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Charger Engine VIN Conundrum

mistakes do happen. in 2005 I owned a 1970 challenger with the slant six and three on the floor, the full vin on the engine had the last digit one off from the body. in other words, all the body vin numbers at all locations were the same as the dash vin, except the dash last digit was a 1, and the body had a 2.
 
Mistakes happened. I did a thread about my 440 stamped 383,on the bottom. Not stamped on the side pad. You most likely have the original motor.
 
It happened more often than most think.... These were line workers that were doing a boring shitty job... In order to cope some drank excessively & did all sorts of drugs.... You think they got every detail perfect?


I couldn't find any 68 Hamtramck stamps on the web
I'm with you. In my opinion it's too close to worry about it being anything but a factory screw up.

Here's another 68 Hamtrack VIN stamping for comparison.

68_Bellhousing_VIN_4_450.jpg
 
Here's the engine stamp on my'68 Charger R/T. Hamtramck car as well...

2023-03-09_06-36-01.jpg
 
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Apparently Hamtramck actually was free handing each individual stamp... They must not have thought stamping VIN's was gonna last long...
 
Apparently Hamtramck actually was free handing each individual stamp... They must not have thought stamping VIN's was gonna last long...
I agree. It was mainly implemented to thwart the growing car theft problem that picked up in the mid 60’s. Both of my 70’s, Charger and ‘Cuda 4 speed cars must have had the reverse lock out at one point. Neither one has that junk now, and if they still have the key buzzers, they were disconnected when I bought the cars in the early 80’s.
 
I appreciate all the members opinions. Will all the other vehicle ID items matching-up on this car, I guess I'll consider my Charger a "Matching Numbers" vehicle for now. Just not sure if I could ever advertise it as such ...... JW
 
I appreciate all the members opinions. Will all the other vehicle ID items matching-up on this car, I guess I'll consider my Charger a "Matching Numbers" vehicle for now. Just not sure if I could ever advertise it as such ...... JW

"the engine is original to the car"........... that's your story and you're sticking to it
 
My mistake ----- engine sequence no . 8B334875 and Window VIN sequence no. 8B34487

Proving yourself how easy it is for something to be mis-stamped. You had all the time in the world, and you care about it, and still made an error. The guy on the assembly line was just rushing along earning a paycheck.

I think it adds an interesting story to the car.
 
So, just my opinion... The font looks like a generic hardware store stamp... But being a 68 the whole VIN stamp thing was new & plants were still working on the details.... My computer that I had saved a number of 68 VIN stamps to crashed awhile back... Currently I have to search the web for photos... My recollection of 68 Hamtramck VIN stamps they were similar to the Belvedere stamp...

Belvedere Stamp
View attachment 1430298

Lynch Rd Stamp
View attachment 1430299


I couldn't find any 68 Hamtramck stamps on the web... I'm sure they are out there... I didn't find it..

But another thing to notice it the tilt/cant of the letters... There is some up & down movement of the Belvedere letters but they aren't tilted... The Lynch Rd stamps aren't tilted & actually are pretty much vertically matched too...

The O/P's numbers are tilted quite a bit... Like they were stamped free hand... Anybody here actually believe every letter/number on every engine was individually stamped??? They were held in a fixture that kept them clocked...
Ok, not trying to argue here at all. Just remember, these stamps were not done by a machine, they were done by the three shift workers at the plant along with whover took their place during coffee breaks, vacation, sick days, shift overlaps, etc. This is NOT and exact science even tho lots try to turn it into that. If a tool was lost or broken, they didn't shut down the entire line to get a replacement, they just moved on and used what they had. So in this guy's case, who knows what happened? Answer is no one, just enter it into the database as another version of the numbers on a block.
 
Proving yourself how easy it is for something to be mis-stamped. You had all the time in the world, and you care about it, and still made an error. The guy on the assembly line was just rushing along earning a paycheck.

I think it adds an interesting story to the car.
You get it. Very true. Just workers trying to get thru their shift and probably resenting the new 'job' they got stuck doing. This was new for 68.
 
So, just my opinion... The font looks like a generic hardware store stamp... But being a 68 the whole VIN stamp thing was new & plants were still working on the details.... My computer that I had saved a number of 68 VIN stamps to crashed awhile back... Currently I have to search the web for photos... My recollection of 68 Hamtramck VIN stamps they were similar to the Belvedere stamp...

Belvedere Stamp
View attachment 1430298

Lynch Rd Stamp
View attachment 1430299


I couldn't find any 68 Hamtramck stamps on the web... I'm sure they are out there... I didn't find it..

But another thing to notice it the tilt/cant of the letters... There is some up & down movement of the Belvedere letters but they aren't tilted... The Lynch Rd stamps aren't tilted & actually are pretty much vertically matched too...

The O/P's numbers are tilted quite a bit... Like they were stamped free hand... Anybody here actually believe every letter/number on every engine was individually stamped??? They were held in a fixture that kept them clocked...
Sorry, just saw who posted this. Lol. I misread what you had typed but my post is just a generic response.
 
Matching numbers matters more in a GM car of that era. It proved the drivetrain type was original. No engine called out in the VIN until the 1972 MY.
 
There is no sequence no stamped on the 727 transmission flange adjacent to the motor's no. (like 60coronetrt's picture he provided above). Is that odd?
Thanks to #41 for making a good point! I will use eldubb440's response when questioned, "Is it a number's matching car"? JW
 
There is no sequence no stamped on the 727 transmission flange adjacent to the motor's no. (like 60coronetrt's picture he provided above). Is that odd?
Thanks to #41 for making a good point! I will use eldubb440's response when questioned, "Is it a number's matching car"? JW
There is a PK number on the side of the transmission just above the pan rail. That will tell more about it. Also look on the side of the bell there might be a VIN number. I suspect it was swapped out at some time.
 
There is no sequence no stamped on the 727 transmission flange adjacent to the motor's no. (like 60coronetrt's picture he provided above). Is that odd?
Thanks to #41 for making a good point! I will use eldubb440's response when questioned, "Is it a number's matching car"? JW
I have found that if the VIN is stamped on the engine, the trans is as well because they were stamped at the same time.
I would do as suggested and check the trans number stamped on it's rail.
 
Sorry, just saw who posted this. Lol. I misread what you had typed but my post is just a generic response.
No reason to feel bad... Your post pointed out a very likely scenario... The tool broke or got misplaced.... I can't believe Hamtramck free hand stamped every engine... Typically most manufacturers who are stamping a number on every item going out the door used something like this.... Or something even more precise.... Free handed takes much longer

CH-Hanson-Numberball-Steel-Stamp-Holder-with-Characters-USA-Made-Machinist-Tool-11-ib.jpg


With a tool like in the photo the stamps stay square to one another, all the VIN's posted the stampings are rolled & twisted, spacing isn't consistent.... IE done free hand... I'm thinking those have to be exceptions & not the rule...
 
No reason to feel bad... Your post pointed out a very likely scenario... The tool broke or got misplaced.... I can't believe Hamtramck free hand stamped every engine... Typically most manufacturers who are stamping a number on every item going out the door used something like this.... Or something even more precise.... Free handed takes much longer

View attachment 1431368

With a tool like in the photo the stamps stay square to one another, all the VIN's posted the stampings are rolled & twisted, spacing isn't consistent.... IE done free hand... I'm thinking those have to be exceptions & not the rule...
I spoke with a guy who worked at the St. Louis assembly plant, and he said something about them stamping the 68s by hand on the engine assembly line. The engines were assembled with accessories and trans bolted onto them on a separate line. When the engine and trans were combined, a guy at the end of the line stamped each digit twice, engine and trans. He had some time as the line didn't move quickly. In 69 the stamps look a bit different but even some of them look like they were hand stamped. Jmho
 
I spoke with a guy who worked at the St. Louis assembly plant, and he said something about them stamping the 68s by hand on the engine assembly line. The engines were assembled with accessories and trans bolted onto them on a separate line. When the engine and trans were combined, a guy at the end of the line stamped each digit twice, engine and trans. He had some time as the line didn't move quickly. In 69 the stamps look a bit different but even some of them look like they were hand stamped. Jmho
68_Dodge_Coronet_VIN_BlockTrannyc_600.jpg
 
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