1963 MAX WEDGE Welded VIN tag question

Guys - I have a nice 63 426 Max Wedge Savoy on consignment, lot's of documentation, 20k mile car, race history, etc.

I have a couple guys on another forum calling BS because the VIN TAG doesn't look right - they say they should've been SPOT welded instead of being STICK welded - does anyone know if this is correct? Did they SPOT weld in 63??

HERE IS A PIC OF THE VIN TAG

Better yet - if someone else has a pic of another MAX WEDGE VIN tag that they can share - that would be much appreciated!

Thanks guys, hope you had a Happy 4th!

Like this

With a welded tag... I wouldn't touch that car with a 10 foot pole... and any DMV inspector worth anything would impound the car until the owner could prove it wasn't a re-body, vin swap, or stolen. The VIN tag on these cars is the only place where the actual vin appears on the car and to have it buggered up like that is a red flag! The tag should be as appears in the second post. Spot welded to the "A" pillar with the alignment holes open and clear.

What does the fender tag look like???

My 63 is an original 383 car and I am pretty sure mine was on with phillips screws. Ron

VIN tags on early '60s MOPARS are stainless steel spot welded to a stamped steel body panel - these often do not survive 50 years and/or a restoration or two still firmly attached to the car

the fact that the manner they were originally secured was not intended to last 50+ years nor its current attempt at attachment is not the biggest problem with that VIN tag

original 1963 Lynch Rd. Detroit, MI VIN tags had the last 8-digits of the VIN (YEAR - Plant Code - Serial #) on the tag pre-stamped with "raised" numbers - the first 2-digits of the VIN were stamped after the car's "LINE" & "MODEL" were determined, these first 2-digits are stamped from the top-down (not "raised")

Very interesting information, thank you gentlemen! I will pass this along to the owner/seller. This car has been written up and verified by Darrell Davis for his book, not sure if that adds any cache to it's historical value or not - regardless I need to find out what's going on with the VIN

THANKS AGAIN! I can always count on the MOPARTS experts!

If your customer has all the documentation to prove the vin is correct... such as the broadcast sheet etc. A reproduction vin tag can be purchased from http://www.datatags.com/. BUT.. he MUST have all the correct documentation. They won't touch it without proof.

On the surface it looks questionable at best. For a car that is in what appears to be excellent condition, its surprising to see someone Mig welded the vin tag. It is not uncommon to see them with Philips screws or rivets (usually used only as an insurance policy in case the tag's welds are suspect), but buggered up welds just don't make sense. If I were you, I'd be very skeptical. With a $99,000 price tag no one is going to fork over that kind of cash with a vin that obviously looks like it has been welded on by someone who failed a junior high welding class.

Here is one never messed with.Once they are removed it is virtually impossible to re attach and be unnoticeable but that one could have been done "much" better.

I'm surprised that nobody has commented on the first two digits of the welded VIN tag itself. They are raised numbers, but should be stamped. And the size and spacing is all wrong!
That's what concerns me, a poorly repopped VIN tag... not the welds..

I agree. Its not just the mounting but the tag itself. Hadn't really paid that much attention to it cause of the buggered up welds, but it clearly is a repop tag. Wonder if the fender tag was transplanted and the whole thing is just a clone masquerading as the real thing. That $99,000 price tag suddenly looks ridiculous.

must've missed the 4th reply

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input!

Exactly correct. That tag is all wrong. It makes that car highly suspicious. I've never seen one of those "fall off". I gues it could happen. If someone removed it to paint the car, that was a bad move. If it is a made up car all together, that is real bad. Could be an old race car that was too far gone so the easy fix was to rebody it. I had a chance to sell my 65 SS car to a crook that admitted to me he had another virgin body to swap everything over. I did not sell him the car. Instead I sold it to another crook that made up all kinds of lies about the car. He lost his a$$ on the deal.

In any case, now the vin number is known to the world because it's posted on the internet. I'm sure the moparts police already have it recorded.

Yep. Missed it completely. When I read the second post that called it out, I went to the garage and checked my '64 and sure enough the first two letters are stamped from the top and the rest from the bottom.

Bit slow getting to this thread. Yeah that tag is a bad repo, here's my real deal 63 MW Belvedere

Question for the guys that know. Are the numbers stamped anywhere else on the car ?

Vin on this tag only. The SO is on the back side of the core support - midway between the striker bolt and the vertical opening, and the EDIT - passenger side - package tray. That's it.

VIN isn't even on the broadcast sheet

If my memory serves me correctly, the only place that the SO and VIN no are together is on the IBM card. Send a letter off to Chrysler Historical and they can get a copy of the IBM card to you.

I'm trying to register a 1963 Plymouth Sport Fury Max Wedge Convertible in CA and they're questioning the authenticity of the vin tag. Can anyone confirm this looks authentic? They've also asked me what the number imprinted on the radiator mount is and I'm assuming it's something corresponding to the motor but not sure. Also, can anyone help decipher the inside fender codes attached?

That's how those VIN tags were attached in that era, my '63 & '64 were the same.
Rad support #s are same as bottom left row on fender tag: Sequential order # info.
Good ol' Calif DMV: still making things as difficult as they can.

Several places to decode the tag, mymopar.com & etc - Google's your friend.
Print & take as much paperwork as you can to the DMV to document the car.

Contact Darrell Davis, he is on Facebook.

The SO number in the tag matches that of the core support so at least the front of the car looks correct.
Not sure where the rear number is on a convertible, on the hardtop and sedan it’s stamped passenger side package tray next to backlight.

0520 is May 20. The last 4 is the sequence number.

The whole 8 digits will match that of the IBM card available through Chrysler/DaimlerChrysler/FCA/Stellantis Historical.
Hurry up before they change their name again

Those all look legit , good luck dealing with the idiots at the DMV .

Try this info
https://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/ml-staudinger64.html

the fender tag on that sport fury convert should have a 9 under the a to be a max wedge car