Here's one to look over -

https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1967-plymouth-belvedere-710326?

neat car for sure

Agreed but

Quote

has a 1966 casting date but there are no additional numbers on the ID pad. “It looks like the engine was decked before I bought it,”

Set my BS detector off, it melted through my desktop, the floor under it and is smoldering in the basement. makes one start to question the rest.

I'm just too anal when it comes to '67's. Wrong shifter and it's a 'Silver Special' interior, not 'Spring Special'. It does have the correct owner's manual which is a real plus. Overall, not bad but I don't know if it's $40K good.

The “wrong” shifter is vastly superior to the “stick in a bucket of molasses” inland shifter that it came with. Besides, the original shifter comes with the car. Not a fan of the interior. I like black better. But I would buy it in a heartbeat if I won the lottery. Scott Smith says he knows the car and the owner and it’s legit.

What a crock. Why toss that out there like that and make things look all shady?

It depends on what ID pad you're talking about.
There was no VIN ID pad on earlier Hemi blocks down by the oil pan rail.
That started with the 1968 castings.

The ID pad on the front of the block next to the distributor is what I think that they are talking about being machined what the block is decked.
It wouldn't have a VIN there, just machining dates and that info.

So what made the difference in Belvedere II's trim package? I have four pieces of NOS side trim for a Belvedere II and most of them I have seen has this trim, why do some not have it?

Are you referring to the top of the fender trim? I do believe it was aluminum so maybe we're not talking about the same thing
per the article :

Agreed, my question is, Why would someone machine to top of a block? not to mention that pad sits significantly lower, so it would have had to have been intentionally done. with that in mind, I would guess whatever was stamped there didn't jive with being a 67 motor. So we machine/ grind it off and come up with a line of BS. It would've been more believable if he claimed it was never stamped.
So as I stated, makes one start to wonder what else might be BS

Owner isn't claiming it to have a '67 engine, or for it to be the original engine; I don't think VINs showed up on them until sometime in '68.
1966 casting date would be pretty legit into the '68 model year run, not that necessarily it matters here.
It looks to me like there's someone @ Hemmings actually writing the ads, so it could be some info gets screwed up, like "Spring Special" vs "Silver Special".
Several '67 Hemi Belvedere IIs are known to exist, so the "one of none" assertion is incorrect; the number of Silver Specials with Hemis, who knows, but I'd bet that's rare.
I'd imagine a potential buyer would contact the owner/seller directly and have a few detailed conversations; that's what I've done in the past.
But of course some more detailed photos of #s and details, and a personal inspection, should also occur.

Yes, not sure it is called belt line trim...

The '67 Belvedere II could come with the sill trim like a GTX or the side trim like Rhino's photo.

The side trim that is on most Belvedere II's was deleted if you ordered the Silver Special package. If I am not mistaken, the Silver Special was an option that could be ordered with any engine, with vinyl top or without. I believe you get could get other paint colors but I have only seen silver.

The “pad” I believe mentioned here is the horizontal pad at the driver side front - normally carries the engine size and build date. When you deck the block enough, then most guys “correct” the front and rear manifold rails, “China wall” so the manifold will set correctly. Just my interpretation of the “pad”.

If one decks the block, it will bring the heads closer together raising the manifold in the process. To correct for this one can either machine the intake surface on the heads or manifold itself (which is why I'm leery of used intakes )
Surfacing the top of the block will only make matters worse. Additionally, that pad is a lot lower than the top of the block. the ONLY reason I can think of to machine it is to remove the stampings identifying it as a later built motor.
I do know of numbers matching blocks that were cast 2-3 years before use. So a 66 casting date really means nothing IMO. The pad being machined raises suspicion. Which is why I suggested he would have been better off to claim it was never stamped.
I can't say for sure but I believe even warranty blocks were stamped with assembly dates

It depends on the angle of the intake face of the cylinder heads. Some will force the manifold up, some it will drop down.

Mine has both.

The discussion was regarding a 67 hemi in which case decking would raise the intake as it would on all "COMMON" 90 degree V8's. I was not referring to other motors and can't think of one other than a nail head Buick which would move the intake ports closer together horizontally.

You need to read some relevant service procedures concerning machining blocks. You are way off the mark.