'69 Vert with a factory installed 440?

[Dave 69 RR Convertible]

Ok, I know all the write-ups on the 69 convertible runners say that all had a 383 except ten that were built with a 426.... however, the car I just picked up has a 440 in it that the owner swears was the original factory installed motor. He says it was a special order car and that there were actually 11 of these that came out in 69. He had a letter from a previous title search that supported the story, but not sure of the validity of it. The car is VIN coded as a 383 though and the fender tag has an extra layer of paint on it so I have not been able to get a good read on it yet. I will be pulling the interior this weekend and hope to find a build sheet that would support the story.

Has anyone else ever heard of one of these cars?

 

[69hemibeep]

No. but you can crawl under it and see if the VIN is stamped on the block near the passenger side motor mount down by the oil pan. It should be identical to the stamping on the trans if its the original.

 

[moparmonk]

No. but you can crawl under it and see if the VIN is stamped on the block near the passenger side motor mount down by the oil pan. It should be identical to the stamping on the trans if its the original.

:yeathat::yeathat::yeathat:

 

[Smokngun]

If it is coded as a 383 car, it may have been a dealer swap, but if it came from the factory with a 440 I would think the VIN/fender tag would verify that. As many of us know, you could get almost ANYTHING in ANYTHING from Chrysler back in those days. My neighbor had a 426 HEMI 68 Belvedere Wagon when I was a kid. He bought the car new and ordered it that way to tow his boat (ugh). But Plymouth "never made one" nor was it an option. I was too young to know about fender tags and de-coding things but I do know it was a HEMI.

All of that being said, the only 69 Roadrunners that a 440 was available in was the A12 440 6bbl. Otherwise it was 383 or HEMI only. I'd believe it if Galen said it was correct, otherwise it's tough to tell.

 

[mahoney0_00_3]

I read that a few cars had 383 in them and a six pack was installed in them from the factory they had one in mopar action rag and galen g supported it with paperwork and a tag decode strange but true galen g has the VIN # for the cars 3-5 of them--they were factory ugly ducklings HA HA--they had h and they are M code cars

 

[chapdog105]

No 440 factory convertibles...
The odds of him not telling the truth are exponentially higher than the odds that car came out of St. Louis with a 440. Didn't happen...

On a side note, you'll have a lot more fun with a 440 than you will a non-numbers 383, so roll with it.

 

[droptop]

No 440 factory convertibles...
The odds of him not telling the truth are exponentially higher than the odds that car came out of St. Louis with a 440. Didn't happen...

On a side note, you'll have a lot more fun with a 440 than you will a non-numbers 383, so roll with it.

Agreed....but it is very possible it was a dealer installed 440. They did what ever it took to sell a car back in the day. Even if you have documentation of the dealer swap, it's still a non numbers matching car. Enjoy it as is. Put 383 badges back on it and most people will not know the difference. :cents:

 

[chapdog105]

Agreed....but it is very possible it was a dealer installed 440. They did what ever it took to sell a car back in the day. Even if you have documentation of the dealer swap, it's still a non numbers matching car. Enjoy it as is. Put 383 badges back on it and most people will not know the difference. :cents:

I could see a dealer doing that too.
What are the first 6 digits of the vin? RM27H9? That would be a Road Runner convertible with a 383 (1969).

 

[Dave 69 RR Convertible]

VIN is RM27H9C250003.....

Decided that regardless of what the true origin of the car is, I will stick with the 440.... just knowing the history of the car would make it a lot more fun to talk about is all....

 

[Beep Beep Dave]

I am pretty sure if you wanted a 440 in your 1969 Road Runner convertible....they would have sold you a GTX.

The way to prove it would be the original engine. Check the pan rail VIN stamping...if they are a match that would be a good start in saying it came from the factory like that.

Dave

 

[drmopar]

Thats RM27H9G250003. All converts were built in St. Louis. I would do a 400 stroker before doing a 440 in a road runner. Does not look correct. No convertible road runner left the factory with the L code 440 in 1969. Matter of fact the only way you could get a 440 in a road runner convertible was to order a 440 six barrel in 1970.

 

[jays69bird]

I doubt it had a 440 from the factory as the selling dealer would have sold you the GTX which was the same basic car with a 440. That being said it could be as previously pointed out a dealer installed set up. I have seen some odd Chrysler built cars. There was a 70 Sport Fury that in the early 70's ran around my hometown that had a four speed,it was an unavailable combo but to my young eyes it looked factory, the one time I met Galen Govier I asked him about the possibility of a combo getting out the door and got an instant attitude from him.

 

[Basketcase]

well Galien is....Galien. I think to make a sale the dealerships would have done anything. I remember reading in one of the mags years ago where a Doctor that bought a new Chrysler erery other year even got one in primer, because Chrysler didn't offer the color he wanted, and had the dealer paint it using the paint he provided.

 

[mcmopar]

Never say never. Could have been originally built for a company exec. Lots of that stuff went on back then. Not supposed to be any 4 door Hemi 4 speed cars ever made back in the early-mid 60's yet I know of at least 2 and have heard there were as many as 6 produced. Not supposed to be any '72 440 6-Pack setups made but it seems to me there were 2 that were made and got out the door. Weird stuff happened all the time back in the day. I saw with my own eyes up in Ft. Wayne, IN in late summer/early fall of 1970 a gorgeous black '71 Satellite Sebring Plus with white hood striping and engine callouts on the hood that said 440+6. If it wasn't a factory installed setup it sure looked the part. I once emailed Galen about it and he said none were produced to his knowledge. That doesn't mean there wasn't one produced, though. Galen doesn't know everything simply because he doesn't have access to all the records that were kept. Many records have been destroyed or lost and maybe are waiting to be discovered in some long lost treasure trove. Who knows? Many of us on this very board got a very unusual surprise when the conversation came up about Holley carbs on '69 road runners. Not available according to everything the factory published yet there it was, a Holley carb atop a 383 in a road runner with factory installed cruise control! Blew my mind! So even though the factory said "not available" doesn't mean it couldn't be or wasn't done. :cents:

 

[moparmonk]

So True, mcmopar! My 69 Satellite I am currently doing has the two tone green interior. On the dash above the glove box it says "Coronet 440" with the correct color match to the rest of the dash trim. My uncle bought the car new so I know it was not dealer swapped. Who says lightning doesn't strike twice? In '84 my parents were shopping for a new car. They tried out both the Dodge and the Plymouth mid-sized and beat up on the dealers and finally made a deal with the Plymouth Reliant. On the dash it said "Aries". It was the correct silver match though. Not to hi-jack this thread, but we should start a thread including all the factory "defects" we all have seen.

 

[Basketcase]

I remember seeing new on the lot an Dodge Omni, one one side it said Omni, on the other Horizon.

 

[Smokngun]

Basketcase, I was a tech at a Chrysler Plymouth dealer in 85/86 and I can't count how many of those I personally prepped for sale. The 2 doors (Plymouth Dusters) always had correct badging, but the 4 door's (Plymouth Horizions) about 20% of the time said Horizon on one side and Omni on the other.

 

[jays69bird]

I remember seeing new on the lot an Dodge Omni, one one side it said Omni, on the other Horizon.

When I was at Par-K we had a 88 Horizon come off the truck with an Omni grill ! Someone was hung over on the line that day !

 

[Dave 69 RR Convertible]

Ok, so car is home and I have started the disassembly.... The interior was the first to go and when I removed the carpet I was not surprised, but a little disappointed to see that there is some minor cancer in the floorboards. Typical for a 45 year old convertible I guess, but was hoping to get lucky as it looked solid with a fresh interior. After that discovery, my project has now gotten a bit more expensive but a lot easier. I have decided to completely strip the car down and have it bead blasted instead of the manual stripping of paint. Do it once and start with a clean template. Did a full inventory of parts and missing only a few things such as headrests, the original breather assembly (somebody put an edelbrock dresser on it), the back seat emblem, the entire center console has been removed and no where to be found, and will need replacement convertible molding as noted earlier. I may end up replacing other parts as the rebuild progresses, but I have one hell of a good start. Will keep you guys posted as this one progresses and if anyone has a line on any of the above parts..... do tell...

 

[Basketcase]

don't forget to feed the pic whores Dave