Rear Window Louvers

[fuscobros]

@fuscobros

Holy Cow !!  That is one hell of a car!!  Dream car right there.  Doesn't need a hemi or a 440.  What a SAWEEEET car !! 

I'll decode the tag after work if no one else has done so by then.   That is just an incredible artifact. Would love to see pics on another thread detailing the car.  Do you have a build thread or info thread on this car?

Thanks! Once I start the restoration mid summer I'll be posting the progress.

[fuscobros]

     Fuscobros----my 71 was built 20 days past yours and very similar options. The window trim under the louvers was also chrome. Was wondering about the J78 code. Does yours have the front spoilers on it. I've heard them refer'd to as eye brow spoilers also. Here's a pic of my tag for comparison.

Nice car you got there!
The front spoilers were not on my car when I bought it.  I asked the previous owner who purchased the car in '73.  He said they were on there when he bought it from the original owner but can't remember what happened to them.  The car was in a fender bender at some point and has a NOS passenger fender on it.  I'm thinking someone removed the front spoilers from both fenders and they got lost or tossed.  The funny thing is I can't find any mounting holes on the original driver's side fender indicating they were there....hmmmmm?  I plan on adding them back to the car when it's restored...a pair of NOS or good used ones would be nice but reproductions are readily available and seem to be good quality so we'll see.

[fuscobros]

Great cars @fuscobros and @bentpshrods!  Very nicely optioned, congrats!

Fusco, the code layout on your tag is very similar to the one on the International Hemicuda I mentioned.  Technically your tag and sheet should have Louver Package (code A67), which as Dan said is the only way to get the J68 louvers, but your tag is now the second one I've seen that skips the A67 package code apparently because the car already has 5 other A-code options (in your case A01/A21/A36/A45/A62).  That's pretty interesting.  If you look at bentpshrods' tag he has 4 A-code options, which including both A67 and J68 as we might normally see.  On your sheet can you look closer at the "Louver" box in the middle of Line 8 and see if there is an "8" under that black writing?  I'm sure there is, but it's hard to see in your picture.  Anyway, I don't believe your tag or sheet are wrong in any way, in fact I think you show another interesting example of how the factory coded the A67 Louver package when the car already had 5 other A-code options.  Very cool.

Bent and Fusco, both of your cars have the A45 Front and Rear Spoiler package.  This includes both the J78 front (eyebrow) and J81 rear spoilers.  However, at a lower cost you could have just ordered the J81 rear spoiler on its own, in which case you wouldn't get A45, and would only have J81 but without J78.  The front spoilers could not be ordered separately.  The only way to get the J78 front spoilers was to order the full A45 package, kind of like the only way to get the J68 Louvers is if you got the A67 Package.

- Wade

Interesting info Wade.  I looked at my broadcast sheet and yes, it looks like there's an 8 hiding behind the writing on line 8 in the louver box.  That would make sense.

[fuscobros]

the A67 is on the sheet, the space available for "A" codes is limited to 5, so the sixth is near the bottom of the sheet 

I'll "assume" the manner in which data was transferred to the fender tag station was similar & the operator simply didn't pick up on the additional code 

Good eyes...I would never have spotted the A67 down at the bottom in those extra blank spaces.  Thanks!

[Cudino]

The funny thing is I can't find any mounting holes on the original driver's side fender indicating they were there....hmmmmm?  I plan on adding them back to the car when it's restored...a pair of NOS or good used ones would be nice but reproductions are readily available and seem to be good quality so we'll see.

Others will likely have more info than I do, but for both Challengers and Cudas I believe the front spoilers were never installed at the factory, they were shipped in the trunk for installation at the dealership.  I've heard the concern was that the chin spoilers could be damaged by the tie-down straps Chrysler used during shipping.  I have an all-original-paint survivor '71 Challenger, including its untouched original paint front valance, that is coded for wing/spoilers but the front spoilers were never installed.

- Wade

[anlauto]

I agree...I spoke with the original owner of "The World Famous Barrelcuda"....He claim they were never on it...I found no holes in the fenders/valance but I did find one spoiler jammed down in the trunk extension when we cut the quarters off... true story

[mo6pak]

Here you go. There is no manufacturer information on them or on the instructions. Very generic?

[mo6pak]

Aftermarket Hardware.

[6bblgt]

The funny thing is I can't find any mounting holes on the original driver's side fender indicating they were there....hmmmmm?  I plan on adding them back to the car when it's restored...a pair of NOS or good used ones would be nice but reproductions are readily available and seem to be good quality so we'll see.

Others will likely have more info than I do, but for both Challengers and Cudas I believe the front spoilers were never installed at the factory, they were shipped in the trunk for installation at the dealership.  I've heard the concern was that the chin spoilers could be damaged by the tie-down straps Chrysler used during shipping.  I have an all-original-paint survivor '71 Challenger, including its untouched original paint front valance, that is coded for wing/spoilers but the front spoilers were never installed.

- Wade

I agree...I spoke with the original owner of "The World Famous Barrelcuda"....He claim they were never on it...I found no holes in the fenders/valance but I did find one spoiler jammed down in the trunk extension when we cut the quarters off... true story

correct! & correct - front spoilers were shipped in the trunk
(the "last HEMI Challenger" had a pair of both Barracuda & Challenger versions when the car arrived at the dealership and all 4 were bolted to the front valence/fenders)   

[MoparCarGuy]

A great thread that deserves some pictures...

[cuda hunter]

That is exactly what is needed.

[198D13]

The Mopar lady in the picture knows a car with the textured trim when she sees it! It looks MUCH better with that trim than with regular stainless. 
@cudahunter   Those original louver pins, etc are very hard to find. The "reproduction" stuff looks nothing like the original parts shown in those two pictures. The lanyards would be impossible to find original though, and are not pictured in those two shots.

[cuda hunter]

I did not know that.  Good to know for sure.

[198D13]

Notice that the big nut attached to the bottom of each chrome louver stud has a flat cut top on it, rather than a beveled one, like the bottom of each nut. Those toothed washers are the same as original ones used on hood pins, same for the spring pins. The spring pins have a straight section on them where the lanyard would generally hold. Those are ORIGINAL, there are many spring pins used that look nothing like those pictured. The holes where the spring pins attach have a beveled area to them, aftermarket ones do not. I'll post a close up of that area tonight. The bottoms of each chrome louver stud have a "pin" in the centre of them indicating originality, I'll also post that area too.

[198D13]

Louver pin holes.