273 Commando or not?

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Glow Worm

"Not Your Grandmaw's 318"
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I have always "relied" on the fender tag for the information pertaining to my 66 Barracuda. Last night I was looking over the insurance re-newal, and noticed an error in the VIN number. As I was verifying the VIN I noticed there was a "D" in the VIN which translates to a "basic" 273 rather than an "E"which would translate to the 273 Commando. When I bought the car I checked it out and it does have the correct rear end, the correct leaf springs, the front disc brakes, and all of the "external components" associated with a Formula "S" 273 Commando car (dual point distributor, four barrel intake/carb, valve covers, air cleaner, even has an original "Blue Streak" spare in the trunk, etc.), but now I'm wondering if the engine is a TRUE 273 Commando.....What would be the easiest steps to take to verify that the motor is a real Commando, 10.5:1 235 horse motor? (I don't have a build sheet either)
There are several things I was planning on doing to it, but if it isn't a Commando engine, I'm not going to waste my money.

(This probably explains why the fender tag says the car came from the factory with GOLD paint, but when my buddy painted it he said he could find NO TRACES of gold paint on the car anywhere......Can you say WRONG FENDER TAG?)
 
All 66 273s, including the D/Dart had a "D" engine identifier in the VIN. The "E" was 67-only. You have to go by the fender tag, but the only way to know whether the tag is for your car is to have a broadcast sheet to compare the VON and VIN.
 
Jim Lusk said:
All 66 273s, including the D/Dart had a "D" engine identifier in the VIN. The "E" was 67-only. You have to go by the fender tag, but the only way to know whether the tag is for your car is to have a broadcast sheet to compare the VON and VIN.
Click to expand...

THAT makes me feel better. I'll go back to my source book, and re-read the information again(Chilton's). I think it must be posted incorrectly, but then again, I probably read it wrong 10 times.......
 
I have a 66 Formula S too. It has a D in the VIN indicating a 273 V8. I also have the fender tag... in the AB columns it had "32" indicating a 273 4-bbl. Also, under F it should have a "7" for Formula S (if it is one).

Regards, David
 
You are right! I had already decoded the fender tag, but never thought about the VIN. Mine translates to:

32 - 273 4bbl
5 - automatic transmission
7 - Formula S

Under the T is the number 7 for "tachometer"

Under the R is the number 1 What does that mean?
 
It sounds like your car is a correct Formula S car with its original motor, but the only way to know for sure if it's a Commando is to check for the dome top pistons. The only things that separate a commando motor from a regular motor (other than bolt on things like intake, valve covers, distributor etc) is the dome top pistons and high lift cam. Everything else could have been added easily to a regular 273/318/340 to simulate a 273 commando. Pull the heads and look at the piston, the dome top one looks like this:

HP273.jpg


HP273T.jpg
 
Yes, I knew that about the domed pistons, but was trying to avoid pulling the heads.

I think I just panicked when I read that business about the "D" in the VIN number.......

There are 1966 Formula "S" clones out there.
 
I have just used Chrysler Historical Collection and I ordered all the paperwork that I could. And I got plenty of information about the car. That's the way to find out everything about your car
 
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