Identification hub
Mopar muscle identification: VIN, fender tag, engine stamps, and date codes
This hub covers Dodge Charger, Challenger, Plymouth ’Cuda, Road Runner, Super Bee, and related Chrysler-corporation cars of the mid-1960s to early 1970s. Fender-tag layouts changed, and 1968 tags are not read the same way as 1969-and-later tags.
Official VIN — location and format
The VIN plate is riveted to the top of the driver-side dash, at the base of the windshield (1968 and later, visible through the glass). Chrysler used a 13-digit VIN in this era. A Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards sticker on the driver door should also carry the date of manufacture and the full 13-digit VIN and should match the dash plate. Reproductions exist; some states restrict replacing this sticker.
Breakdown used for 1968–71 B-bodies, and the same 13-digit Chrysler scheme generally: first digit = car line (model); second = price class (sub-model); third and fourth = body style; fifth = engine type and size; sixth = model year; seventh = assembly plant; eighth through thirteenth = serial number (typically starting at 100001 for a plant or line).
Examples of 1970 car-line digits include J = Challenger, B = Barracuda, X = Charger, R = Belvedere/Satellite, W = Coronet. Engine digits are year-specific (for example, 1970 R = 426 Hemi; T, U, and V are 440 variants). Always use the correct year table.
Sources: Hemmings, “Documentation Translation” (updated Mar 26, 2024); StockMopar VIN decoding; Max Wedge, fender tags and body stampings.
Fender tag (data plate)
Location: usually the driver-side inner fender, screwed or riveted; older cars sometimes have the tag on the radiator support, cowl, or A-pillar. Reading order is left to right, bottom to top.
The 1968 B-body layout differs from the 1969-and-newer layout. Heavily optioned cars may have two tags (a “CTD” or continuation marking). Lynch Road tags often list few option codes even on optioned cars, which is why a broadcast sheet matters.
VIN on the tag: for 1969 and later, the VIN appears on the bottom line and must match the dash VIN. For 1968 and earlier, the tag typically carries the Vehicle Order Number (VON), not the full VIN; match the VON to the body stampings instead. Hemmings’ 1968–71 B-body overview says the complete VIN is on the bottom line — use a year-specific decoder for 1968 rather than assuming the later layout.
Other usual fields on 1969–75 style tags include engine option code, transmission code, scheduled production date, paint, trim, and VON. The scheduled production date is the release date, not necessarily the day the car was physically assembled. Month coding on that date field uses 1–9 for January–September and A–C for October–December (for example, 721 = July 21).
Body stampings
- 1968 and earlier: the VON was typically stamped on the radiator core support and under the weatherstrip on the driver-side trunk extension; it should match the fender-tag VON.
- 1969 and later: the last eight digits of the VIN are stamped in those locations. The first two of those eight are almost always reversed (example given by Max Wedge: VIN
RS23U0E100001stamped as0E 100001). - On E-bodies (1970–74 Barracuda and Challenger) and on 1971 and later B-bodies, the last eight digits are also typically stamped on the driver-side firewall just below the cowl, next to the heater air intake.
- Hemmings notes that for 1971, Chrysler began stamping a portion of the VIN upside down on the backside of the radiator support (the radiator must come out to see it).
Engine stamps, casting numbers, and date codes
Casting numbers are found on either side of the block; the casting date is usually on the driver side. Hemmings lists these B-body V8 casting numbers as used across 1968–71: 318 3806030; 340 2780930-340; 383 2468130; 440 2536430; 426 Hemi 2468330. In that listing, the date — not a unique year-specific casting number — is what separates model years. An HP2 (or similar high-performance) pad mark is part of telling a high-performance 383 or 440 from a generic big-car engine.
Partial VIN on the engine, per Hemmings for 1968–71 B-bodies: starting in late 1968, Chrysler stamped the last eight digits of the serial number at the rear of the engine where the block and transmission meet. In 1969, the VIN stamping moved to the lower passenger side of the block. Early 1969 used the full VIN; later models used only the last eight digits. Warranty engines have no numbers on this pad. If the number differs from the dash VIN, the engine is not numbers-matching.
Source: Hemmings, “Documentation Translation”.
Transmission stamps and broadcast sheets
Manual transmissions, including the A-833 four-speed, have an identification number stamped on an ID pad on the right-hand side of the gearbox (plant letters such as PP = New Process or PK = Kokomo, plus a type code; the four-speed type is 833). The car’s VIN stamp is immediately above the transmission ID on the same pad. Some 1968–69 manuals used the full 13-digit VIN; 1970–71 used the last eight digits.
TorqueFlite automatics have a type code on the lower left of the bellhousing and a VIN stamping on the identification pad at the right front of the transmission housing. Very few 1968 automatics were VIN-stamped; some 1969s used the full 13 digits; 1970 and later used the last eight.
The broadcast (build) sheet is the detailed assembly blueprint. Hemmings reports it is often under the rear seat, but also under the front seat, under carpet, in the headliner, under the package tray, or taped behind the glove box. Multiple sheets can appear in one car — match the VIN on each sheet. If no sheet is in the car, a registry or decoding specialist (Hemmings discusses Galen Govier / Chrysler Registry services) can still decode a fender tag and, in some cases, help with build records. Lynch Road cars in particular may have sparse fender-tag option lists, which makes a sheet more important.
Use the multi-make numbers-matching checklist for a field sequence that also covers GM and Ford.