Wife or car?

[69Coronetrt]

I have to ask myself why I am even bothering to respond to this thread. Maybe I have coronavirus...

In 25 years of messing with Mopars I have never seen a ‘Z’ vin designation. Not in person or even in print or online. That being said, could there be one or two out there? Sure. Any use would have undoubtedly been for fleet sales (think CHP) and more often than not a ‘detuned’ version of an existing engine - A-bodies has a special order slant 6 that was a slug.

You would need buying power to make this happen, have it offered as a dealer sales package, or be a Chrysler exec to get anything intentionally special out of the plant in 73. Managers were afraid to go out in the floor let alone push through special orders.

And then we have the engine itself. You obviously understand nothing about the regulations governing auto manufacturers, and yes even in the early 70s. To think that a major car manufacturer would install an engine that was not approved as part of the current year offerings is insane. Lo-po slant 6 in a trim model with a V8 standard? Sure, all day long. Engine that hadn’t been produced in three years and was never offered in that chassis? No way in hell, ever.

I could speculate as to what really happened but I won’t bother. There is a gentleman with a factory 70 Daytona that you would probably get along with.

you also have to acknowledge the emissions requirements were different in 1970. It is difficult to imagine a dealer or company risking fines or loss of franchise due to evading emissions laws.

Who would offer a warranty on that combo in that year?

“Never say never with Mopar. You could get anything you wanted if you knew the right people or had enough money.”

No. No you couldn’t. Let common sense and laws be your guide.

 

[WP29440SE]

I have seen many, ( probably not as near as many as some of you) broadcast sheets, fender tags and VIN tags from the 60's, 70's and 80's in my 30+ years of this, and not once, has a Z shown up denoting any deviations outside of the standard and optional powerplant offerings for that year. this includes any fleet vehicles or otherwise. maybe it was used by a dealer as a reference, but the factory did not use a z in any formal or official documentation that I have ever seen or heard of.

 

[Montclaire]

Oddest car I ever saw was a B1B barracuda.

 

[MoparGuy68]

The dealer actually called the Factory and they had a 340-6 still available.

I'm not believing this statement either.. Which plant was this "Factory"? Sure, in 1973 they had a 340 SixPack laying around ready to install in your special order car. You should have had the Dealer ask them to check if they had a 440 SixPack or 426 Hemi laying around collecting dust that was ready to go while you were at it!

Special order doesn't mean you can order engines that are no longer available to order. Otherwise we'd see those Special order 426 Hemi 1972, 1973 and 1974 Road Runners and Chargers, fully documented at Mecum or Barrett-Jackson, or on Leno's Garage.

Only documented exceptions I've ever heard of to this would be the few 1972 440 SixPack cars which had the SixPack intake and carbs installed by a Dealer, not at the plant. Maybe a few were built this way early in the 1972 model year. But a non dealer installed 340 SixPack in 1973. Never heard of such a thing, and you'd be the only guy on the planet that made it happen, and then cancelled the order for this never to be built 1 of 1 car. It does make for a fantastical story though.

 

[DeltaV]

Some salespeople have absolutely no scruples (then and now). They will say (just about) anything to get your money.

 

[Bee1971]

Robert would have got a H Code 1973 Dodge Charger

A Dealer installed Six Pack

A very pissed off Robert after he discovered as time went by there was no Z in the VIN

And a Very Happy EX Wife once she got the car in the divorce , and just Sold it recently at Mecum Auction as the only 1 of 1 Factory / Dealer 1973 Dodge Charger 340 Six Pack made for $250,000

That’s my story

 

[WP29440SE]

now had he bought a 318 340 360 73 charger and drove it over to Mr. Norms shop, perhaps he would have tossed a 340 six pack intake and carbs on it for him. after all , he was known to use them on a few demons with a "tri-power" air cleaner lid, but that was 2 years earlier before the 340 was phased out for the 360.

 

[Montclaire]

now had he bought a 318 or 360 73 charger and drove it over to Mr. Norms shop, perhaps he would have tossed a 340 six pack intake and carbs on it for him. after all , he was known to use them on a few demons with a "tri-power" air cleaner lid, but that was 2 years earlier before the 340 was phased out for the 360.

340 was available in 73. NOT with the six pack though, and certainly not the special AAR/TA blocks. I do believe the 340 setup was offered through Direct Connection at that point in time. Dealer may have added the parts and labor for the intake and carbs to be added to a stock 73 340 AFTER delivery but 1000% not a factory built job.

 

[WP29440SE]

340 was available in 73. NOT with the six pack though, and certainly not the special AAR/TA blocks. I do believe the 340 setup was offered through Direct Connection at that point in time. Dealer may have added the parts and labor for the intake and carbs to be added to a stock 73 340 AFTER delivery but 1000% not a factory built job.

it was my understanding that the 340 was still available late 1972, early 73 production, then ended in favor of the 360 to continue the 73 run? im not sure how it applied to B bodies. i don't believe the 340 and 360 were both offered simultaneously?
I believe it was 1971 when mr. norms were taking the 340 demons and putting 3 2 barrels on them. the T/A and AAR's were the only mopars to get a factory 340 3x2 set-up. if for some crazy reason a plant actually had a factory 340 six pack engine sitting around in mid 1972, it would have been from 1970, maybe part of 1971 , and it would have been for a TA or cuda. interestingly, heres a factory brochure with a 71 Challenger T/A offered with a 340 4 barrel and no mention of a six pack. for whatever reason, it never made it into production. I may have read it was due to the government crackdown on emissions, and high insurance rates.

 

[YY1]

Even when I was young (13/14/15) I could tell in about 2 weeks if a girl was gonna be OK with my interests and desires.

It floors me that people marry women and don't figure that out until something like this OP's situation happens.

 

[chargervert]

It's called pussy blind!

 

[Duckmanreno]

Yes look at Prince Harry

 

[YY1]

So.....

999 special order paint on a fender tag is rare but in the scheme of things on this post fairly common.

I've seen about a half dozen personally.

Interestingly a LOT are fleet paint.

I've seen several that were C body paint colors not normally available on B body cars.

The coolest one I've seen was a 74 340 Cuda in 999 in-violet (plum crazy) original paint (and in rough shape)

I've NEVER seen a Z code special order engine code on a VIN.

I would tend to agree that an H code 340 car with a dealer installed six pack would be the more likely scenario.

 

[chargervert]

A sixpack setup would not be available on any car in 1973,the reason the sixpack was pulled off the option list at the very begining of 1972 was because they couldn't get them to meet Federal vehicle emission standards.

 

[MoparGuy68]

H code 340 4bbl remained in production for all of 1972 and 1973. Forged crank was used till around mid 1972 model year, then it got a cast crank for the remainder of 72.

I ended up in the hospital right after looking at a 1972 Challenger Rallye 340 about a year and a half ago. The car was for sale, was Tawny Gold (Plymouth name, I think Dark Gold Metallic was Dodge), repainted red and I referred to it as "Christine" after the incident. It may have had a forged crank, as it was build in late Jan of 72. That is a real story but not for this thread. I actually shot a video of the car, maybe I'll post it on Youtube sometime..

All 73 340s got a cast crank. L code 360 4bbl replaced it for 1974. The only 360 mentioned in the 1973 service manual is a K code, which is a 2bbl engine. Have never seen an L code 360 4bbl 1973 car, nor have I seen an H code 340 4bbl 1974 car. If you have an L code 360 4bbl 1973 car, show us the goods so we can see what I failed to see in the wild in the past 35 years!

 

[hanks73340]

it was my understanding that the 340 was still available late 1972, early 73 production, then ended in favor of the 360 to continue the 73 run ? im not sure how it applied to B bodies. i don't believe the 340 and 360 were both offered simultaneously ? my 73 360 duster was built in December IIRC.
I believe it was 1971 when mr. norms were taking the 340 demons and putting 3 2 barrels on them. the T/A and AAR's were the only mopars to get a factory 340 3x2 set-up. if for some crazy reason a plant actually had a factory 340 six pack engine sitting around in mid 1972, it would have been from 1970, maybe part of 1971 , and it would have been for a TA or cuda. interestingly, heres a factory brochure with a 71 Challenger T/A offered with a 340 4 barrel and no mention of a six pack. for whatever reason, it never made it into production. I may have read it was due to the government crackdown on emissions, and high insurance rates.
View attachment 925347

My 73 340 4-bbl was built on 11-2-1972. So yes the 340's were still available in late 72. Also, I thought you could only get the 340 with the Rally package only(correct me if I am wrong), there has been long discussions on this topic. As far as I know, the 6-pack was not an available option. The only thing I can think of is that some special person in upper management was able to swing some kind of a sweet favor to get a 6-pack installed. Mine though is the Rally package. I would have loved to have a 6-pack. I am drooling over the new EFI 6-pack that FiTech just came out with.......

 

[YY1]

Pretty common knowledge that the 340 was available throughout the 1973 model year.

Available on Rallye Charger, Dart Sport, Challenger Rallye, Roadrunner, Cuda 340 and 340 Duster.
AFAIK, nothing else

Don't think upper management would get involved with building a car that didn't meet emissions and legitimizing it as a factory build unless it was for a high profile racing customer.

A dealer on the other hand, I'm sure would have no problem ordering parts readily available from DC and installing them on a "regular" 340 car for a charge.

 

[WP29440SE]

H code 340 4bbl remained in production for all of 1972 and 1973. Forged crank was used till around mid 1972 model year, then it got a cast crank for the remainder of 72.

I ended up in the hospital right after looking at a 1972 Challenger Rallye 340 about a year and a half ago. The car was for sale, was Tawny Gold (Plymouth name, I think Dark Gold Metallic was Dodge), repainted red and I referred to it as "Christine" after the incident. It may have had a forged crank, as it was build in late Jan of 72. That is a real story but not for this thread. I actually shot a video of the car, maybe I'll post it on Youtube sometime..

All 73 340s got a cast crank. L code 360 4bbl replaced it for 1974. The only 360 mentioned in the 1973 service manual is a K code, which is a 2bbl engine. Have never seen an L code 360 4bbl 1973 car, nor have I seen an H code 340 4bbl 1974 car. If you have an L code 360 4bbl 1973 car, show us the goods so we can see what I failed to see in the wild in the past 35 years!

well my memory is a little foggy, I guess it would have to have been a 74 duster as you are correct that the 360 was an offering in the A body beginning in 1974.

 

[QOTHL]

First i must say, a great wife is worth more then a car. But in 1972 I went to a Dodge dealership and wanted a special car. I special ordered a 1973 Dodge Charger, 340 6 pack. But that engine was not available any longer. The dealer actually called the Factory and they had a 340-6 still available. I order this: 73 Charger, 340-6 with bubble hood, pistol grip 4 speed with a bench seat. Yellow with black stripes, best radio available at the time, Duals and a few other things. The Factory would put a special code on the VIN that states a special ordered engine. I placed the special order. That night my wife cried and complained about the car so i cancelled it the next day. I put my wife before my car. Problem is that 6 months later i got a divorce. I would still put a great wife before any car, but i guess my wife was not great.

Wether the car was possible or not isn't really the issue in my opinion. I hear stuff like this all the time about how some guy sold his beloved car because the wife told him to. This is all . Unfortunately, you married someone who has so little confidence in themselves that they feel threatened by something you enjoy. It's stupid. Kick the wife to the curb or tell her to suck it up. Also unfortunately you guys are consumed by making sure you "get some" and end up "thinking" with the head between your legs rather than the one that's three feet above your ***.

 

[69 R/T]

I got divorced so I could have sex and muscle cars again!