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Regular
Posts: 55
| Hi there, i purchased a 1960 Dodge Polara in Australia, it is a factory right hand drive , the vehicle id no is :5300104598,the 53 at the beginning has been stamped in and the rest of the numbers are raised,i got these numbers of the plate on the inside of the passengrs door,if anybody could give me any info about this car i would greatly appreciate it
thanks
J |
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Veteran
Posts: 129
Location: Rochester Hills, MI | Hello J,
The first two numbers were always hand-stamped for that model year VINs. Though your VIN does not indicate a Polara model, but instead a Phoenix. From the 1960 Passenger Car Parts Catalog:
1st digit = 5 => Dodge 8 cyl. Dart
1st digit = 6 => Dodge - Matador or Polara
2nd digit = 3 => Fury, Phoenix, Polara, New Yorker, Imperial Lebaron
3rd digit = 0 => 1960
4th digit = 0 => ?????. This is the plant code and the book only shows values 1 through 7. Maybe 0 = Export or knock down kit??
last 6 digits = 104598 => Vehicle # 4598 produced for that model year at that plant.
Anybody else have any clues on a plant code = 0? Anyone else with non-North American built 1960 vehicles care to share your plant code with us? Could the person hand-stamping the VIN's have stamped "53" when he should have stamped "63"?
Post a couple of pictures here and people on this list will tell you which model you have. Also measure the wheel base and post it here. The Polara is a longer wheel base than Phoenix, but I can't seem to find those figures at the moment.
Edited by TailFinGary 2007-05-27 3:26 AM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 709
Location: Poznan, Poland, Europe | The sales brochure for Polara and matador list the wheelbase as 122" , overall lenght max. with bumper guards 214.5" |
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Regular
Posts: 55
| here is some pics
 (p1.JPG)
 (p2.JPG)
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 p1.JPG (72KB - 69 downloads)
p2.JPG (58KB - 69 downloads)
p3.JPG (58KB - 78 downloads)
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Veteran
Posts: 129
Location: Rochester Hills, MI | Well J,
That's certainly a Polara, so it's anyone's guess why the VIN doesn't seem to match. I'm tempted to write it off as an inconsistency between North American and Australian models, but other than the right hand drive everything else looks the same as the US model.
Looks like a nice project. Good luck.
Gary |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 709
Location: Poznan, Poland, Europe | This Polara is sweet, I don't know why people were choosing Darts over big Dodges back in '60. Polara has much more personality and character |
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
 
Location: bishop, ca | AND; it has a plain, non-trimmed quarter-panel area, too ! |
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Regular
Posts: 55
| hi there,i sent the no's off to the chrysler corporate historical collection,they sent me a letter back saying that my car was unique to australia and was assembled by chrysler australia ltd,the letter also said that mitsubishi motors ,australia ltd purchased chrysler ltd at some stage taking all records,i have tried to get some info out them,no luck so far,my questions to the forum are,where there many factory right hand drive polaras made,was it common practice to assemble full size dodges in other countries,is there anywhere else that might have some records or documentation that might help me work this out.
plym a seller on ebay has a book that is a DODGE 1960 D500 guide is it possible that it could help...
any help would be greatly appreciated
J |
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Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+
Posts: 13050
Location: Southern Sweden - Sturkö island | Cool ride Jason! I really like the Polara - just like Neil said there is a ?"missing"? trim on the quarters.
 (wallace.jpg)
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wallace.jpg (57KB - 63 downloads)
dg600203.jpg (38KB - 64 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 2308
Location: The Bat Cave, Fairborn, OH | Wow! That is one pink 1960 Dodge Polara!   :laugh: Restored it will look like a million bucks. That must have been an unusual colour though for 1960s as I don't remember seeing many like it. (I've seen a bunch of pink 1965 Mustangs though.) First order of business ought to be getting rid of those J.C. Whitney false wire wheel covers.
Edited by 58 DESOTOS RULE 2008-03-26 1:13 PM
 (1960 Dodge Polara RH Drive 1.jpg)
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1960 Dodge Polara RH Drive 1.jpg (72KB - 51 downloads)
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vEHICLE ID NO :?
