Fender tag decode help

[375instroke]

Car is a '69 Charger R/T.  If build date was Sep. 04, why would the VIN be near 130,000?  I assume they start at 100,001.  Could they have built 30,000 cars by that time already?

A01 - Is this Light Group?  The car has a trunk, dome, map, and ignition delay lights.  Would it include hood mounted turn signals?  Any others?  Does it include headlight on buzzer?

G33 -  LH remote chrome mirror

A03 - Town & Country Group?  What the hell is this?  Includes LH remote chrome mirror, but that's on G33.

M31 - Body Belt Moldings?  What would these be?

[tan top]

.  mods please remove ... clicked on the wrong button 

[tan top]

hmmm intresting  have you got a picture of the tag ??
  A01  light group 
glove box lamp
          ash tray    lamp
  headlamp on buzzer
  trunk lamp
ignition lamp with time delay
map lamp

L31 hood turn siginals are not part of the A01 package

A03  not sure   
G33 remote mirror
M31 all chargers have that ! its the stainless trim along the tops of the doors & quarters infront of the side glass 

i'm sure one of the other guys  or Chris notjust6t9 ...would shed some light on the vin sequence ,  september the  third would be 1968 
 

[vancamp]

where is the A03 located on the tag?

[Ghoste]

A03 is a station wagon code, the Town and Country group includes a tailgate wiper/washer in addition to the mirror and tailgate handles.  You need to re-verify that code.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

A VIN seq # of 130xxx would bring it in the Sept '68 range

The A03 you are referring to is actually the build date of 9/3/68 (A meaning Sept.)

PM me a list of the codes on the tag & I'll decode it for you....also if you havent already please register the car

www.1969chargerregistry.com

[69CoronetRT]

A VIN seq # of 130xxx would bring it in the Sept '68 range

The A03 you are referring to is actually the build date of 9/3/68 (A meaning Sept.)

PM me a list of the codes on the tag & I'll decode it for you....also if you havent already please register the car

www.1969chargerregistry.com

Chris, wouldn't A03 be October 3rd not September 3rd?

[A383Wing]

Yea...October

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

A VIN seq # of 130xxx would bring it in the Sept '68 range

The A03 you are referring to is actually the build date of 9/3/68 (A meaning Sept.)

PM me a list of the codes on the tag & I'll decode it for you....also if you havent already please register the car

www.1969chargerregistry.com

Chris, wouldn't A03 be October 3rd not September 3rd?

Damn Im slipping   You are correct Doug!  To my defense I was rushing out the door for work when I typed it

Saying that, was your car a G (St Louis plant) car?  The 130xxx VIN's at that plant are around late Sept, very early October....

[tan top]

A VIN seq # of 130xxx would bring it in the Sept '68 range

The A03 you are referring to is actually the build date of 9/3/68 (A meaning Sept.)

PM me a list of the codes on the tag & I'll decode it for you....also if you havent already please register the car

www.1969chargerregistry.com

Chris, wouldn't A03 be October 3rd not September 3rd?

Damn Im slipping   You are correct Doug!

dang ..me too     

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

And the fact that Steve threw me off! 

[69CoronetRT]

Car is a '69 Charger R/T.  If build date was Sep. 04, why would the VIN be near 130,000?  I assume they start at 100,001.  Could they have built 30,000 cars by that time already?

A01 - Is this Light Group?  The car has a trunk, dome, map, and ignition delay lights.  Would it include hood mounted turn signals?  Any others?  Does it include headlight on buzzer?

G33 -  LH remote chrome mirror

A03 - Town & Country Group?  What the hell is this?  Includes LH remote chrome mirror, but that's on G33.

M31 - Body Belt Moldings?  What would these be?

M31 = the chrome strips that run across the top of the door and under the rear window.

[375instroke]

Some think it's a good idea to obscure the VIN.  Is it?  Why?

[Ghoste]

So someone doesn't go to the dmv with the info they need to claim they lost their title and get a new one made to put your car in their name.  Or just to track down the cars location and steal it.  For that matter, if it's the right desirable car, it'd be a good way to clone one for unscrupulous sale.
But the best reason of all, to piss off Galen.

[375instroke]

Is anyone concerned about taking their car to a show, where the presence of many vehicles of a desirable nature are advertised to be, with the hood open, and everyone taking pictures?  I guess the DMV may have been more helpful at one time.  I've never seen it in any way at all.  I think they used to give out information before that actress in Raging Bull was stabbed by a stalker who used the DMV to track her down.  Thank's for bringing up Galen.  That's the biggest incentive.  I think it's hilarious seeing total useless turds being sold with the "Galen Certified" moniker in the ad.

[hemigeno]

OK, since Chris and Doug haven't had the chance to decode the tag I'll go ahead and take a stab...  As usual, the tag is read from left to right, and from the bottom line upwards...

E86  440cid, 375hp 1-4bbl engine
D32  727 automatic transmission
XS29  Charger R/T
L9B  440 engine / 1969 Model / Hamtramck Assembly Plant
12xxxx  VIN sequence number
T7  Dark Bronze Metallic paint
C6T  Charger trim grade / Vinyl Buckets / Tan Vinyl
T3  Upper door frame paint color
904  Build date - September 4, 1968
077984  Special Order Number a/k/a Vehicle Order Number
A01  Light Group (Ashtray/glovebox/trunk/map lights, plus ignition light with time delay and Headlamp-on warning buzzer)
A04  Charger Radio Group (Music Master Radio, Power Steering, Power Brakes, 3-speed wipers, Wheel Covers (deep dish), left remote-control mirror)
B51  Power (drum) brakes
C21  Center cushion with folding center armrest (buddy seat)
C55  Bucket seats
G15  Tinted windshield
G33  Outside left remote control mirror
J25  3-speed windshield wipers
M21  Driprail mouldings
M31  Body belt mouldings
R11  2-watt AM Music Master Radio
V1T  Vinyl Top - Tan
V8X  Transverse tape stripe - Black (bumblebee)
END  Duh

[lexxman]

Did the factory often forget to mark option on the tag?Or should we take the info on the tag as that it that all?

[hemigeno]

The factory followed a pattern depending on which Assembly Plant and which model year you're talking about.  Some plants coded certain options on the Fender Tag, some did not.  Many common options were not mentioned on any Plants' tags, which means that your fender tag lists only part of the options a particular car could have had. 

The "simple" explanation for this is that the Factory (primarily Hamtramck and St. Louis during '69 anyway, forget about Lynch Road because they were in their own little world) coded the important information which affected how the car was built through the paint and early trim stages.  For instance, which radio the car was going to get was coded, since it confirmed whether or not the car was built with a fender which had a radio antenna hole.  The R31 rear speaker, however was not coded since it didn't change anything related to sheet metal.  Six-way seats were not coded, but Tachometers were - since a hole in the firewall was necessary for N85.  Which wheels were installed didn't affect the bodywork, so those types of ancillary options weren't coded. 

All of the codes for a car were shown on its Broadcast Sheet, and there was a large-print copy of most (if not all) of the Broadcast Sheet codes taped to the front of the car as it rolled down the assembly line during the later stages.  The Fender Tag was apparently the durable (metal) precursor to the Broadcast Sheet... prior to the time the car was mated up to its non-durable (paper) Broadcast Sheet.

Clear as mud, right?   

[375instroke]

My car has Road Wheels now, and they aren't coded on the fender tag.  So they could have come on the car new?  The A04 includes deep dish hub caps, as stated earlier.  I also have a rear speaker fader.  Everything else matches the tag.

[hemigeno]

I don't see how a car coded for A04 HAD to have deep-dish wheel covers.  If the buyer ordered up the W21 option and paid the extra $$, they got whatever wheels they wanted.  Sales Code A04 just bumped up the "minimum" equipment for such cars, and Road Wheels were considered a higher class/option wheel.

Also, I don't know if the question you had earlier about hood-mounted turn signals was answered - but the A01 Light Group did not automatically include L31 Turn Signals.  Those had to be ordered separately, and they were normally called out on Hamtramck and St. Louis fender tags.  Since your car didn't have L31 listed, it should not have had hood-mounted turn signals.

[lexxman]

Was it normal to have the exterior color listed twice?My wife got me a restoration book ,I just need to sit down with it.

[Ghoste]

You could be looking at an upper door frame paint code.

[375instroke]

My question about the wheels or hub caps of the A04 code is that even though it isn't specifically coded for the Road Wheels on the fender tag, it may have come with them, and that would be coded on the Broadcast Sheet, but not necessarily on the fender tag.  I didn't realize that a package option also lists all the individual options of the package also, like power brakes and steering of the A04 code.

While we're talking tags, I have a '69 Swinger, and although it's a V8, the only other options are the radio and 3-speed wiper.  It does have aluminum molding along the sides, which I usually see as a self adhesive rubber door ding guard, but this looks factory.  Dealer installed?  Did Darts have this?

[lexxman]

That might be a dealer thing,I work for a couple of dealers years ago and we had rolls of stick door guard strip.

[69CoronetRT]

Was it normal to have the exterior color listed twice?

Generally it was but there are differences among the plants as to how things were coded.

[hemigeno]

My question about the wheels or hub caps of the A04 code is that even though it isn't specifically coded for the Road Wheels on the fender tag, it may have come with them, and that would be coded on the Broadcast Sheet, but not necessarily on the fender tag.  I didn't realize that a package option also lists all the individual options of the package also, like power brakes and steering of the A04 code.

Your car could indeed have been equipped from the factory with Road Wheels instead of the "standard equipment with Sales Code A04" deep dish wheel covers - and while Sales Code W21 and other wheel part number references would always be coded on the Broadcast Sheet, it would never show up on the Fender Tag.

Also... Having a package like A04 did not change the rules for listing codes on the Fender Tag.  For instance, A04 Charger Radio Group did come with power steering and power brakes, but only Power Brakes were coded on the Fender Tag.  Power steering was never coded on the tag in '69 at any plant AFAIK.  Plus, if the car were optioned out with Power Disc Brakes, then both B41 and B51 would show up on the tag (at least at Hamtramck).  You would expect to see all of the options contained within that particular package -- which were normally found on a Fender Tag.  For A04, that meant the following:

Music Master Radio - Fender Tag code always listed (R11, R13, R21, R22)
Power Steering - Fender Tag code never listed (S77)
Power Brakes - Fender Tag code always listed (B51, or B41 & 51)
3-speed Wipers - Fender Tag code always listed (J25)
Wheel Covers (deep dish) - Fender Tag code never listed (W15)
Left Remote-Control Mirror - Fender Tag code always listed (G33)

While we're talking tags, I have a '69 Swinger, and although it's a V8, the only other options are the radio and 3-speed wiper.  It does have aluminum molding along the sides, which I usually see as a self adhesive rubber door ding guard, but this looks factory.  Dealer installed?  Did Darts have this?

I looked at the '69 Dealer Data Book and here is what it said about Dart Swinger (not Swinger 340) mouldings:

Drip-rail and body side molding optional... Body side sill molding optional.

Assuming that your VIN number starts with LL23, pretty well all of the moldings had to be coded in order for them to be included in what the factory installed - meaning there were no "standard equipment" moldings.  Here is the rundown of all the available '69 Dart Swinger moldings:

M07 "B" Pillar Molding -- Included when M15 was coded (not sure if this would be on the Fender Tag, or if this is even a 2-door hardtop-related option, but it's listed with "LL".  Probably 4-door Sedan only)
M15 Molding Door Upper Frame and Quarter -- Extra Cost Option (I think this should be a F.T. Code)
M21 Drip Trough Molding --  Extra Cost Option (this should be a Fender Tag Code)
M25 Sill Molding - Wide -- Extra Cost Option (this should be a Fender Tag Code)
M26 Wheel Lip Molding -- Extra Cost Option (not sure if this would be on the Fender Tag, don't think so)
M33 Body Side Molding -- Included only when Sales Code A48* was optioned


*Sales Code A48 -- Dart Decor Molding Group - includes M21 and M33** (not sure, but I think this should be on the Fender Tag)
** M33 only available in A48 Molding Group

The gist of all that information is if your car has body side moldings without A48 coded, I'm thinking the side moldings were dealer-installed.  Not too uncommon back then...