Did all Chargers have stamped engine number?

[tpetty]

I was talking with a guy about his '68 Charger RT for sale.  He says when restored, no stamped engine number was seen, so it cannot be proven to be a numbers matching car.  However, he said he was told that early in the '68 run that engine stamping wasn't standard/required.  He believes it to be the original engine.

I think the car HAS to be considered a non-matching car -- and he agrees (isn't asking ridiculous $, and in line with what top end clones go for), but I'm curious -- did early 68's really not all have an engine stamp.  He seems honest, says that is what he was told.  But doesn't sound right to me.

[69CoronetRT]

did early 68's really not all have an engine stamp.  He seems honest, says that is what he was told.  But doesn't sound right to me.

When VIN stamping started during the 1968 model year appears to vary by plant. An early 68 Charger would have been built at the Hamtramck plant. Depending on how early in the production year, it's possible the engine was not stamped.

To my knowledge, no one has done credible research as to when cars recieved VIN stamping.

[cdr]

MY 68 is not stamped,most of hp blocks were stamped from what i have read,but not all

[tpetty]

So then there is no way to prove numbers matching with early 68's?

[Musicman]

Not really... Of course, if your block has a casting date of 1977 you may suspect that something is amiss. 

[cdr]

also the 68s that i have seen stamped it was on top at very back by the oil press switch,and the trany was stamped right next to the block stamping

[69CoronetRT]

So then there is no way to prove numbers matching with early 68's?

It depends. Different plants appear to have started stamping VINs at different times. I've seen low VINs from the STL plant.

MY 68 is not stamped,most of hp blocks were stamped from what i have read,but not all

Again, I don't think anyone has ever done any credible research on the 68 VIN stampings. An assertion that only HP or non HP blocks were stamped doesn't pass the logic test.

VIN stampers on the line would not have the time to determine, nor motivation to care, whether or not a car had an HP engine. There is no rational or buisiness related reason to stamp some blocks and not all.

[bull]

Again, I don't think anyone has ever done any credible research on the 68 VIN stampings. An assertion that only HP or non HP blocks were stamped doesn't pass the logic test.

VIN stampers on the line would not have the time to determine, nor motivation to care, whether or not a car had an HP engine. There is no rational or buisiness related reason to stamp some blocks and not all.

Logic test? Business related reason? The logic was "get them out the door asap" because demand increased by 500% over the 67 model year. I would imagine that much of the quality control went with it until they got caught up. Based on that it stands to reason that some corners were cut. Until someone (Dan) takes a sampling of the information provided during the 68 model year and crunches all the numbers with a decent cross section of data, it really is left to speculation. And right now the speculation says that early on, a lot of cars with non HP blocks went out the door without stamps.

[bull]

There are other examples of missing stamps though. One such example is warranty replacement blocks that were installed without stampings. I've never seen one myself but I've heard about it several times here.

[cdr]

Again, I don't think anyone has ever done any credible research on the 68 VIN stampings. An assertion that only HP or non HP blocks were stamped doesn't pass the logic test.

VIN stampers on the line would not have the time to determine, nor motivation to care, whether or not a car had an HP engine. There is no rational or buisiness related reason to stamp some blocks and not all.

Logic test? Business related reason? The logic was "get them out the door asap" because demand increased by 500% over the 67 model year. I would imagine that much of the quality control went with it until they got caught up. Based on that it stands to reason that some corners were cut. Until someone (Dan) takes a sampling of the information provided during the 68 model year and crunches all the numbers with a decent cross section of data, it really is left to speculation. And right now the speculation says that early on, a lot of cars with non HP blocks went out the door without stamps.

also my car is june of 68,non hp block,& not stamped and is to the best of my knowledge the orig motor & trans

[bakerhillpins]

I found these two links helpful when I was trying to figure it all out.

http://andy440.com/other.htm
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,38316.0/all.html

[tpetty]

Thanks for the replies.  Looks like it may be impossible to truly know about the car being original.

[Brock Lee]

Very true. The VIN/Fender tag/body stamp system is easier to manipulate as well.

[bull]

Thanks for the replies.  Looks like it may be impossible to truly know about the car being original.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. No one else is going to be able to prove it's not original if the build date is within range.

[cdr]

i would also look in lost & found build sheets,blocks,trans,& see if that vin shows up on anything on ALL of the mopar sites

[472 R/T SE]

Maybe the new Registry can take that on as a project.

Over @ the '70 Registry, with research we were able to determine the reproduction door VIN decal month was spelled out for a while before they switched to the numeric system.      They had previously always been numbering them.

[John_Kunkel]

Engine VIN stamping became a Federal requirement starting with the '68 calendar year, the '68 model year started in September of '67.

[cdr]

Engine VIN stamping became a Federal requirement starting with the '68 calendar year, the '68 model year started in September of '67.

not on mine lol,maybe the feds will go after ma mopar