Need HELP from the crew Please!

[75LandYacht]

Ok guys! I’m hot on the trail of a 77 sunroof New Yorker. Not THE Turbine Bronze Sunroof New Yorker, yet... but! One I am seriously interested in. I need help deciphering the Vin tag pictured please..

Owner states that this was a special order car. And by the looking at the pictures he sent of the car, it either has to be or somebody is colorblind. LOL.. I’ll add pictures of the car later once I have some more details. But at the moment if you guys could decipher the Vin tag for me, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks

 

[Deleted member 220]

Did you see this crazy car on ebay

 

[CBODY67]

What's with that front header panel color?

Being "special ordered" doesn't add resale value, just indicates that it was not a "stock unit" per se. I'd suspect that ANY sunroof car, back then, was a "special order" unit. This was also at a time when Ford and GM were touting the (glass) Moon Roofs. Sunroofs had the metal panels. Be that as it may.

On ANY sunroof/moonroof car, check the luggage compartment for RUST. There should be FOUR drain tubes, one from each corner of the roof "cassette". Or maybe just two that exit to the rear? The rear drain tubes will go down the C-pillar area into the trunk, then mate with another tube to go out through the rear wheel area, usually. Might need to take the mats/carpet out of the trunk for inspection. Especially on the cars with the DEEP wells on either side of the trunk floor.

Not to mention the condition of the weatherstrip on the roof panel itself.

Also be aware that on those earlier sunroof cars, you lose about 1" of headroom from the lower headliner.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67

 

[Davea Lux]

Here are the ones I have:
A25 interior convenience group
D34 Torqueflite transmission
E85 engine? (was used for 440 engine, but was not readily available for '77)
G33 LH outside remote mirror
H51 Single A/C with heater
K5X
K7C
L31 Fender mount turnsignal indicator
L81 Door ajar monitor
M45 Fender skirts
M51 Power Sun Roof
P31 Power Windows
P41 Power Door Locks
V5A Vinyl side moldings, color unknown
Vin Number CS23T7C122841(Chrysler, Special, 2dr price class 3, 440?, 1977, Jefferson assembly plant, sequence number 122841.
Order Number 158897

The remaining codes MA1, MLBW Are probably upper and lower body colors of unknown color. I believe the two K codes are for the interior and vinyl top.

Dave

 

[1978 NYB]

The rear wheel wells rust out on all Formals. The water leaks past the rear side marker lens. A lot of times there will only be one speed nut holding it on. I silicone them to,seal them now. Most of the time those drain tubes are clogged. Other than the sunroof there is nothing special about this car. Needs an eyeball inspection for rust. Interior looks like it's in decent condition from what I can see.

 

[Samplingman]

Not many of the codes translate well from the earlier years:

CS23:
Chrysler
Special
2 Door Hardtop

T7C: 440 1977
Jefferson Avenue, MI, USA

122841: Sequence number

E85: 440 cid 4 barrel V8 350hp
D34: Light Duty Automatic Transmission
MA1: Exterior Color
MLBW: Trim - Opt. Decor Group, Unknown, White/Blue
: Int. Door Frames
A25: Build Date: October 25
158997: Order number

V5A: Top Color
H51: Air Conditioning with Heater
L81: Unknown
L31: Hood/Fender Mounted Turn Signals

M45: Unknown
P31: Power Windows
P41: Power Door Locks
N88: Auto Speed Control
G63: Unknown

K5X: Unknown
KB7: Unknown
P51: Unknown

V5A: Body Side Stripes, Gunmetal Gray
M51: Power Sunroof w/Vinyl Roof

 

[78Brougham]

From what I've seen over the years if was truly a "Special Order" there would be another tag on the rad support.
My '79 300's vin begins with "SS" so it must be Super Special!
I believe that the second letter in most of our vin numbers indicates trim or pricing level. My '67 LeBaron for example is YH. The "H" meaning High.

 

[75LandYacht]

Did you see this crazy car on ebay

View attachment 213280

View attachment 213281

Lol.. can’t get anything past you guys, you’re good Cap..

So as I stated earlier, I spoke to the current owner, Who happens to be the owner of the Chrysler dealership were this car was sold new in 77. The story goes is that a local judge came in and special ordered the car with that color scheme and options, That’s what confused me most about the car which is why I needed the Vin tag decoded. Usually when I see a powder blue and white interior it’s followed by the powder blue and white exterior. The judge drove the car from 1977 to 1987, and then traded it in at the same dealership, the second owner purchased the car and drove it from 87 to early 2000, even brought it back to the same dealership who took the car in on trade. The owner of the dealership (Sr.) remembered the car very well and decided to keep it with intentions of dressing it, but (Son / Jr.) states his father put it back in the corner of the warehouse and that’s where it stayed until recently. The father has since passed away and the son is the one selling.. you notice the different color nose on the car, the owner states that the second owner had a fender bender only damaging the nose, the dealer happen to have one on side in the darker gray color and installed it but never painted.

 

[75LandYacht]

He did mention that the vinyl roof needs attention, as I would expect. My 75 has some of the same issues up there. He also states the sunroof does not open, but thinks it might be something simple like a relay. He’s also looking for the manual crank handle the open it. The fender skirts are in the trunk. There’s no other visible rust that he notices. He did mention that the windshield three spots on the passenger side that are cracked, he has a brand new windshield at the dealership and is willing to install. It also has the 8 track stereo, and manual air-conditioning vis the ATCII, which is a plus. I inquired about the doors sagging when they open and close, he states the doors close as they did 40 years ago. The leather on the seats do look a little faded and worn, but he states no tears or breaks in the material.

 

[75LandYacht]

I’ll call him back and ask him to investigate other common rest areas like Bob suggested inside the trunk lower quarters by the marker lights. He did state the car had one repaint years back. We’ll see where it all goes. So if it’s not into bad of shape and it’s something I think I can work with, I’ll probably pick it up...

 

[CBODY67]

The only reason for a two-part data plate would have been that one was not big enough to hold all of the needed option codes. The VIN designations were RWXS, Coronet/Small Fury/Charger SE/Cordoba, respectively. "S" would have been "specialty" for the Cordoba 300, as I recall, as the Cordoba with the 300 edition would have been "Cordoba Specialty". The New Yorkers I saw at the dealership, circa 1874-76, where they had the window sticker with individual items of the various option packages, where available as such, listed separately would have generated a two-part data plate, too. Whereas if they'd ordered the option packages instead, probably not.

In the case of some earlier specialty cars, as a Challenger T/A, there was an additional data plate by the main one, noting the "T/A" status. A friend had one, back then, when it was a "used car", before anybody really cared about them.

Great that you have "the story" on the car! Neat that it stayed "close to home" all of those years! Definitely one to consider purchasing.

CBODY67