HELP ME PLEASE: RESTO BUILD SHEET & FENDER TAG ?'s @ Transmission
I am new here & have already gotten lots of good info regarding my current project with regard to the direction to take my '69 Valiant 100 2-door sedan: I think I am going to keep it fairly stock original as its a survivor (39K, mostly original paint, rust free, "perfect" interior, etc.) and do a Hyper Pak set-up (vs. a v8 swap so I can retain the original engine) and add disc brakes & an 8 3/4" sure grip rear, stock '69 Formula S rims, etc. I am just now looking very closely at this car's original build sheet & the fender tag & THIS IS WHAT HAS ME STUMPED: I am fairly familiar with decoding build sheets & fender tags from my 2 1970 Valiants without any difficulty and am fairly competent working on them (but have most mechanical stuff done by others plus they are survivors also so have not had to do much), I CAN NOT FIGURE OUT THE TRANSMISSION IN THIS '69!!! Everything else seems to be straitforward and checks out with the car as I go through the decoding book I've got (by Jake Hare) and looking at references I've found online. THIS IS THE MAIN QUESTION: the build sheet shows "D11" for the transmission as does the fender tag which would indicate a 3 speed 904 manual transmission BUT THE CAR IS A FACTORY AUTOMATIC? What am I missing here? The car appears unchanged & all original: no evidence of having been a manual car ever (the firewall has the factory plug were a clutch would have been, everything looks appropriately aged/dirty without any modifications, it certainly never had a floor shift (don't know if these 3 speeds were on the column or floor?). I AM WONDERING IF THE BUILD SHEET & FENDER TAG COULD HAVE BEEN INCORRECT DURING PRODUCTION AS THE BUILD SHEET HAS THE TRANSMISSION CODE CIRCLED IN RED/ORANGE CRAYON? I'd like to keep things fairly stock but it seems like a manual transmission would actually better match the documentation even if that's not how it was actually built? Were these manual shifts floor or column mounted in these cars? I'm sure you all know these things better than me, so I apprecite your help. Am I decoding things wrong or did the factory mistakingly duplicate the "11" from the engine box (170 /6) into the transmission box on the build sheet & onto the fender tag, or I guess could the transmission have been changed (I really doubt this given the appearance & the fair amount of history I know)? Also, what transmission is the automatic it has? I found a stamped number forward on passenger side "1B289948" I think, so what is it or where should I look? The engine seems to match & check out fine: molded in the forward driver side block is part # "2463230-2" which is a LGFC 170 /6 (according to online references this correctly matches the engine code of "11", the Hare decoding book doesn't seem to list this code # for some reason) and has the # "09198" molded in toward the rear, I think this is a date code for 09/19/68 which would make sense for a '69 model (is there anywhere to find the actual build date for the car? (vs. just a sequence #) - I don't think the '69's had door stickers with a build date did they? Also, the '69's didn't have a VIN stamped on the engine or transmission yet, that started in 1970 right so numbers matching comes down to dates & supporting history, right?
I really appreciate any & all help as this transmission issue will affect how I proceed with this project.
THANKS, Paul
304 415-5208
paulochs "insert at" charter.net
I am new here & have already gotten lots of good info regarding my current project with regard to the direction to take my '69 Valiant 100 2-door sedan: I think I am going to keep it fairly stock original as its a survivor (39K, mostly original paint, rust free, "perfect" interior, etc.) and do a Hyper Pak set-up (vs. a v8 swap so I can retain the original engine) and add disc brakes & an 8 3/4" sure grip rear, stock '69 Formula S rims, etc. I am just now looking very closely at this car's original build sheet & the fender tag & THIS IS WHAT HAS ME STUMPED: I am fairly familiar with decoding build sheets & fender tags from my 2 1970 Valiants without any difficulty and am fairly competent working on them (but have most mechanical stuff done by others plus they are survivors also so have not had to do much), I CAN NOT FIGURE OUT THE TRANSMISSION IN THIS '69!!! Everything else seems to be straitforward and checks out with the car as I go through the decoding book I've got (by Jake Hare) and looking at references I've found online. THIS IS THE MAIN QUESTION: the build sheet shows "D11" for the transmission as does the fender tag which would indicate a 3 speed 904 manual transmission BUT THE CAR IS A FACTORY AUTOMATIC? What am I missing here? The car appears unchanged & all original: no evidence of having been a manual car ever (the firewall has the factory plug were a clutch would have been, everything looks appropriately aged/dirty without any modifications, it certainly never had a floor shift (don't know if these 3 speeds were on the column or floor?). I AM WONDERING IF THE BUILD SHEET & FENDER TAG COULD HAVE BEEN INCORRECT DURING PRODUCTION AS THE BUILD SHEET HAS THE TRANSMISSION CODE CIRCLED IN RED/ORANGE CRAYON? I'd like to keep things fairly stock but it seems like a manual transmission would actually better match the documentation even if that's not how it was actually built? Were these manual shifts floor or column mounted in these cars? I'm sure you all know these things better than me, so I apprecite your help. Am I decoding things wrong or did the factory mistakingly duplicate the "11" from the engine box (170 /6) into the transmission box on the build sheet & onto the fender tag, or I guess could the transmission have been changed (I really doubt this given the appearance & the fair amount of history I know)? Also, what transmission is the automatic it has? I found a stamped number forward on passenger side "1B289948" I think, so what is it or where should I look? The engine seems to match & check out fine: molded in the forward driver side block is part # "2463230-2" which is a LGFC 170 /6 (according to online references this correctly matches the engine code of "11", the Hare decoding book doesn't seem to list this code # for some reason) and has the # "09198" molded in toward the rear, I think this is a date code for 09/19/68 which would make sense for a '69 model (is there anywhere to find the actual build date for the car? (vs. just a sequence #) - I don't think the '69's had door stickers with a build date did they? Also, the '69's didn't have a VIN stamped on the engine or transmission yet, that started in 1970 right so numbers matching comes down to dates & supporting history, right?
I really appreciate any & all help as this transmission issue will affect how I proceed with this project.
THANKS, Paul
304 415-5208
paulochs "insert at" charter.net