I am new to
the Mopar scene, after a ride in
my friend’s father’s ’70 Charger
I am hooked. Now I I’m beginning
to look for a Mopar to call
mine, I am just not sure at this
point what exactly I want, stock
or modified.
Here is my question: If I go
stock, what, exactly, is meant by
“matching numbers”?
Simple question, not so
simple answer. There are, you
might say, many shades of grey
involved, it isn’t black/white or
yes/no.
At a minimum, a matching
numbers car would have the
VIN on the dash (post-’67) or
A-pillar (earlier), this would
match the VIN on the engine,
transmission, rear axle, and
fender-apron data plate, plus
at least one additional location,
either the cowl or the
radiator top yoke. Even that
simple-sounding explanation
is as clear as mud in some
cases however. Prior to ’68,
the VIN wasn’t required to be
anywhere except the VIN tag
itself. There was an engine and
tranny ID pad on ’67-down,
but these contained little more
than date codes, and, in the
case of trannys, part numbers.
These earlier cars had the
dealer order number (VON) on
the data plate and the hidden
locations, but only the broadcast
sheet or info from the
National Auto Theft Bureau can
tie the two together. Luckily,
’67-down build info is available
(to proven owners only) from
Chrysler Historical at http://
tinyurl.com/chrysleribm .
Beyond these basics, it
becomes a question of how
“matching” do you want to
get? 1970-up cars should
have a sticker, with the VIN, certifying
compliance with Federal motor vehicle
standards, typically on the trailing edge
of the driver’s door.
Darn near every part, from the engine
block to the wiper motor, has a date
code, these should all be in the believable
range for the build date of the car
– i.e., anything from a week to several
months earlier than the build date. This
gets really complex because the date
coding systems used on various parts
varied widely.
In addition, every significant part on
the car should agree with the part number
(the last two or 3 digits) called out
on the broadcast sheet. What, there’s
no broadcast sheet available? Does
this mean that car can
never be “matching
numbers”? Not to my
mind, but it would probably
reduce the value of
a really high-dollar car
(Hemi this, ragtop that,
shaker, etc.)
I have boiled this
down to the lowest
common denominator.
Unfortunately, there’s
no all-in-one reference
to do justice to your
question, and I doubt
there ever will be. Galen
Govier’s “white books”
probably are the best generally-available
reference works (galengovier.com).