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Last AAR T/A built

Started by Arctoad, September 27, 2024, 09:05:56 AM

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Arctoad

Hi guys,
Just curious, does anyone know of information of the last known AAR and T/A built, or is this something that will always update itself as more registries come in.
Thanks

JH27N0B

#1
Since Chrysler claims to have lost all the manufacturing records of that era, I guess we can never know for sure.
My recollection is that production of T/As and AARs was started in March and was supposed to end on a certain day in April, might have been April 20.
However, I recall hearing one car was documented to have been built in May.  If that is the case, it was likely an outlier of some sort.  Perhaps it actually rolled off the line in April, but had some issue where it had to go to their red tag area, and didn't get fixed and officially "finished" until May, and they had to put a door sticker on it that showed manufactured in May?  At least one T/A was documented as being built with a sunroof I believe.  If that is indeed true, it would have been sent out to ASC to have the sunroof installed on it.  In the case where cars were sent to outside sources to get completed, like sunroof cars, or the wing cars (Creative Industries), was the production month shown on the door sticker the month it rolled off Chrysler's line, or did it reflect the month  the car got the additional work done to finish it off by the outside vendor?
I just looked at my T Top Magnum, its SBD is in March of 78, and the door sticker says March.  However it has a door sticker that states that work was done on the car by American Sunroof Corporation (they did the work for Chrysler to install T tops as well as sunroofs) on 4-17-78.  So assuming nothing changed between 1970 and 78, that would suggest work done by outside vendors to complete cars didn't change the door sticker date.

Ricomondo

The sunroof TA I believe was scheduled for 05/05/70.

Regular production on the TA's last SPD I think was 04/17 or 4/18? I can't remember for sure.

We need @6bblgt (dan) to know for sure?
70' FE5 Challenger T/A
71' GY3 Demon 340




Arctoad

I'm asking because I have a T/A with 311287 and I think I've seen one other T/A with a slightly higher vin sequence. I do not have a Broadcast sheet as of yet but since being a member I've learned about cars that are sequentially close. I'd love to see if there is another T/A with documentation for comparison to my car.

JH27N0B

Quote from: Arctoad on October 01, 2024, 07:25:56 AMI'm asking because I have a T/A with 311287 and I think I've seen one other T/A with a slightly higher vin sequence. I do not have a Broadcast sheet as of yet but since being a member I've learned about cars that are sequentially close. I'd love to see if there is another T/A with documentation for comparison to my car.
Last year a local buddy of mine told me about buying some seats from a guy in Chicago who was stripping a T/A in the mid 70s, and he found and saved a broadcast sheet he found in a seat.  He sent me a scan of it.  It was JH23J0B311311 and it was white with black interior.
I sent a copy of the scan to Barry Washington to add to the T/A registry and I think I also gave Dan the info. I may have posted it here too, this was fall of last year I got the scan from my friend.


Arctoad

Yes I actually just read that thread it's very cool. My car too has had the seats removed at some point, they were replaced by what looks like later model Challenger or cuda seats (72-74) based on the foam backing and the metal tags ect. I also read some other threads pertaining the SPD and plant in process as well Mylar tags and such. I must say it's a little over my head, there is so much time vested by some of the members such as 6bblgt.
I doubt very much if I will ever reunite the Broadcast sheet or drivetrain to my car but it's interesting to be involved in discussions even at my level.
Thumbs up to E-bodies!

JH27N0B

My friend told me the T/A being stripped was red, so when he said there was a sheet in the seats he bought from it, I had dreams the sheet would be the car right after mine, or my sheet.  My car was one of 4 consecutive VIN Mr Norms sold red T/As, 3 of which are alive and well, so when he told me a red one was being stripped I thought maybe it was the missing car (308737) and I'd finally know a bit of its fate.
My car had 2 BCS from an FC7 T/A 22 VIN past mine. They got reunited with their car through a registry over 30 years ago!

Arctoad

Nice my T/A is FE5 as well! Love to see if another T/A within a few of mine is out there, not sure if it was common for Dealers to order multiple cars at once in the Trans am platform.. my VON 190191 so I think your friends car was in the 196304 range so again I'll leave it up to the pros to decide when my car left Hamtramck.
No Mylar was left on my car due to a color change early in the 2000's

JH27N0B

AARs and T/As were built in a short time frame and as far as I know, none were able to be ordered by customers.
Therefore a lot of them are identical to other AARs and T/As. Very few one of one Trans Am E bodies.
Grand Spaulding apparently ended up in the thick of things with T/As. I recall hearing once they ended up ordering around 400 of them.  That made them somewhat of a regional distribution center for them, as many ended up going to other Midwest Dodge dealers through dealer trades.  The Mr Norms employee who ordered cars ordered at least 4 identical spec T/As seeing how mine is one of a group of identical ones.  There were probably additional identical groups of them that went through that dealer.
There was a dealer in Iowa, I believe it was in Cedar Rapids, that got a bunch of AARs.  I don't know how many, probably not anything like the 400 Mr Norms got. There's pictures I've seen online of when several semis full of AARs arrived at that Iowa dealer!


MoparCarGuy

Challenger T/A JH23J0B328718 SPD 505 "The Sunroof T/A" Option M51 - Sunroof (Power) with Vinyl Roof


Arctoad

Is this car still in existence

three two barrels


Arctoad

I could see a dealer owner or someone who knew an owner sitting down and selecting all the options at the end of the production run! I'd have done the same.