1970 E-body Radio option code R21

[Xcudame]

Let's just say then the fender tag has been reproduced because it's missing obvious "things". And some people will do anything to make an extra buck or two.

Not to take away from your car. 383 4 speed is a great car. And you're happy with it and that's all that matters. But be for warned, if you try to sell it as a numbers matching car, people who know are going to point out the fender tag. And now, I'm not going to tell you what is missing because it's one semi secure way to keep people from faking fender tags!

 

[ylocuda]

Ok photos from the early 90’s. As you can see its was close to junk yard.

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[ylocuda]

Pics I took today showing the matching vin numbers. Its not fake. The tag is real. I am not in this for making money and oh well the original motor is gone but it has all absolutely correct P/N’s parts for 1970. Physically identical. I plan to donate car. Pic 1838 you can see the pistol grip shifter.

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[Cuda Hunter]

 

[Cuda Hunter]

 

[Cuda Hunter]

 

[Cuda Hunter]

 

[Cuda Hunter]

 

[Cuda Hunter]

 

[Cuda Hunter]

 

[Cuda Hunter]

 

[Cuda Hunter]

 

[Cuda Hunter]

 

[ylocuda]

Ok, I am moving past the fender tag argument and lets say it was reproduced due to the left front accident and that the inner fender was replaced and the tag was mangled. The facts I think we all can agree on based on VIN number is the car is a 383 Cuda. It definitely is a 4sp and definitely came with A/C. This is not something dealerships would have on their lots. Someone had to place an order to get this combo. Would this be why the tag shows the Y39 option?

 

[MoparCarGuy]

I must say, before providing the below info, that none of this is personal and you should not take it that way. This forum is about the car(s), not personalities.
The facts as we know them from decades of research and reference material tell us a lot about what is correct and what is not. There are experts on this forum that have detailed production line dates and times for these cars who may chime in as well.

The tag is a clearly a reproduction. Here are a few of the most obvious problems with the tag.
The VIN is BS23N0E131758 so the sequence number for your car is 131758.
The LA plant was building E-Bodies before and after 131758 in January and February of 1970. Your car was built in the first or second week of February 1970 as seen by the tags below which are before and after 131758.

The V4X Strobe Stripe was announced via Product Information Bulletin on January 28, 1970 (see page 2 below) and began appearing in February/March 1970 so that is a plus for your car but you need a broadcast sheet, window sticker, or at least some original photos of the car when new to prove it since the fender tag is in question. Options introduced during the model year took some time before the parts were actually available and the word got out to everyone of availability.
If anyone has a real tag with V4X AND an SPD before March of 1970, please post it.

It appears your very original looking Door VIN decal is correct and shows 2 - 1970 which matches the sequence number time period. That makes the fender tag's Scheduled Production Date of C02 (December 1969) suspicious. It is not reasonable to believe a car was scheduled for December and failed to be built until February.

The V1X Black Vinyl Top code is replicated a 2nd time on LA-Built E-Bodies as noted earlier in this thread. That is missing on your tag.

The other Cuda you referenced with R21 as a radio option also has a reproduction tag. Again, a clear repro.

Hi, I paid $5800 for the car in 1990. The guy had several e-bodies for sale. I chose this one because it was a 4sp, was FY1 yellow and had no rust. It was his only 4sp which was a must have. The tag was not a selling point, it was just screwed in and not in perfect condition. I just wire wheeled it and it looked great after that. Whoever thinks its fake needs to rethink it. Why would someone fake it as a 383? Wouldn’t you fake it as at least as a 440? The Y39 option explains why its unique combination. I will post some pictures later of when I bought it and what it looks like now.

The reason they cannot change the car to a different engine is that the 5th digit of the VIN is on the Dash VIN plate as an N (383) as well as the Door VIN decal and any other factory or state-issued paperwork for the car. The reproduction Dash VINs have font issues so changing the engine code to scam buyers is difficult.

Others can chime in but our hobby keeps other factors that show fender tags are repros (and yours have those red flags as well) under wraps to not aid making better repro tags.

 

[ylocuda]

Ok, I agree that the tag was remanufactured after more analyzing. Thanks for the very clear clarification. The fact that the car did sustain a left front accident support the tag missing it was in need of a repro tag. I just never questioned it or even looked at it closely because I bought the car 35 years ago and never would’ve thought that would have happened plus it did reflect all the options the car has. NOW, the VIN number at least does prove the car is a 383 Cuda. It very clearly has A/C and a 4sp. All the options that are on the repro tag well match what the car has for options. Going back to my question above, since a Cuda with AC and 4 speed are extremely rare combo, would that explain the Y39 option code on the tag or is that bogus? Also, is the R21 radio code possible being that the car mfg date is February?. The car came with a single speaker dash. The wiring under the dash has never been cut. Maybe that will offer some clues. I’m not sure.

 

[Cuda Hunter]

I must say, before providing the below info, that none of this is personal and you should not take it that way. This forum is about the car(s), not personalities.
The facts as we know them from decades of research and reference material tell us a lot about what is correct and what is not. There are experts on this forum that have detailed production line dates and times for these cars who may chime in as well.

The tag is a clearly a reproduction. Here are a few of the most obvious problems with the tag.
The VIN is BS23N0E131758 so the sequence number for your car is 131758.
The LA plant was building E-Bodies before and after 131758 in January and February of 1970. Your car was built in the first or second week of February 1970 as seen by the tags below which are before and after 131758.
View attachment 140621
The V4X Strobe Stripe was announced via Product Information Bulletin on January 28, 1970 (see page 2 below) and began appearing in February/March 1970 so that is a plus for your car but you need a broadcast sheet, window sticker, or at least some original photos of the car when new to prove it since the fender tag is in question. Options introduced during the model year took some time before the parts were actually available and the word got out to everyone of availability.
If anyone has a real tag with V4X AND an SPD before March of 1970, please post it.
View attachment 140622

It appears your very original looking Door VIN decal is correct and shows 2 - 1970 which matches the sequence number time period. That makes the fender tag's Scheduled Production Date of C02 (December 1969) suspicious. It is not reasonable to believe a car was scheduled for December and failed to be built until February.

The V1X Black Vinyl Top code is replicated a 2nd time on LA-Built E-Bodies as noted earlier in this thread. That is missing on your tag.

The other Cuda you referenced with R21 as a radio option also has a reproduction tag. Again, a clear repro.
View attachment 140623


The reason they cannot change the car to a different engine is that the 5th digit of the VIN is on the Dash VIN plate as an N (383) as well as the Door VIN decal and any other factory or state-issued paperwork for the car. The reproduction Dash VINs have font issues so changing the engine code to scam buyers is difficult.

Others can chime in but our hobby keeps other factors that show fender tags are repros (and yours have those red flags as well) under wraps to not aid making better repro tags.

Well put together and well thought out. Thanks for posting that.
And I totally agree, those here are not being personal in anyway. Just talking about what can be seen through research.

To answer the y39 and the R21 question we would all need to see other fender tags that have those options and broadcast sheets would certainly verify and help those fender tags.
I have no fender tags that have either of those options, with exception of the fake BP23g0b130187

 

[MoparCarGuy]

The only three 1970 Barracuda/Cuda radio option codes are R11, R22, and R35. Note that all radios are optional. You could get a radio with the A04 - Basic Group which included the R11 - AM Radio or you could upgrade that option to a better radio OR you could just order a radio. Otherwise, you would not get a radio and you would not have a hole in the passenger fender for the radio antenna. An AAR Cuda with no radio would not have the fender hole in the passenger rear quarter panel.
The A04 - Basic Group included:

Below is the Dealer Pricing Bulletin showing the three radio options both without and with the A04 - Basic Group option. The "with" pricing was to give you credit for the R11 - AM Radio if you chose a better radio (R22, R35).

 

[MoparCarGuy]

As for the Y39 - Special Order, the info from this chart shows that the Y39 cars received a VON starting with a letter J or K.
Your fender tag shows a Vehicle Order Number (VON) of 096678 which would have been on the dealer's order form at the top right.
It is not likely that your car was a Y39 - Special Order since it is not a J or K VON.
Each dealer had a stack of order forms for each model of car. The numbers which would become the VON were stamped on them in RED unless it was a special type of order which used the below VON prefixes.

This is an original 1970 Barracuda dealership order form. Note the upper right corner has the RED six-digit number (which became the VON) and the Radio options are also listed near the lower left for the salesman to check off with the customer buying the car. Only Radios R11, R22, and R35 are shown.

 

[MoparCarGuy]

And here is an example of an A04 - Basic Group being ordered on a 1970 Barracuda GranCoupe convertible with an upgrade to R22 - AM/8-Track for $134.75 as per the pricing bulletin. These radios were not cheap even in 1970!