VIN + Engine ID Check

The VIN of our car was the first thing we had checked.

And when I obtained the Chrysler repair manual I was triggered to have the Chrysler IDs checked. According to the manual it's stamped on a metal plate attached to the upper left of the instrument panel. Upon checking this plate was obviously removed.

So on to the engine id:

And we found the following:

7M-318 followed by C9170803

According to this table: http://legacy.earlham.edu/~byersjo/info.htm

The engine is build in 1977 at plant Mound road (Detroit - Michigan). See Wikipedia reference about this plant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mound_Road_Engine
And the displacement is 318 : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_LA_engine#318_V8
I'm unsure about the 2nd number.

The exhaust manifold had also a casting nr visible: 3370337-1. Not sure how to explain/read this number too.

It made me wonder though. If the engine is build in 1977 this must have been very early 77. Next it had to be installed in a car that must have been ready as well. And then consequently shipped to Swiss. I'm not sure how much time that would have taken in the seventies. Let alone all paper formalities for Swiss. On arrival the car then had to be completely overdone in Monteverdi dress and presented in March 1977 on the Geneva autosalon - as our car was one of the showcars. I wonder how much time they had to make this happen. It must have been a rush job. Maybe coming week we will get to know more about all of this.

Monteverdi Sierra Stationwagon / Kombi

As might be known, only 1 has ever been produced. As I have been doing a little more research I suspect that only the Stationwagon and the two convertibles have been equipped with the optional 5.8 Liter engine. So far all the sedans I have been able to verify has got the 5.2 Liter engine.

Apparently it's presented in 1980 and I'm curious to know it's VIN.

These unique spots have been photographed by Pierre Pluquet somewhere in the eighties in Le Touquet. So I guess this car was actually sold. It's on Swiss license plates but they have been shielded off. But the photo's above shows it did ended up in the Monteverdi museum. The license plate reveals the owner at the time lived in the canton Ticino

Monteverdi 375L vs Sierra

This advert showed up on my radar:

https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1087040/1970-monteverdi-375-4-for-sale-in-saint-louis-missouri-63146

A very cool car and it came with a very nice photo slideshow. And you can see clearly the 375 gearlever and bezel which is an exact match as used on the Sierra showcar / prototipo.

Next to that we noticed the dials (speedo/rpm) are exactly the same as well.

Note the printed details in German/Deutsch (oeldruck/blinklicht/benzin) and the printed name "Monteverdi" including printed "8CYL. Very cool, I suspect they still had some on stock. These have been used at least in our Sierra.

Later/newer models had different dials. And between the speedo and rpm dial there are additional light indicators placed. For example this brochure model does have a different RPM dial (ie different needle and marking indicators) But it does have also the extra time clock added (so 4 dials in a row). Note ours does not have the extra time clock. And our dials all have Monteverdi printed on them. This isn't the case on the brochure Sierra.

The following Sierra model also has a different RPM dial and indicator lights between RPM and Speedo. However it has only 3 additonal dials (amps/water/benzin) And by the looks of it, these 3 have a different dial layout used (at least different as ours). So much for consistency.

The bench used in the back of this 375L does look familar as well. At least the backside looks similar. The upholstery pattern is identical and so is the armrest. The Sierra has a little more space below the armrest. Meaning the Sierra is slightly different though and is a little higher in length. The front chairs are different and it's mentioned on Wikipedia they are reused from a BMW, we still don't know which type/model.

Remarkably also the 375L has got this specific square hole in the boot (the 375 does not). I'm not sure about it's function. Clearly it's not fit or used for a spare tyre. So I can only conclude this is done to provide extra Luggage storage. So for the Sierra they created this extra bespoke square hole as well (I'm unaware if other Sierra's have it as well - could be only ours has it?). Perhaps the Sierra is using the same fuel tank as used on the 375L? We havent found any markings on our fuel tank - so we can't say - perhaps just a Chrysler tank which has been modified to fit?

While we are at it, it's remarkable how close the rear looks as well. I was almost inclined to say they have been using the same panels and boot lid. But the bood lid of the 375L has a slight curve towards the rear window and I'm not sure about the exact dimensions either. The profile angles used  seems slightly more sharp. But still ...

And the front is much of the same. I wondered if they share the same hood/bonnet lid? The 375L has air vents on them though and likely the Sierra is slightly shorter in lenght and by the looks of it wider too. So no.

Chrysler - Aspen / Volare 1976 - 80 repair manual

This might come in handy, hence we have purchased it.

Fuel tank removal

And one last piece of work done in the weekend by Jos, the fuel tank removal. First the cap had to be removed and since we don't have the key it was done using brute force

We are not sure if this is the Original tank and fitting since the boot has this unusal large square space fitted in - which doesn't look Original. Maybe the tank is Original but then likely it had to be mounted differently using these enhanced bar strips? Not sure, just a bit guessing here. Below you will see a picture of this unusual square hole/recess in the boot/trunk.

Fuel filter

Fuel floater, looks like a brass one - so proper quality.

 The inside didn't look to bad

The dismantling continues - Part V

Well, not sure if I'm going to write up an entire blog about this piece of dismantling. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

Tunnel console with radio sparing. Note the decorative screws.

 Yes, more nuts, the rodents have stuffed this car:

 High quality end connectors:

 Original Chrysler midconsole parts:

Drilled holes all over the place. Did they mount a different console shifter for testing purposes?

More nuts:

Nuts everywhere

 Nearly empty