Reading a 67 fender tag date code

[dan juhasz]

On my 67 GTX the date code is 706. So my question. If the model year changes in August is this car a late production 67. Does that date represent July 6 1967 or am I wrong and it represents July 6 1966

 

[turbine68rt]

July 6, 1967 spd.

 

[gtx6970]

July 6, 1967 spd.

Agreed, probably has a pretty high Vin number as well

 

[dan juhasz]

That's what I thought, a 67 hemi block came online with an assembly date of 10-11-66, I'm thinking that is way too early for my cars build. Thoughts?

 

[dadsbee]

Remember they didn't just cast / build a few blocks at a time vs how few hemi's were sold. Engines sat for a long time...

.. and the car year starts in September.

 

[dan juhasz]

Remember they didn't just cast / build a few blocks at a time vs how few hemi's were sold. Engines sat for a long time...

.. and the car year starts in September.

So in your opinion a Hemi stamped on the pad with 10-11 (1966) could still be considered date appropriate for a car with a scheduled assembly date of 706 (1967)?

 

[dadsbee]

So in your opinion a Hemi stamped on the pad with 10-11 (1966) could still be considered date appropriate for a car with a scheduled assembly date of 706 (1967)?

From what I understand MANY hemi engines sat built before ever finding a car to be installed into, but I'm no expert. Compared to my 69 Bee that the 383 was built 2 days before SPD and the exhaust manifolds weren't even cast until 2 days after SPD.

 

[dan juhasz]

Let’s see if anyone else chimes in

 

[68jim]

There were no 426 blocks cast in 1967. So any 1967 and even early 1968 Hemi cars will have 1966 casting engines. I believe they cast the next batch of blocks sometime in Jan 1968. There was a thread either here or on Moparts where people submitted various casting dates found on their hemi blocks and someone even submitted foundry records from Chrysler showing how many 318, 340, 383, 426, 440 were cast during the different model years. So a 66 cast block in a 67 model year car would be correct. There were no VIN/SO numbers stamped on the blocks until 1968.

 

[dan juhasz]

There were no 426 blocks cast in 1967. So any 1967 and even early 1968 Hemi cars will have 1966 casting engines. I believe they cast the next batch of blocks sometime in Jan 1968. There was a thread either here or on Moparts where people submitted various casting dates found on their hemi blocks and someone even submitted foundry records from Chrysler showing how many 318, 340, 383, 426, 440 were cast during the different model years. So a 66 cast block in a 67 model year car would be correct. There were no VIN/SO numbers stamped on the blocks until 1968.

This conversation was more about the stamped info on the pad and if it is way to early ( 9 months) for a scheduled build date.

 

[68jim]

The Hemi cars from 66, 67, early 68 are more difficult to prove the motor is still the original or even considered "date correct". Those motors sat around much longer than the typical 318/383 used in most cars back then. Can't always guarantee that they pulled motors in sequence to install. You can research to see other dates from hemi cars close to your build date and that may give you a range of dates to look for, but this is not exactly 100% perfect. I have a 68 Hemi Road Runner without the numbers matching motor. I have some pieces off of the original motor so I have a general idea but it is what it is.
Not sure I have an exact answer for your situation but for a 67, I think a date 9 months prior could be acceptable.
What I am not sure of is when in the process the pads would get stamped other than it looks like it needed to be after mostly assembled but before it got painted. I don't know if the engines waiting to be installed would have already been painted but it makes sense to me because otherwise they would sit and start to rust.

 

[matthon]

FWIW my 67 383 was cast 1/9/67, stamped 5/23, car was shipped 5/26 according to the build card.

 

[dan juhasz]

FWIW my 67 383 was cast 1/9/67, stamped 5/23, car was shipped 5/26 according to the build card.

so your engine was assembled 3 days before the car being finished

 

[matthon]

Yes. Car had a SPD of 5/31 but was completed early on 5/26.
I'm the 3rd owner, have the IBM build card, yes engines did not have a vin stamp in 67, however all the parts on it and everything else checks out.

 

[What’s up dock]

As 68jim said, no blocks were cast in 67. Supposedly, 10/31/66 was the last 1966 batch cast, then not cast again until 4/68. 340 T/A blocks were the same, only one or two casting dates.
So, with that said, a late 66 block would be correct for all 67 cars.