Charger ID info

I put this page together to help me figure out where all the major components in my 1968 Charger came from. This car has very little left that is original due to having way too many owners over the years, each with a totally different vision of what this car should be. I have no hopes of ever making it all correct, I enjoy the car for what it is. If it was a perfect car, I probably wouldn't enjoy driving it anyway :)

• VIN: XP29F8Bxxxxxx

• X - 1966-70 Charger (Charger)
• P - 68-69 Charger (Premium)
• 29 - 2-door sports coupe (Hardtop)
• F - 318cid 230hp 2-bbl V8 (68-69)
• 8 - 1968 model year
• B - Dodge Main plant, Hamtramck, MI, USA
• xxxxxx - serial number

So I have a 1968 Dodge Charger with a 230hp 318 2-bbl built at Dodge's main plant in Hamtramck, MI. Well, that's how she started anyway. Sure as heck wasn't an R/T ! :)

The Fender Tag looks like this:

abcdefghjkmnpqrtuwy
64     7

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
                       26

12345678 AX TRM PNT UBS
 50   8  1  C6X JJ1 B

XP29 41 5 31 126 050632

There were four styles of the Fender Tag. 1) 62-66 2) 67-68 3) 69-74 4) 69-70 Lynch Road. Mine is absolutely a 67-68 tag. So let's figure out the codes.

From the bottom, this means:

Line 1:

• XP29 - Dodge Charger Premium 2-door hardtop
• 41 - Engine Code - 230hp 318 2-bbl
• 5 - Transmission Code - A727 3-spd automatic trans
• 31 - Tires Code
• 126 - Build Date Code - January 26, 1968
• 050632 - Order Number Code

  Lines 2&3:

• 12345678 - option categories : 2=5, 3=0, 7=8
• AX "1" - Axel Code/Sure-Grip Code
• TRM "C6X" - Trim Code
• PNT "JJ1" - Paint Code - J="Medium Gold Poly" 1="monochrome"
• U "B" - Upper Door Paint
• A-Z - more option categories : X(glass options)=2, Y(roof options)=6 "Black vinyl roof"
• a-y - more option categories : a(interior)=6 "front compartment console", b(interior)=4 "front bucket seats", h(lights)=7 "fender mounted turn signal indicators"

So I now know a lot more detail. This car was scheduled to be built January 26, 1968. I know, of course, that it's a 1968 Dodge Charger. I know it came with a 230hp 318 2-bbl and a 727 auto 3-spd trans. I know it was painted medium gold with a black vinyl roof. It had bucket seats with a console and the cool turn signal indicators in the hood. I can actually picture it :) You must remember that this is very different than how I found it in 1997, some 29 years later. It was painted yellow, had aftermarket wheels, had a 383 big block from 1970, had bucket seats from something other than a 1968 model, had a gas cap from a 1969 Charger... you get the idea... not much left of the original.

Engine Codes, from the stamping block behind the alternator:

F383 (with WT stamped over top of the F383 stamp, strange)
9 11 2
HP

This decodes as:

• F - 1970
• 383 - 383 cubic inch big block
• 9 - September
• 11 - 11th
• 2 - 2nd shift that day
• HP - High Performance
• WT - This is the tough one, the only thing I can find says it means "Water Tested"

Ok, so I now have a 1968 Charger with a 1970 High Performance 383 built on September 11th (of 1970?). I also know, from looking at 1970 data, that the HP 383 that year was rated at 335 hp and 425 lb-ft of torque.

Transmission and related parts:

I haven't found a way to decode these yet. Can anyone help?

• Bellhousing: 2882262
• Flywheel: 12208 and some 4-digit number I can't make out (either 8088 or 9903) It has 143 teeth.
• Pressure plate: measures 12 5/8"
• Tailshaft: 3 C 88127 and 3'27'69 or 63
• Transmission case: H4 C99129 9A277644 PP8332842 0407 C95644
• Clutch: 10.95" diameter.

If the 9A277644 code on the trans is the last 8 digits of the VIN of the car it came in, then I at least know it was a 1969 model assembled at Lynch Road. I also know that I have 23 splines. This means it's a "small spline" (18 splines would be "large spline"). The small spline was used in all body styles with all engines except the 440 and 426. This at least helps narrow it down a little. The tailshaft only has the B-body mounting holes, so I know it didn't come from an E-body car. This also means that it's probably pre-1970 because 1970-later tailshafts had both mounting locations. So we can only guess, and we make many assumptions, but this is probably a 1969 833 that came in a b-body with a 383ci or smaller engine. Since the pressure plate is 12 5/8" we know it's set up for a 11" clutch. This indicates it's pre-1970 big block stuff. That makes sense. In 1970 they switched to a different flywheel/clutch assembly which would be obvious to spot.

Ok, so I've got a 1968 Charger with a 1970 HP 383 and a 1969 4-speed with a clutch setup for a 1968-69 HP 383. :)

Rear end: 8 3/4" with #2070741 center section. This is not what I was hoping to find when I crawled under the car with a wire brush to scrape of years of road grime to find those all important casting numbers. But I found it. Yes, the 741 cased 8 3/4 is OK, but given the choice of 741, 742 or 489 for the same price, I'd take a 742 or 489! Though I must say, the aftermarket is really starting to pick up and provide parts for the 741.

My 741 center section contains 3.23 gears and an open diff. But, I recently picked up another 741 case with 3.23 gears and a clutch-type sure-grip diff. Both the diff and the ring&pinion are dated 1963. So you can add yet another year to the list of build dates my car is made of... 1968, 1969, 1970 and now 1963 as well. When I swap in my "new" 741 case, I'll be very curious to see what exactly is in my current 741 case.

Here's how they decode (thanks for the info from The Mopar Den Viewers Tech Page):

Casting #	Years used	Pinion Stem Diameter	Short Case ID
1820657	1957-64	1 3/8	741
2070741	1964-72	1 3/8	741
1634985	1957-64	1 3/4	742
2070742	1961-69	1 3/4	742
2881488	1969-74	1 7/8	489
2881489	1969-74	1 7/8	489

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