1930 Chrysler Body Tag Number

I picked up a 1930 Chrysler CJ6 4 door. The oval VIN plate is intact but way to bad to read. The body tag number on the fire wall is 390-3947. Can I get the VIN from the body number?

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On the 1930 Chrysler the serial number should be on the right door post.

The body tag doesn't have anything to do with the serial number and the oval Chrysler tag mainly says "Chrysler Corporation Detroit Michigan"

On the 1930 Chrysler the serial number should be on the right door post.

The body tag doesn't have anything to do with the serial number and the oval Chrysler tag mainly says "Chrysler Corporation Detroit Michigan"

The 1930 Chrysler used the dashboard mounted FEDCO tag. The 1931s used the door jamb mounted plate.

I picked up a 1930 Chrysler CJ6 4 door. The oval VIN plate is intact but way to bad to read. The body tag number on the fire wall is 390-3947. Can I get the VIN from the body number?

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No, Chrysler Historical has their records filed by serial number so they can't find the "build card" based on body number. The reverse, however, can be done as the build card does list the body and engine numbers.

How bad is "too bad to be read" for your FedCo serial ("VIN") number plate? Would it help if you knew the possible range of values you are looking for? There were two FedCo number series used for the 30-31 Chrysler CJ: F-020-WP to F-023-LC and H-400-WP to H-490-HS. Maybe that could help on the first few characters (F02 or H4).

Could you post some photos of the FEDCO plate?

Does the 30 CJ have a Fedco plate on the dash??

I have never seen one, a Fedco plate, for my 30 Cj. I have all the body tags for the passenger door pillar and fire wall but nothing for the dash. Have never seen any indication of anything missing on the dash as

far as a Fedco plate goes.

Interesting.

Bill H

Does the 30 CJ have a Fedco plate on the dash??

I have never seen one, a Fedco plate, for my 30 Cj. I have all the body tags for the passenger door pillar and fire wall but nothing for the dash. Have never seen any indication of anything missing on the dash as

far as a Fedco plate goes.

Interesting.

Bill H

Here are a couple from 1930 Chryslers...

Does the 30 CJ have a Fedco plate on the dash??

I have never seen one, a Fedco plate, for my 30 Cj. I have all the body tags for the passenger door pillar and fire wall but nothing for the dash. Have never seen any indication of anything missing on the dash as

far as a Fedco plate goes.

Interesting.

Bill H

There are serial number listings for the CJ in both the FedCo lists and the numeric serial number lists. I think that the CJ was in production during the switch from one system to the other.

How bad is "too bad to be read" for your FedCo serial ("VIN") number plate? Would it help if you knew the possible range of values you are looking for? There were two FedCo number series used for the 30-31 Chrysler CJ: F-020-WP to F-023-LC and H-400-WP to H-490-HS. Maybe that could help on the first few characters (F02 or H4).

I'll get some pics later today. I had the FedCo numbers (H-490-WP to H-490-HS) I didn't know about the F-020-WP to F-023-LC numbers. I'll look at it again because I was trying to pick out a "H" so maybe if I'm looking for a "F" it will become clear. LOL

There are serial number listings for the CJ in both the FedCo lists and the numeric serial number lists. I think that the CJ was in production during the switch from one system to the other.

That is my understanding also. Doing some research what I was told was most 1930 had the FedCo on the dash and some 1930 and all 1931 had the tag on the door post.

No, Chrysler Historical has their records filed by serial number so they can't find the "build card" based on body number. The reverse, however, can be done as the build card does list the body and engine numbers.

So if I can figure out what I think the FedCo plate says then it can be verified to the body number I have?

So if I can figure out what I think the FedCo plate says then it can be verified to the body number I have?

Possibly: They only claim to have on record build cards from '30 through '67 for US passenger cars. I wonder if that means they have the ones starting with numeric serial numbers... Worth a try though.

I have a 1930 Dodge and a 1931 Dodge - both DC8's and on the 1930, there is the fedco plate on the dash but on the 1931, the serial number tag is on the pass door pillar. When I sent for the build cards, Chrysler Historical had the card for the 1930 but not the 1931. They seem to be missing most of the 1931 build card info.

Possibly: They only claim to have on record build cards from '30 through '67 for US passenger cars. I wonder if that means they have the ones starting with numeric serial numbers... Worth a try though.

I have a 1930 Dodge and a 1931 Dodge - both DC8's and on the 1930, there is the fedco plate on the dash but on the 1931, the serial number tag is on the pass door pillar. When I sent for the build cards, Chrysler Historical had the card for the 1930 but not the 1931. They seem to be missing most of the 1931 build card info.

Is there a possibility for you to send me photos of your 1930 and 1931 DBs for my Dodge Brothers file, please? Thanks. John

keiser31@charter.net

Hi-Had a 29 Desoto in the shop with a Fedco plate and found it very hard to decipher. Sent Chrysler Historical the 2 possible alternate Fedco numbers plus the engine block number. Chrysler was able to narrow it down to 1 build record based on the engine serial number. This only works if you have an original engine. wonder if Chrysler could pick out a build sheet based on engine number only? The build sheets give you all the original color information down to the striping color.

Martin Lum

1929 K model

OK I did get some pictures but havn't got them transfered from the camera to the computer yet. I'm sure the top letter on the plate is an H and it looks like the bottom letter is a C. I took about 30 pics at differant angles and I'm going to some playing with photo shop to see what I can figure out. I'll post pics soon also.

How bad is "too bad to be read" for your FedCo serial ("VIN") number plate? Would it help if you knew the possible range of values you are looking for? There were two FedCo number series used for the 30-31 Chrysler CJ: F-020-WP to F-023-LC and H-400-WP to H-490-HS. Maybe that could help on the first few characters (F02 or H4).

Last night I got out a couple differant color lights and looked at the FedCo plate dry and wet with water. It looks to me to be H?20??

Now a couple of questions;

1. If it starts with an H will the first number be a 4, because it is hard to tell that number?

2. The second to bottom letter looks like a M or V but if Chrysler only used - W-P-C-H-R-Y-S-L-E-D for 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 then it is plobably a Y

3. If I send the info to Chrysler Historical should I send it in the formatt of letters and numbers or just translated to numbers? Example H420YS or 342056?

4. If Chrysler only used W-P-C-H-R-Y-S-L-E-D for 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 where does the "F" from

ply33 quote come from?

Thanks

Last night I got out a couple differant color lights and looked at the FedCo plate dry and wet with water. It looks to me to be H?20??

Now a couple of questions;

1. If it starts with an H will the first number be a 4, because it is hard to tell that number?

2. The second to bottom letter looks like a M or V but if Chrysler only used - W-P-C-H-R-Y-S-L-E-D for 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 then it is plobably a Y

3. If I send the info to Chrysler Historical should I send it in the formatt of letters and numbers or just translated to numbers? Example H420YS or 342056?

4. If Chrysler only used W-P-C-H-R-Y-S-L-E-D for 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 where does the "F" from

ply33 quote come from?

Thanks

Good question on the "F". I've wondered about that myself. In fact, here is what I have to say about that on my web site at Plymouth First Decade: Where is the VIN?

Looking at the FedCo era numbers for Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and DeSoto we find a number of letters (A, B, F, G, J, K, N, O and Z) that cannot be decoded using the above scheme. These letters are always found as prefixes to characters that can be decoded using the WPCHRYSLED scheme.

Simply discarding the dashes and translating the letters to numbers can be a problem. For example, the Plymouth serial number range of Y-000-WP through Y-403-EP (500001 through 540381) overlaps with a range for the 1926 Chrysler 58 which is listed as having FedCo numbers from YC-200-P through YR-056-S (522001 through 540566). The most obvious way to resolve that conflict is to consider the locations of the dashes to be significant.

I think most of those odd letters were for vehicles built in Canada but I have nothing to back that up with.

It turns out that if you translate the FedCo string to a number then you can end up with duplicate numbers, so you should definitely pass the FedCo number untranslated to the Chrysler Historical people.

Regarding other FedCo numbers staring with H, here is what I have:

Year Make Model Code Plant Start End

1929-30 Chrysler 66 CC Detroit H-001-WP H-262-ER

1930-31 Chrysler 6 CJ Detroit H-400-WP H-490-HS

1928 Plymouth Q Detroit HL-950-P HD-999-D

1927-28 Chrysler 52 I Detroit HW-000-P HL-685-L

So if you are sure it is a CJ, then the H should be followed by a 4.

Good question on the "F". I've wondered about that myself. In fact, here is what I have to say about that on my web site at Plymouth First Decade: Where is the VIN?

I think most of those odd letters were for vehicles built in Canada but I have nothing to back that up with.

It turns out that if you translate the FedCo string to a number then you can end up with duplicate numbers, so you should definitely pass the FedCo number untranslated to the Chrysler Historical people.

Regarding other FedCo numbers staring with H, here is what I have:

Year Make Model Code Plant Start End

1929-30 Chrysler 66 CC Detroit H-001-WP H-262-ER

1930-31 Chrysler 6 CJ Detroit H-400-WP H-490-HS

1928 Plymouth Q Detroit HL-950-P HD-999-D

1927-28 Chrysler 52 I Detroit HW-000-P HL-685-L

So if you are sure it is a CJ, then the H should be followed by a 4.

I was told it is a CJ 6 how can I make sure?

I was told it is a CJ 6 how can I make sure?

I personally don't know enough about Chrysler models to tell, so if I were checking I'd do two things: 1) Look at photos in The Standard Catalog of American Cars and 2) post photos here for the local experts to identify.

I don't really trust the image search features of the major search engines for this as they turn up lots of highly modified cars and incorrectly identified cars.

OK here are the pictures I have. FYI: I know the grill shell in two of the pics is the wrong one.

OK here are the pictures I have. FYI: I know the grill shell in two of the pics is the wrong one.

Just looked in my copy of The Standard Catalog of American Cars and images of the various Chryslers for '30 look pretty much the same to me and they don't show one for the CJ only the 66. But the CJ is listed as having a 109 inch wheelbase while the 66 has a 112 inch wheel base. Since those are the two possible models based on a FedCo number starting with "H", it should be possible to tell by measuring the distance between the axles.

As regards to the letter "F", Canadian cars used a different serial number code as well as Fargo trucks .

Canadian built 1930/31 CJ range from F020WP - F023CD, 1929/30 Model 66 F015CD - F013LC

A,B,W,J, and others were used.

If anyone has the Key for the Canadian cars could you post it ?

Just looked in my copy of The Standard Catalog of American Cars and images of the various Chryslers for '30 look pretty much the same to me and they don't show one for the CJ only the 66. But the CJ is listed as having a 109 inch wheelbase while the 66 has a 112 inch wheel base. Since those are the two possible models based on a FedCo number starting with "H", it should be possible to tell by measuring the distance between the axles.

I'll be measuring the WB tonight. Thanks

Pictures of my 30 CJ-6. You have a 30 CJ-6.

I can usually tell a CJ body by the way the cowl lights mount to the body.

My serial number is mounted on the front passenger door hinge pillar / post between the hinges. It is 6502274. No letters in the serial number. I have never seen a Fedco plate on my car.

Bill Harmatuk

My front sun visor is removed.

Need more info i'll be glad to help.

Bill

Thanks. I see that now the Model 66 had the lights mounted lower on the molding line.

OK I got some pics and did some playing with the brightness and contrast.

What I think I see for sure is H 4 ? ? Y C and I think the 4th figure is a 9 or 0. The 3rd figure is the one that just escapes me. I thought I was seeing a 2 but then it just looks like part of the Chrysler emblem. Can you guys see anything?

Thanks

OK I got some pics and did some playing with the brightness and contrast.

What I think I see for sure is H 4 ? ? Y C and I think the 4th figure is a 9 or 0. The 3rd figure is the one that just escapes me. I thought I was seeing a 2 but then it just looks like part of the Chrysler emblem. Can you guys see anything?

Thanks

I am very thankful that my car is from the era of cleanly stamped numbers on a plate on the door jam.

I think I agree with the H4??YC I think the fourth character might be a 9 rather than a 2. And I can't make out the third character at all.

All those photos are take from the left side of the medallion. Do the characters show up at all when viewed from the right side? Top? Bottom?

I am very thankful that my car is from the era of cleanly stamped numbers on a plate on the door jam.

I think I agree with the H4??YC I think the fourth character might be a 9 rather than a 2. And I can't make out the third character at all.

All those photos are take from the left side of the medallion. Do the characters show up at all when viewed from the right side? Top? Bottom?

Yes I agree that the 4th is a 9 (or looks like it. It's the 3rd figure I can't see.

Here is a pic from the right. It kinda looks like a disturted 2

More pics taken from the right side.

I think I figured it out as H449YC

check out what I added and see what you think.

I think I figured it out as H449YC

check out what I added and see what you think.

Seems as good a match as any that I can tell of from the photos.

As regards to the letter "F", Canadian cars used a different serial number code as well as Fargo trucks .

Canadian built 1930/31 CJ range from F020WP - F023CD, 1929/30 Model 66 F015CD - F013LC

A,B,W,J, and others were used.

If anyone has the Key for the Canadian cars could you post it ?

There is no key. I have the Canadian Master Parts Lists for pre-1934 Plymouth, DeSoto and Chrysler, and they list the W-P-C-H-R-Y-S-L-E-D decode as the U.S. edition. There is no numerical equivalent for the letters Chrysler of Canada used - A, B, F, G, J, N, and O. All Canadian-built Chrysler cars used FEDCO serial numbers starting with a non-decoding letter.

All Fargo Packet and Clipper FEDCO numbers, American and Canadian started with E. The Fargo Freighter started with W.

In the US Chrysler used letters K. KK, and Z. K was used for the DeSoto model K, and when they hit K99999, the next series started at KK.

I suspect Chrysler of Canada used non-decodable letters at the beginning as their production could get by with 5 digits. It also permiteed the US firm to all numbers from W00WP to D999DD.

Well I was a bit dissapointed in this. I sent to FEDCO Info to Chrysler and here is the response I received

Hello,

Unfortunately, we do not have a complete record of build cards for 1930. We did not have a build record for this vehicle, H449YC. Also, we do not have a way to verify this serial number existed. The only information I could send to you is photocopies of specifications for the 1930 Chrysler Six. If this is something you are interested in, I would just need your mailing address.

I am very sorry I could not assist you further with your request. If you have any questions, please let me know.