard black stripe was not coded on the tag. Perhaps a plant specific thing? 

The "R3" radio code would make me suspicious of the tag.

Below is a closeup of the stripe, black or dark green? My opinion is black.

[A383Wing]

I come up with 5-1/2 watt AM-FM radio for the "R3" on the tag

which looks like it has

[tan top]

Ok guys, there is a 68 R/T for sale on ebay right now.  The listing is here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Charger-R-T-440-1968-DODGE-CHARGER-R-T-440-AUTOMATIC-/331157943303?forcerrptr=true&hash=item4d1a8d3407&item=331157943303&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

It peaked my interest because I have never seen an SS1 yellow charger with green vinyl roof, green interior, and green stripes.  That is not to say that there weren't any, I have just never seen it.  So I asked him for a picture of the fender tag, which he gladly sent along with an email decoding it.  Seems like a very nice guy.  My questions I guess are these:

1) has anyone seen the yellow/green combo before?
2) what is the R3 code?   I thought that the R code was 1 or 8 for AM or AM/FM radio (maybe the 3 is 8 track or something that I haven't seen before).
3) under the S in UBS isn't there always an indicator for stripe color or stripe delete?  I don't know that I have seen one blank before.

I am far from an expert in these tags.  I am just trying to figure it out   Since I have recently learned, through this forum, that these tags are faked and/or reproduced regularly and easily I have become skeptical of all of them.  There may be nothing strange about this tag at all and I simply have more to learn.

The pic he sent me is below

Thanks!

I have seen yellow with green top and/or interior. Green stripe was not available from the factory, black,red and white were the choices. The stripes on this car look black to me, however dark colors are sometimes hard to tell from black on a monitor. It is possible he had a green stripe custom made.

I am not aware of a R3 radio code. According to the dealer information there were 3 codes; 0 - am/8 track, 1 and 2 for the two am radios available.

As far as I know, there usually is a stripe code under the "S", however I have heard the sometimes the standard black stripe was not coded on the tag. Perhaps a plant specific thing? 

The "R3" radio code would make me suspicious of the tag.

Below is a closeup of the stripe, black or dark green? My opinion is black.

 defiantly Black      1970 was the only second generation to have a green bumblebee stripe as an option as far as I know  ---- V8G  

[moparfan53]

 After reading the listing this popped out at me. It says "THE FENDER TAG AND VIN PLATE ARE IN FACTORY LOCATIONS AND UNMOLESTED". Well, obviously the vin plate is not "unmolested" (as mentioned already by VegasCharger). It has been removed, painted and put back without the correct "rosette" style rivets or the Chysler logo.

[69CoronetRT]

I come up with 5-1/2 watt AM-FM radio for the "R3" on the tag

which looks like it has

[A383Wing]

I still wonder why everyone thinks this is a fake tag..... 

seems as of late, there have been a lot of threads here with so-called fake fender tags on it....I can recall maybe 4 or 5 this year so far..here and on other forums

the R3 comes up for me in my books and on-line decoders....as an AM-FM radio....

am I wrong or are there many people that just don't know how to read a fender tag?

[moparfan53]

I still wonder why everyone thinks this is a fake tag.....  

seems as of late, there have been a lot of threads here with so-called fake fender tags on it....I can recall maybe 4 or 5 this year so far..here and on other forums

the R3 comes up for me in my books and on-line decoders....as an AM-FM radio....

am I wrong or are there many people that just don't know how to read a fender tag?

Well, since you asked...  

I don't know enough to state it is a definite fake/bad reproduction but 2 things together make me very, very suspicious.

1st - For 1968 models, the am/fm radio was not available in B or A bodies. They had am or am/8 track only. Some C bodies had am/fm (option 423) available. I have seen this kind of mistake several times before on fake tags. Could it be a factory mistake/typo?... I guess it is possible, but definitely not probable!

2nd - The like new condition of the tag compared to the surrounding metal. This, together with the radio option mistake raises red flags to me.

Below is radio option info for '68 Belvedere, Coronet and Fury. The '68 Charger info has already been posted by 69CoronetRT.

[69CoronetRT]

seems as of late, there have been a lot of threads here with so-called fake fender tags on it....I can recall maybe 4 or 5 this year so far..here and on other forums

the R3 comes up for me in my books and on-line decoders....as an AM-FM radio....

am I wrong or are there many people that just don't know how to read a fender tag?[/color]

That seems to correlate with the number of "How do I get a tag made?" threads.

R/3 is a valid code and will come up on decoders. However, just because it is a valid code, that doesn't mean it is valid code for all years, makes, models or plants. All sorts of red flags pop up when codes appear where it shouldn't. (PS don't put a lot of faith in on line decoders. They are often full of inaccuracies and misapplications.)

There are plenty of people that know how to read a fender tag. There aren't as many that can determine if the tag is fake. The scammers and the inept are hoping you can't spot the bad tags. Bad tags raise questions about the legitimacy of the car.

[familymopar]

I question the VIN plate 
No Chrysler logo and it appears that the rivets are incorrect 

Yes, that VIN plate looks suspicious to say the least.  Maybe he just pulled it off and painted it, but if so, it is definitely not "unmolested" as moparfan53 said already.

And I agree with moparfan53 and tantop that the stripe is definitely black.  I had zoomed on those photos before and figured they must be green but sure enough they look black.  I do not dislike the green on yellow necessarily.  I have never seen it and would be interested in seeing one in real life.  But I do not like it with a black stripe, just my opinion.  I haven't seen a blank code on a tag before that correlated with a black stripe, but I am sure it is among the many things I haven't seen and I guess it makes some sense.

the R3 comes up for me in my books and on-line decoders....as an AM-FM radio....

am I wrong or are there many people that just don't know how to read a fender tag?

I could very easily be the one who is wrong I have just never seen R3.  I really only looked at online sources but I can not find a single code source that shows anything for an R3 code.  I looked at all these (and a number of sites that used one or another of these same decoders):

http://www.jimshine.com/tag%20info/68tagdecode.htm

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=85

http://www.genocide2600.com/~traviso/mml/bodydecode.html#r

http://www.nicksgarage.com/decode/decode2.htm#r

http://www.mopar1.us/build.html

http://www.andy440.com/tag.htm

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=58

The condition of that tag is definitely the most suspicious thing, given the surrounding metal that y'all pointed out.  Which doesn't mean its a "fake" as in "not true codes" though.  Maybe he is one of those guys that got a tag made identical to his original and the rusty original is in a safe somewhere.  Which again would not make it factory unmolested in factory location.  But maybe he is not the member of the family who restored it either and he doesn't know it is a correctly coded repop.  It was really the condition combined with the unknown-to-me R3 code and missing S code that made me suspicious.  Looking again that VIN plate helps also.

[RallyeMike]

The tag is absolutely perfect but the restorer didnt clean up the pits on the inner fender? Hard to believe that is the original tag. Whether it was correctly reproduced or not is a deeper subject.

[familymopar]

I feel kind of dumb now that I didn't notice this before but there was just a recent post on another ebay car that I myself posted on and that tag has the R3 code as well:

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,108986.0.html

Found it while googling around looking for anything on it. "R3: Unknown Option" is posted there.  I think I was focused on other things there and hadn't noticed the R3.  So obviously I have seen it before but never before that I guess and can't find anything to substantiate it, although people here clearly have.

I come up with 5-1/2 watt AM-FM radio for the "R3" on the tag

which looks like it has

Wouldn't the 420 code=R0=AM/8 Track; 421=R1=2 watt AM radio (musicmaster); 422=R2=5 1/2 watt AM radio (astrophonic)?

[Moparpoolman]

The ad states that the car has been in the family since 1970.  Has anyone asked the seller if he has the build sheet to the car?  That IS the only way to link the fender tag to the VIN tag on a 1968. Also has anyone checked to see if the radiator support number matches the 090385 on the fender tag?  Also just to add "The Standard Black Sport Stripes on LS, WM, WS, and XS Models will not be coded on the Fender Tag." Galen book

[69CoronetRT]

Wouldn't the 420 code=R0=AM/8 Track; 421=R1=2 watt AM radio (musicmaster); 422=R2=5 1/2 watt AM radio (astrophonic)?

As posted above, yes.

To review....in either of the threads with code R/3 radios, has anyone been able to produce any evidence of a AM/FM radio coding 423 that would have been available in either of the cars?

[69CoronetRT]

"The Standard Black Sport Stripes on LS, WM, WS, and XS Models will not be coded on the Fender Tag." Galen book

I appreciate what GG has brought to the hobby but......