66 Coronet 500 Trim Levels

[gdrill]

I bought a stainless piece member @BCBOUND had fabricated, for my 440. I did not use it, but I bet he still has the pattern if not a couple pieces. I'm sure it was him. The piece is very nice. It isn't 500 trim, but it covers the center.

 

[gdrill]

 

[YY1]

That's "440" trim.
500 has a chromed pot metal plate that covers the entire vertical part of the panel.
They turn up every now and then.

The OP's car is also missing the trim common to 440 and 500 models on the quarter extensions around the lenses. Again, those look like low or economy class parts (WL or WE VIN). It does have the trim on the lenses, which IIRC was not on WE models.

500 VIN starts with "WP" (premium).

Console could be optioned away for a buddy seat/arm rest, but not too common, the exception being a few convertibles I've seen.

 

[Piranhaz]

OK guys. Need some help now. I went and looked at the car today and was ready to pull the trigger (very solid car) until I started checking out VIN #'s. So the story is the car was bought from an auction from a car collector a few years back and current owner drove for a few years. Title is in current owners name and also has copy of previous owners title given to him after winning auction (both VIN#'s are the same on both titles). So here's where it gets weird. I have worked on Mopars for a long time and to me, the engine compartment looks like original paint (QQ1 red which is on the fender tag) and the radiator support and crossbar look original for sure. So I check the number stamped on the radiator support and it matches the fender tag exactly. Next thing to check is the VIN plate on the pillar inside the car. That number doesn't match. That VIN plate shows WP23 for Coronet 500, but the fifth digit is an E, which I believe is 361. But distributor is in the rear and owner said it was a 318, which is what the fender tag says. Also, another odd thing is the original Certicard was still attached to the radiator support with the card still in it, and that matches the VIN plate on the pillar inside the door. So what should I make of all this and should I still buy the car? So to reiterate, the VIN plate riveted to the pillar (rivets look original star shape and does not look tampered with) matches the title along with Certicard. The fender tag matches the radiator support but does not match title or VIN. I'm confused...............

Thoughts?

 

[RemCharger]

Check this out. My car had a 318 in it, but according to this fell into the 361 category. Upon inspection of the engine harness, proved to be a bigblock. My car has no fender tag.
(66 500 vert)

 

[Piranhaz]

Check this out. My car had a 318 in it, but according to this fell into the 361 category. Upon inspection of the engine harness, proved to be a bigblock. My car has no fender tag.
(66 500 vert)View attachment 1210972

OK, so that makes sense because the sequence number is 13XXXX
I know mother Mopar did some weird things, but as long as the title number matches the riveted plate on the pillar, am I OK? The other weird part is the Certicard also has the QQ1 color code. Not sure what T5 SA 0113 represent though?

 

[Don Frelier]

but the fifth digit is an E, which I believe is 361

e = 318
f = 361

 

[Piranhaz]

e = 318
f = 361

I must have read the page wrong that I saw that. Anyway, what are your thoughts about the fender tag not jiving? I think it's odd the options from the fender tag match the option from the certicard, but the fender tag has a different sequence number that the VIN plate, title, and Certicard. Should I be concerned?

 

[Don Frelier]

It's a 66 with a 318 and it's got a good title so no I wouldn't be concerned.
Kind of depends on if you plan to sell it in the future but even then it's not like the car was stolen or you'd be advertising it as a matching numbers 68 hemi car.

 

[Piranhaz]

It's a 66 with a 318 and it's got a good title so no I wouldn't be concerned.
Kind of depends on if you plan to sell it in the future but even then it's not like the car was stolen or you'd be advertising it as a matching numbers 68 hemi car.

That's kinda the way I was looking at it. It's like not having a fender tag at all, which this isn't like a newer tag that has all the options on it. The only options the tag shows is console, bucket seats, auto, 318, clean air package and Am radio. Aren't those pretty much all standard anyway on a 500 and the 500 is stated in the VIN.

 

[Piranhaz]

Another weird thing I found is the sequence number on the VIN tag and title have 6 numbers, not including the year and plant digits. Where as this fender tag has 8 numbers on it and the radiator support has 8 numbers on it (not including the year and plant, so 10 total). I have never seen anything like it.

 

[RemCharger]

Can you post a pic of the fender tag

 

[Piranhaz]

Can you post a pic of the fender tag

 

[RemCharger]

318 car it is.

 

[Piranhaz]

318 car it is.

So should I pull the trigger? Car runs great and the body is in great shape. Needs some interior work, but the price is right. I was just concerned about the fender tag and radiator support not matching. Not like I'm gonna try and flip the car right away, but eventually everything gets sold. How much does that effect the value on a 318 car.........

 

[440 4 speed]

View attachment 1210999

Pretty certain the car was built January 13th. 113xx

 

[Piranhaz]

Pretty certain the car was built January 13th. 113xx

Yeah, I did some research and found that the first 3 digits are the build date/month. This would have been an open and shut buy if those last 5 digits matched the VIN plate, LOL.

 

[RemCharger]

Those are the scheduled production numbers. They aren't supposed to match the vin.

 

[RemCharger]

Everything seems legit and you even have the certicard. Good chance being this lucky, you might find a broadcast sheet

 

[Piranhaz]

Those are the scheduled production numbers. They aren't supposed to match the vin.

I think I just found that on another page. Here I was worried about that and turns out those numbers didn't start matching the VIN until 69ish I think.