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Introduction to Mopar Documentation Part I | Part II | Part III
Fender Tags: 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967-1968
Fender Tags: 1969 and later
999 Paint codes
Fender Tags: Works in Progress

Mopar Documentation: 1963 Fender Tags

This example fender tag is from a Los Angeles produced B-body. Making this most interesting is the "FG2" two tone paint code. Read more about the car at the Fender Tag Examples page.

For 1963, fender tag code layouts varied from plant to plant. Decode charts for Lynch Road and Hamtramck plants have been documented for many years now with a focus on Max Wedge cars. As a result, fender tags for other plants have not been documented.

Please contact me if you are trying to decode a tag for car from either the Newark, Los Angeles, Jefferson Road or St. Louis plants, I am still researching these fender tags and I could use your help.

All 1963 Tags

The codes on the bottom line under SO NUMBER BDT TRM PNT are consistent across all plants. Under the SO NUMBER are the Scheduled Production Date and the Shipping Order Number. The TRM is a code for the interior trim level for the car, The BDY is the code for the body configuration, and PNT is the paint code. See Fender Tag Standards for decode information for these codes.

Top Line

The codes on the top line for Lynch Road cars contain the Gate Sequence and Base Sequence numbers. For other plants they are unknown except for the 1963 Hamtramck cars sometimes have a sales/delivery option under the "1" (see below listings for sales codes).

Sales Codes (under the ABCDE... )

The codes everyone wants to know about are on the middle line under the "ABCDE...". The last digit of a sale code is used under a specific letter to indicate that code. here is how it works:

The lack of a code in a particular location means either no option for that category or the standard option for that category. For example, no radio code means radio delete, no heater code means heater delete, but no engine code means the standard engine was used for that body style (example: Valiant 100 = 170cid six, 330 Sedan = 225cid six).

The chart below is the easiest and most concise way I determined to list the decode locations for different sales codes. This is for 1963 only!

 Category (1963)    Code Range     Lynch Road    Hamtramck     Los Angeles  
 Engine (see below)        A     Q-R     
 Transmission    340-349     B     A     A  
 Radio     360-369    C     G     H  
 Heater     380-389     H     J     Q  
 Electrical     420-429     K-L     M-N     
 Mirrors     480-489     M     P     
 Sales/Delivery     650-710     S-W     Y     
 Station Wagon     390-399     J     K     F  

The table below lists the codes. The last digit is the significant part of the sales code that will appear on the fender tag under the corresponding number. For example, a 342 Torqueflite Automatic transmission will have a "2" under the "B" on Lynch Road produced cars, or a "2" under the "A" for cars produced at Hamtramck or Los Angeles. On this table, I have only listed common codes, see this link for a longer listing of 1963 codes.

 Transmission     341     Three Speed column six cyl. 
 Transmission     342     Torqueflite Automatic V8. 
 Transmission     343     Torqueflite Automatic six cyl. 
 Transmission     345     Three Speed column V8. 
 Transmission     346     Three Speed floor shift (T-85). 
 Transmission     347     Four Speed floor shift (T-10). 
 Power Equipment     350     Auto Pilot Cruise Control 
 Power Equipment     351     Power Steering(*) 
 Power Equipment     352     Power Brakes 
 Power Equipment     353     Power Bench Seat 
 Power Equipment     354     Power Windows 
 Power Equipment     355     Power Tailgate Window 
 Power Equipment     358     Auto Pilot Cruise Control 
 Station Wagon     355     Power Tailgate 
 Radio     361     Music Master Economy AM radio 2watt 
 Radio     362     Astrophonic Deluxe AM radio 
 Radio     364     Golden Touch Radio 
 Radio     363     AM/FM Radio 
 Heater     381     Air Conditioning with Heater 
 Heater     385     Heater with Defroster 
 Electrical     428     Windshield Washer, Dual Jet 
 Electrical     429     three speed variable windshield washer 
 Mirrors     481     outside left, manual 
 Mirrors     482     outside left, remote control 
 Sales/Delivery     652     sold car, expedite 
 Sales/Delivery     709     special order, fleet 
(*) rarely, if ever appears on a tag.
Not all codes listed, see for longer listing of 1963 codes

 

Engine Codes

Engine codes work differently. These numbers will appear in two digit format on Hamtramck and Lynch Road tags, and a single digit on Los Angeles tags. Not listed here is a 170cid six because if an A-body is equipped with this engine, the engine code area will be blank, indicating the standard engine for that model. Also, Polaras and Belvederes came standard with a 318cid V8, so it would also be blank if so equipped.

 Engine    Lynch Rd
Hamtramck 
 145hp 225 1bbl     02 
 230hp 318 2bbl     07 (***) 
 265hp 361 2bbl     03 
 305hp 383 2bbl     04 
 330hp 383 4bbl     05 
 415hp 426 2x4bbl     09 
 425hp 426 2x4bbl     19 

*** - unconfirmed.
engine codes of Los Angeles cars are currently unknown.

 

Unknown Codes

Please submit missing codes to me. I am continually doing research on these tags and I hope to determine the missing codes over time.


Introduction to Mopar Documentation Part I | Part II | Part III
Fender Tags: 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967-1968
Fender Tags: 1969 and later
999 Paint codes
Fender Tags: Works in Progress

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