O.K. this one is for the real old car experts. looking at what i have id'd as a 29 dodge 3 window coupe, sitting on original rails.. where was / is the vin located ? need to get title etc. worked out before starting work ! any ideas ? dave
I believe they were stamped on a tag that was riveted to the firewall. I don't think that they stamped the VIN in the frame anywhere, but I could be mistaken. It's happened before.
on my plymouth it was on the door jam i belive passenger side between the hinges, should be 2 holes but i'm not totally sure
I CANT BE 100% POSITIVE ON THE '29 PLYMOUTH..... BUT I DO KNOW THAT EARLIER ONES HAD A VIN # STAMPED ON THE CROSS MEMBER UNDER THE BODY ON THE PASS SIDE ABOUT WHERE YOUR FEET WOULD GO. I THINK THE LATER ONES LIKE YOUR ONLY USED THE ENGINE # AND THE BODY TAG #. I HAVE A '25 DODGE FRAME AND IT HAS NO #s ON IT AS DID MY '26 CHRYSLER FRAME.. NO FRAME NUMBERS
great..thanks guys....just looked and no marks or signs of tag on either door jamb. but ! obvious mark on psgr side firewall. tag is gone, but i am sure thats where it was.. thanks again dave
YAHOO...Filthy frank wins the prize ! Thanks for the info . Vin on side of left framerail, between the cowl and the brake line bracket. ( just above the leaf spring bracket ) Now to get the peace officer (cousin ! ) to verify it and get it registered < title only, non op.> and get busy ! Hans and I are gonna get going on this thing...He spent about 4 hours today on dissasembly/cleanup. Thanks again.. The HAMB rules! Dave Lewis
ok dave , what did i win besides the middle finger, hahahaha. just kidding,glad to be of service.at least post some progress pics!!!!!!filthy frank.
I left the camera down at the shop last night. I will get it and post some pics today. Thanks again !! Dave
Now that i am fully awake.. LOL ! Any help here on decoding this newly located vin ?? It starts with DD so i think it's a model dd. 3 window coupe " DD 24674" I would like to verify year and model. Also what motor etc. if possible. Thanks Dave Lewis
heres a post for all you mopar nuts http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2698478#post2698478
Dave, according to the "Standard Catalog of American Cars" the DD series is from 1930-31. It says that 70 percent of them were sold as 1930 models with the carryover inventory being sold in 1931. Price new was $835 and weight was 2534 lbs. Production total of the 2 person coupe was 3877 cars.
Thanks for the info ! The cowl tag is gone,but it's clear where it was located on the firewall/cowl. The serial # is on the drivers side frame ( sorry if i am repeating myself ).. The body has a chrome or stainless trim piece where the hood meets the cowl. All pics that I can find show the chrome on 29...not 30. It is a real possibility that the frame and body were added together at some point. So a 29 body on 30 rails !! This thing has a 9 " ford in it and chevy motor/trans mounts, and a 65 mustang master cyl on swing pedal..( all homemade !! ) < the mounts, mcyl, swing pedal and nonesential crap are gone as of sat pm> A real old school rod.. The family farm where i got this from was full of old dodges and lots of other old iron..they never sold anything and still had the first cars the family owned.. Its all gone now (sorry ) property sold and houses being built.. Welcome to california !! OK, so we are going all dodge.. rear end ,motor ,tranny.. It's going to be different, but traditional hot rod.. Pics soon.. Hans, are you up yet ??? LOL Dave
I have a 1930 DD business coupe and it does have the stainless trim you mentioned. I have several marketing ads for these cars from various 1930 magazines, and tons of reference pictures. As stated earlier, the DD model was produced in 1930 and 1931. The firewall tag contains the body number which is NOT the same as the VIN number. Where exactly are your cowl lights mounted (or the holes from them) on the cowl? Do you have the trim piece that goes below the windshield (inside of car) and has a medallion in the center? Is your windshield mechanism present, or did they remove it?
Wow ! Thanks 30dodgeboy ! I cannot see any sign of cowl lights. The trim piece and the windshield mechanisim are both missing. Basically this is a shell with doors, and a frame that rolls.. Do you have any info/source to decode the vin ? Dave
Standard Catalog of Chrysler is where I get my info. The Serial Number could be a Fedco or a standard serial. Until the new 1930 model, per this book the serial would be located on a plate on the toe board near the steering column, and stamped into the right front frame below the fender. The new 1930 models could have a plate in the center of the instrument panel, above the instruments, also the plate on the toe board and on the right door post, and on the frame. The number you posted corresponds to an engine number for the 1930 DD series cars. The serial number would either be in the format D001WP to D255PO (Fedco) or a conventional number of 3500001 through 3504188. Numbers for other series differ. About all that can be gleaned from these early serial numbers is the year and model. I don't understand how the Fedco numbers work, it was apparently an early attempt at standardizing car ID numbers that didn't catch on. It should be noted that in the late 20s and early 30s Dodge would introduce new models about mid-year, and sell last year's model titled as the next year until the new car was ready. The only difference in a new 1929 and an early 1930 is the serial number - over a certain number they become 1930s. Often times the engine number was used as the vehicle ID number for registration purposes, and this may be why that number is stamped into your frame, as Ford did I would guess they'd install the motor on the chassis then stamp it with the number on the block.
Look up inside the car's cowl. I did exactly that on mine and see it had two sets of holes (near trim as well as near windshield) but one set was leaded shut... mine must have been produced near the changeover point. Sounds like the condition I got mine in... Hope you have the decklid as those are scarce. Many coupes got turned into pickups when money was really tight. Yes. There is a very very knowlegeable person north of you on the west coast that taught me very much about the production, serial numbers, and unique features of these DD cars. Only problem is he is a restorer, NOT a hot rodder and doesn't want to help any rodders. Anyways, I'll dig out my folder of info and reply back. I need to hit the hay.
There was a post a bunch of years back that said you can write to mopar and they still have records of who the cars were sold to and other stuff
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