In need of a professional Fender Tag reader

Who owned the car or what they did with it is irrelevant. What you want to know is how the car was ordered and by whom. That can only come from factory documents like a window sticker, invoice or broadcast sheet.

If my dad is a small town constable that has to buy his own car and he goes to a dealer to buy a car and he buys a spring special dealer incentive discounted car to use on patrol and he outfits the car as such, he is using it for ‘cop car’ purpose but it was not ordered as a ‘cop car’.


How does this work out financially for the constable?

Do they pay enough per mile to cover the loan and maintenance plus an hourly wage or salary for police work performed?
 
How does this work out financially for the constable?

Do they pay enough per mile to cover the loan and maintenance plus an hourly wage or salary for police work performed?


Probably depends on the locality. Possibly mileage in addition to pay or a monthly stipend to help cover costs.

The ones I knew were in very small towns and could patrol the town in 15 minutes. They were a LEO presence for small stuff and a stop gap until the sheriff showed up for major things.
 
The DP41K4D258661 VIN also is a living example of the difference between total cars produced and highest VIN assigned.

The Belvidere 1974 production numbers are:
091,368 Fury
058,158 Monaco
008,194 Town & Country
---------
157,720

100000 + 157,720 would have made 257720 the highest VIN, if all VINs in between would have been on cars that left the assembly. Well, 258661 clearly shows that this isn't the case. At least 940 lower VINs had been cancelled or had never been assigned.
 
The DP41K4D258661 VIN also is a living example of the difference between total cars produced and highest VIN assigned.

The Belvidere 1974 production numbers are:
091,368 Fury
058,158 Monaco
008,194 Town & Country
---------
157,720

100000 + 157,720 would have made 257720 the highest VIN, if all VINs in between would have been on cars that left the assembly. Well, 258661 clearly shows that this isn't the case. At least 940 lower VINs had been cancelled or had never been assigned.
VINs that were cancelled could have been related to a fleet order that was cancelled last minute by the customer. Could also be a car that the assembly plant refused as a "can't build" due to the combination of options ordered, or the unavailability of a particular option at the time a car was scheduled to be built and the order was cancelled by the dealer. Could also be a "dealer stock" car that the dealer later cancelled. Could also be a car that was written off in transit (fell of the rail car, or truck - check google for pix of just that happening). In talking to one of my contacts from 25 years ago, cars were also stolen in transit - shipped from the plant and just never arrived at their destination. There's a list as long as your arm of reasons why the number of cars built and the sequence number of vins don't match up.
 
Could also be a car that was written off in transit (fell of the rail car, or truck - check google for pix of just that happening). In talking to one of my contacts from 25 years ago, cars were also stolen in transit - shipped from the plant and just never arrived at their destination.

Looked but didn’t find. Not even sure I wanna see carnage like that but can’t help it.
 
The DP41K4D258661 VIN also is a living example of the difference between total cars produced and highest VIN assigned.

The Belvidere 1974 production numbers are:
091,368 Fury
058,158 Monaco
008,194 Town & Country
---------
157,720

100000 + 157,720 would have made 257720 the highest VIN, if all VINs in between would have been on cars that left the assembly. Well, 258661 clearly shows that this isn't the case. At least 940 lower VINs had been cancelled or had never been assigned.

as there are various sources for production numbers, what are you using for your base number?
 
The DP41K4D258661 VIN also is a living example of the difference between total cars produced and highest VIN assigned.

The Belvidere 1974 production numbers are:
091,368 Fury
058,158 Monaco
008,194 Town & Country
---------
157,720

100000 + 157,720 would have made 257720 the highest VIN, if all VINs in between would have been on cars that left the assembly. Well, 258661 clearly shows that this isn't the case. At least 940 lower VINs had been cancelled or had never been assigned.
Vin
 
The VIN is dp41k4d253561 I got part of build sheet I'll let u know if anyone can find anything let me know those are original rims and it had a cb
 
The VIN is dp41k4d253561 I got part of build sheet

Yes, looking again at the fender tag pic the SPN starts off with 25.... rather than 26.... Not sure about 3 vs. 8 in the third position though. Let's see that partial broadcast sheet!
 
Here you go:

L31 L81 M15 V5X
V1X U C58 G11 H51 L25
KG2 W7G6 KG7 701 903179
E57 D34 DP41 K4D 258661

E57 = Engine 360-Cubic-Inch, 2-Barrel V-8
D34 = Transmission TorqueFlite Automatic, 3-Speed
DP41 = Dodge Monaco Brougham; 4-Door Sedan
K4D = Engine 360-Cubic-Inch, 2-Barrel V-8; 1974 Model Year; Belvidere Assembly
258661 = Sequential Production Number

KG2 = Body Colour Frosty Green Metallic
W7G6 = Cloth and Vinyl 50/50 Bench Seat, Green
KG7 = Interior Colour Dark Green
701 = Scheduled Production Date July 1
903179 = Vehicle Order Number

V1X = Full Vinyl Roof, Black
U = US Market
C58 = 50/50 Bench Seat
G11 = Tinted Glass, All Windows
H51 = Air Conditioning, Manual Controls
L25 = Trunk Light

L31 = Fender-Mounted Turn Signal Indicators
L81 = Door Ajar Warning Light
M15 = Bright Upper Door Frames
V5X = Vinyl Side Moulding, Black

Production of the 1974 Monacos and Furys ended July 25, 1974. Could you grab a picture of the door sticker in order to find out the car's actual production date (MDH)?
 
74-258661-DP41K4D258661.jpg


The (blurry) fender tag pic allows for alternative SPN readings at positions 3 and 4. The mix-up at position 2 is mine; sorry!
3rd position: 3 or 8
4th position: 5 or 6
That makes for four possible alternatives. A focused pic of the fender tag or the partial broadcast sheet will sort this out.
 
The DP41K4D258661 VIN also is a living example of the difference between total cars produced and highest VIN assigned.

The Belvidere 1974 production numbers are:
091,368 Fury
058,158 Monaco
008,194 Town & Country
---------
157,720

100000 + 157,720 would have made 257720 the highest VIN, if all VINs in between would have been on cars that left the assembly. Well, 258661 clearly shows that this isn't the case. At least 940 lower VINs had been cancelled or had never been assigned.

So I screwed up that example big time! Luckily, I found another picture of a 1974 Belvidere VIN that overshoots the 257720 mark:

74-258522-PH23K4D258522.jpg
 
There's no door sticker the special order was because there was a special 360 instead of original 400 so I guess this is a regular car?
 
But there’s nothing from the evidence provided so far that this was a car ordered specifically by and for a police agency.

Wheels are easily changed.

3rd position: 3 or 8
4th position: 5 or 6

The 4th position in the SPN reads 5 according to the broadcast sheet. For the 3rd position there is a hole.

There's no door sticker the special order was because there was a special 360 instead of original 400 so I guess this is a regular car?

It is correct that according to the 1974 Sales Brochure and Dealership Data Book the 360 engine was not available on the Brougham. However, at some point during the production year that must have changed, because I have several 1974 VINs with K in the engine slot, the lowest SPN being (DP43K4D)200690.

Also, for one such "K-car" I have fender tag data and there the VON doesn't look particular to me: 067674.

Offering less cubic inches became a selling point during the gasoline crisis, and thus the new normal.

Does not associate with Y39 cars.

Could it be used with end of year dealer incentive cars or other financial incentives????

The upper right section of the broadcast sheet "Vehicle Delivery and Handling" does not provide additional clues.
 
One is free to speculate, but the down-to-earth information available up until now says that this was a car like thousands others:

- 360 ci engine, nothing particular for late 1974 Brougham production. (That's what I meant with "K-car");
- no known special codes on the fender tag or the broadcast sheet;
- specifically, there is no information connecting this car to police, government or commercial fleet use;
- possibly a special code starting with "9" in the VON in connection with late-model-year production, but nobody knows what it could mean;
- like @69CoronetRT said, wheels are easily changed later on and don't say anything about the set-up as delivered;
- that a locally well-known farmer specially ordered this car does not show (Y14 "Sold Car" could have supported this claim, but it's not there).

Enjoy the power pick-up and leave it at that! It's still a nice-looking 1974 Monaco Brougham!
 
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