VL29C6G101102

I've looked at several VIN decoders, and they all keep indicating that this should be a 1966 Valiant (because of the C6G). Sorry, but it comes straight off the dash and fender tag of my '74 Duster. Anyone have better information?

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

V=Valiant
L=low class (yep it's for us po' A-body guys...)
29= Fastback
C=225 slant 6 (my favorite)
6=1976...(No, there were no 'Dusters' in 1966...wait until late 1969...)
G=St. Louis plant...I think it was the last duster plant most '76's Ive seen so far have been St. Louis....
101102 ...that'd be a pretty early car...it's earlier than either of my Feather Dusters (190XXX-March of 76...and 160xxx-December of 75)...

What does the fender tag have on it? If it's a '76, have you checked it for 'Feather Duster' parts? 101xxx tag might be closer to an August of '75 build date.....

neat, (Got pics?)

-D.Idiot

DI,
I'm going tomorrow afternoon to haul it home. The tag on the driver's door says it was built in 9 - 74. Almost seems to indicate the door has been replaced??

Here's what is on the fender tag:

N37 R11 Y10 A1 END
V4W U B43 G52 H51 M21
LY9 E2Y3 000 909 075258
E24 D31 VL29 C6G 101102

No pics yet, will be forthcoming. I don't know what "Feather Dusters" look like or how to tell the difference in the parts. I must have used at least five different online decoders, and each one said it is a 1966 Valiant.
The Duster is kind of a bronze color, white longitudinal stripes, white vinyl top, and tanish interior with woodgrain along door and back seat panels. What source are you using for the decoding?

Thanks for the reply,
Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Jerry, it is a '76. The color code is LY9. It was first used in '75, so it can't be a '74. What is odd, you say the door sticker has a 9-74 date, the car was built 9-75, or exactly 9-09-75. Check to see if it looks to be the original door, the older door stickers had VIN #s on them. This is a real early '76, either #1102 or #102 of production. The stripe doesn't show in the tag, it must have been added. The interior sounds like it may have been changed. Woodgrain should be a deluxe int, your tag has E2 which is economy bench. Also delx int on a L, low class, Valiant don't add up. And Y3 int color is more gold, not brownish.
DI, if this is a drum brake car, will it have 4 1/2" bolt pattern?

Cecil

According to the 'books' for '76 cars were mandatory for 10" drums on all 4 wheels up to 12-75, after that they are mandatory for disc brakes with 10" drums rear, my 'parts feather' was built 12-7 and had front discs and I haven't seen any '76 model A-bodies with drums....all have been LBP, my friend had a '75 Scamp and it had 9" drums and SBP...weird...

It's not a Feather Duster you'd have fender tag code "A31", in case he 'swapped' some parts check the bumper reinforcements and hood and trunk lid reinforcements with a magnet...if it doesn't stick, they're aluminum and weight saving...

If it's all OEM (sounds like the door isn't)

E24= 225-1v
D31=A904 Automatic tranny

LY9=spanish Gold Metallic (I think 76DartSportGuys on .com have a 76 Dart Sport in that color...haven't heard from them in a while...)

Vinyl Bench Seat Gold color
Canopy White Vinyl Roof (The 'half' a vinyl roof...)


For $150, I'd haul it home and tear it down, if it has a nice '76' grille that'd make back some of your money invested into the car itself....

let us know how you make out!

-D.Idiot

Well guys,
Got the Duster home. I can confirm some of your investigative research. The car's title, which I got too, says it is a '76 Plymouth. The interior is kind of beige/tan, rather than brownish. It does have white stripes, not black (my bad). The sheet metal is really quite straight. Without pulling back the carpet, I did see where the driver's floor pan, at least, is rusted through. The grill, lenses, tail lights and bezels, and bumpers are in very good shape. The interior is pretty much a mess. It looks like mice have been camped out in there for a while. It has A/C, manual disc brakes, 904 automatic, LBP wheels, 7.25" rear, and good glass all around. Tomorrow I'll remove the A-pillar trim that I have been needing to see if it will fit our '74 Sport. The glove box is plastic, instead of the cardboard like ours was -- another good score!

Here are a few pics to show off our bargain find.







This is my wife's reaction when I pulled up with the trailer. I promised I would only keep it in our back yard long enough to pull all the parts we want. I haven't decided what to do with the left-overs.



Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Great set of pics . . . especially that last one. I think most of us have seen that expression before (or at least a slight variation) . . . at least once. LMAO!

_________________
Cheers!
Al T

Jerry, excellent find, have driven cars in much worse condition then this, sell what you don't need and recoupe your $150.00 investment. Last pic is is worth a thousand words , wonder if this expression is universal among our loved ones? Dave

Only 15,000 1976 Dusters were made. Your grille is in excellent shape so you can part it out on line/ebay and make your money back on the deal for sure( along with the instrument cluster, etc...).

since the expression on your better half's face said it all, you might just spend a weekend pulling everything from the wiring harness, the instrument panel, the door panels, seat levers,etc. and put them into some plastic totes or boxes for storage. You'll be glad when you need something and can just go to the shed and grab one...

Hate to see a nice A-body like that one get stripped, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

for the price that was a good grab!!!!

-D.Idiot

My dad had a 76 Feather Duster from about 1980-1983, then sold to my brother instead of me, as I had JUST gotten my license! I always loved that thing, was mad at Dad a long time for that one. It was a 225, 3-speed on the floor, (NO, it wasn't converted from the column, either) manual steer, manual brakes, 10" front, 9" back, drums at all 4 corners, SBP, I know what it was because all the while that my dad and big brother had it, I did ALL of the work on it that was ever done. I miss that car, even though I was lucky to get to move it out of the drive just so someone else could get out and put it right back into the drive. I wanted that car SOOO bad, instead ended up with Dad's next hand me down, a "76 Charger SE (identical to a Corboba) with more bondo than steel and busted rear shackles, up thru the trunk, welded brackets to frame to reattatch. Power everything but a rust bucket from Hell by the time Dad was finished with it.