How important is numbers matching to you?

[F4R/T]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I like the challenge of bring mine back to 1970.. My 72 charger is numbers matching but warmed over, my RT is as close to 70 as possible and numbers correct top to bottom. It wouldn’t stop me from buying a car but it could keep me from changing it even if it’s a small block car..

 

[Scott Kiger]

Well in the case of my car it’s just a 68 roadrunner post four speed. It does have air conditioning which makes it rare as according to Dave Wise only 1159 68 RR’s came with A/C. Now how many of those cars were hard tops vs coupes or automatics vs four speeds is up for debate. I would say very, very few coupes were ordered with air conditioning though and of those I would say most were automatics if they got A/C. That’s just my deductive reasoning though. So I was pretty stoked it had the correct engine and rear axle including the original center section and sure grip that came in the car.

 

[dspur]

Will it make it break whether you buy a project or completed car? I personally don’t care a whole lot but some do. For instance one of my cars does have the numbers matching engine but the transmission isn’t. The story I got was that when the car was four years old that the transmission was grenaded at the track and they put another in it out of a junkyard. Does that make that car less desirable? How much less is that car worth because if that?

Depends. If building a resto mod, which I would love to do some day, of course not. The more rare the car, then yes. I am restoring a 69 super bee, 4 speed, with factory air, all making this a bit of a rarity. So, in light of that I am going back all original colors, interiors, etc, basically restoring as close as I can, though not concourse. If not numbers matching and a bit rare, I would take a lot of liberties I might not otherwise. I am just trying to preserve the car as original as I can.
On the other hand, I would not hesitate to purchase a non numbers car in great condition, and just have my way with it, perhaps even a modern drive train and suspension, and colors that I like irrespective of the original colors.
Just depends on the car.

On another note, I would have interest in a non restored A12, whether matching numbers or not.

 

[kiwigtx]

Bust and hips ideally are closely numbers matching....with the waist around 75%.

 

[F4R/T]

Dang Kiwi that was freaking hiliarious!

 

[kiwigtx]

Dang Kiwi that was freaking hiliarious!

 

[dspur]

Well in the case of my car it’s just a 68 roadrunner post four speed. It does have air conditioning which makes it rare as according to Dave Wise only 1159 68 RR’s came with A/C. Now how many of those cars were hard tops vs coupes or automatics vs four speeds is up for debate. I would say very, very few coupes were ordered with air conditioning though and of those I would say most were automatics if they got A/C. That’s just my deductive reasoning though. So I was pretty stoked it had the correct engine and rear axle including the original center section and sure grip that came in the car.

I think 4 speed and factory air is a very rare combo.

 

[Runner 68]

Purists? Meh. Numbers Matching? Meh.
I'm not in this hobby for profit. It's an art form. Do what you want.

 

[multimopes]

It don't matter to me atoll! I'm just glad my finger prints still match the ones my birth certificate, or is it the footie prints? I'm proud to be a mutt!

 

[DGE330/NC]

im too damn broke for numbers matching anything . thanks to all the ones that watch barrret jackson !!

 

[Outlawd]

I have 3 muscle cars and the one that is numbers matching is worth the least and is my daily driver, so there you go. It's not important to me if they are matching or not I'm gonna drive them and enjoy them as much as I can until I can't.

 

[Darter6]

I think 4 speed and factory air is a very rare combo.

And what did us young guys do ? Well in the 70's if you bought a muscle car and it had a/c you tore it out to get 100 lbs off the front end. Found on a used lot in Denver in 1976 was a 340 4 speed Demon 100% stock with a/c.
The new owner, 18 at the time, couldn't wait to tear that thing apart. Today I would love to have it bone stock the way it was.

 

[cosgig]

You can say numbers matching is not important, but it does set the price for setting the market. That said, I drive my numbers matching 6bbl Roadrunner whenever I’m going anywhere. And, it is almost completely original. The value to me isn’t in the numbers, it’s being able to drive a car that’s as close to how it was in the 70’s as possible. I have restored cars, and non matching cars that I can take if I want to, but I want to drive the Roadrunner. I guess I’m strange, but I like the whistle of the wind through the windlace, the feel of the road as I meander along the road on old style shocks, drum brakes and manual steering. It all adds up to enjoying the experience of taming a car from days past, which is where I live most of the time anyway!

 

[Fury 440]

I've had numbers match and non numbers match. My different cars over the years have been stock, day 2 and street/strip, depending on what I wanted or felt like at the time. To me, it never really mattered about total correctness. I've said it before, I was never in this great hobby for the money. It's all about the cars!!

 

[Scott Kiger]

Well my transmission is a May of 68 and the car and engine are December of 67. I considered trying to get a date correct trans for it but the thing is rebuilt and flawless. Makes no sane sense to me to go on a hunt for a date correct one. I am not planning on selling the car anyway and don’t know how much value that one item would add

 

[cosgig]

Well my transmission is a May of 68 and the car and engine are December of 67. I considered trying to get a date correct trans for it but the thing is rebuilt and flawless. Makes no sane sense to me to go on a hunt for a date correct one. I am not planning on selling the car anyway and don’t know how much value that one item would add

I wouldn’t bother with that either. In the end, the trans doesn’t matter as much as the engine, and for drive-ability, it doesn’t matter at all. Use the parts you have installed, don’t worry about the numbers.

 

[Captnrich]

Will it make it break whether you buy a project or completed car? I personally don’t care a whole lot but some do. For instance one of my cars does have the numbers matching engine but the transmission isn’t. The story I got was that when the car was four years old that the transmission was grenaded at the track and they put another in it out of a junkyard. Does that make that car less desirable? How much less is that car worth because if that?

Hi there, for me personally I couldn’t care less. Bought 73 Roadrunner few years back from Palmdale California with absolutely zero rust on it. The engine and trans were not numbers matching but correct-honestly, who cares!
The guy scraped the side of the car on a concrete post and whinged when I wanted to take a few dollars off. After the car was up on the trailer he refused to give me the build sheets from under the backseat.
Again, another who cares. I built into a modern resto mod and never looked back…
Yes, it did have the correct Vin and fender tag - and all the body stamping numbers matched

 

[Sixpactogo]

My 60 Dodge Phoenix is the closest to numbers matching of all of my vehicles. (before matching numbers was a thing) Only because it has it's original engine, carburetor, generator, starter, radiator, rear end, Wheels, hub caps, stainless moldings, dash, door panels, glass, bumpers and tail lights and every one of them has been either rebuilt, rechromed, repainted or somehow manipulated to some extent. I call it restored because it appears the way it did when new. The only non original parts include, Transmission, Brakes, tires, exhaust, seat upholstery, windshield, pertronics distributor, belts and hoses and grille.
So.....Is it numbers matching? Nope. Is it important? Nope. Is it worth more or less because of it? Nope.

 

[Archie Duiker]

It's really nice to have but having matching #'s stunts your enjoyment of the vehicle a bit. It doesn't stop me from buying a car at all but the value must be right in either case.

I agree. I owned a '68 Hemi Road Runner for 46 years (finally sold it 3 years ago). It was close to flawless (after a restoration in 2007), and won many awards. However, I like to enjoy the cars, so I typically drove it 1,500 miles or so each year. Of course, that leads to gradual deterioration, which results in lower value. In the end, I sold it so I could get a car I could drive anywhere without worrying too much about wear and tear. Sort of bittersweet selling it, but much more fun and relaxing!

 

[Nate S]

I like stock cars. The way they were shipped when new. Maybe a day 2 mod but not much more. Numbers matching often means “not totally f-ed with” so I like that. I also prefer “numbers plausible” meaning it’s the right timeframe block etc. for the same kind of feel. After that it’s simply financial. Pay more for it but then sell it for more or pay less and sell it for less.