Vin questions.

[Usafsac]

Hey everyone, I purchased a 1973 fastback without a data plate. The car is registered with the vin on the dash however I know how easily that could have changed so doing some digging I removed the fender to find the partial vin which doesn’t match the dash vin. I also have a buck tag which is very hard to read. Attached are some pictures of all 3 places and what they read. If anyone hasn’t some on-site on what i I it greatly appreciate appreciated. 

Ps. The previous owner said it had a 302 in It which was replaced with a 351C.

 

[73pony]

well neither of those VIN numbers is a 1973. The dash VIN is a 1972 and the fender and buck tag are 1971. Also the buck tag vin looks like it starts 1F01F which is from a 1971 hardtop coupe with a 302. the dash vin 2F05F is from a 1972 Mach 1 with a 302.

 

[Usafsac]

well neither of those VIN numbers is a 1973. The dash VIN is a 1972 and the fender and buck tag are 1971. Also the buck tag vin looks like it starts 1F01F which is from a 1971 hardtop coupe with a 302. the dash vin 2F05F is from a 1972 Mach 1 with a 302.

My apologies, I fat fingered it, it is a 72 not a 73. It also isn’t a coupe, definitely a fastback or Mach 1 just not sure which.

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[73pony]

It could be that due to rust or accident damage in the past that they replaced the front clip with that of a 71 coupe.

 

[Usafsac]

It could be that due to rust or accident damage in the past that they replaced the front clip with that of a 71 coupe.

Makes sense, what about the vin under the fender? Is there any information that gives? I would think that would gove the most original aspect.

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[OMS]

The shock tower VIN 1F128918   matches the buck tag F01F128918  65D which means the serial number is from a 1971 302 coupe

Did you just buy it, I would be going back to the seller

I would want documentation that you bought it this way - the shock tower VIN is a major

identifier for theft

 

[Usafsac]

The shock tower VIN 1F128918   matches the buck tag F01F128918  65D which means the serial number is from a 1971 302 coupe

Did you just buy it, I would be going back to the seller

I would want documentation that you bought it this way - the shock tower VIN is a major

identifier for theft

I would assume that the front clip was replaced with a coupe clip then. I purchased it a few months back, and it is already registered through the state with no problems. I’m just getting around to straightening out fenders and prepping for new paint and was curious with what I had!

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[OMS]

The shock tower VIN 1F128918   matches the buck tag F01F128918  65D which means the serial number is from a 1971 302 coupe

Did you just buy it, I would be going back to the seller

I would want documentation that you bought it this way - the shock tower VIN is a major

identifier for theft

I would assume that the front clip was replaced with a coupe clip then. I purchased it a few months back, and it is already registered through the state with no problems. I’m just getting around to straightening out fenders and prepping for new paint and was curious with what I had!

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I know it's registered and all but ...

Was it a local sale ? 

I still would want some answers and if a local sale, make the seller write some paperwork with the other VIN to cover you.

What happens if the gets stolen or wrecked later on there may be issues there with insurance co or the police as your VINs don't match.

What about if you decide to sell it.

There are several states that would inspect that car if is was transferred to one of them.

Also if the clip was changed how good of a job was done ?

Or did someone take a coupe and make a Mach 1 by cutting the roof off.

 

[Usafsac]

The shock tower VIN 1F128918   matches the buck tag F01F128918  65D which means the serial number is from a 1971 302 coupe

Did you just buy it, I would be going back to the seller

I would want documentation that you bought it this way - the shock tower VIN is a major

identifier for theft

I would assume that the front clip was replaced with a coupe clip then. I purchased it a few months back, and it is already registered through the state with no problems. I’m just getting around to straightening out fenders and prepping for new paint and was curious with what I had!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know it's registered and all but ...

Was it a local sale ? 

I still would want some answers and if a local sale, make the seller write some paperwork with the other VIN to cover you.

What happens if the gets stolen or wrecked later on there may be issues there with insurance co or the police as your VINs don't match.

What about if you decide to sell it.

There are several states that would inspect that car if is was transferred to one of them.

Also if the clip was changed how good of a job was done ?

Or did someone take a coupe and make a Mach 1 by cutting the roof off.

I’ll get ahold of the previous owner to get some paperwork on it however he has had it sitting under an overhang for the past few years and got it on trade. He was going to fix it up and give it to his son to drive however his son lost interest so being able to track down whoever did the swap would be nearly impossible.

Visually I wouldn’t be able to tell you whether the clip was changed or the top was chopped. If that’s what was done they did an excellent job. I’m planning to strip the paint in the next month or so so I will look for any unusual welds. Thank you!

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[Hemikiller]

Clipping a car was a very common fix in the 60's and 70's. They'd go to the local scrapper and buy the section of the car they needed, slice, dice and voila! Car fixed. Since you have the fenders off, look around the aprons and rails for any fairly obvious welds or repairs that don't look quite factory. If you find them, you know what happened. I'd also look for stamping date codes on the sheetmetal inside the car. Those are very difficult to fake and can point to an approximate assembly date. Get a Marti report for the dash VIN and if those date codes and the options info on the report all jive, then it's probably pretty safe to say you have the correct VIN. If things don't match, say you have green paint on the interior metal, but the Marti report says the car was originally red, then you need to figure out your next steps.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Here in N.C. that would throw all kind of red flags with the DOT. They have to come do an inspection of the VIN# and do a search if stolen. If there are no signs of MIG welding on the inner fenders then that is a huge flag waver for a stolen vehicle.

A Shelby locally that had been verified by the Shelby Cobra people was found to be a coupe made into a fastback big hack job for sure.

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

So you have indicators that your car is stolen or vin swapped and you don't want to believe them so you accept a story with no evidence. This is not going to end well.

 

[Pegleg]

Clipping a car was a very common fix in the 60's and 70's. They'd go to the local scrapper and buy the section of the car they needed, slice, dice and voila! Car fixed. Since you have the fenders off, look around the aprons and rails for any fairly obvious welds or repairs that don't look quite factory. If you find them, you know what happened. I'd also look for stamping date codes on the sheetmetal inside the car. Those are very difficult to fake and can point to an approximate assembly date. Get a Marti report for the dash VIN and if those date codes and the options info on the report all jive, then it's probably pretty safe to say you have the correct VIN. If things don't match, say you have green paint on the interior metal, but the Marti report says the car was originally red, then you need to figure out your next steps.

Slice and dice. Also known as cut and shut here in the UK. The car would not be allowed on UK roads if it was a cut and shut. It would be sent to the crusher.

 

[midlife]

Dash VINs are very hard to replace or swap, which is why everyone is hinting at a front clip replacement. The screws/rivets are proprietary and extremely difficult to replicate.

 

[Usafsac]

Here in N.C. that would throw all kind of red flags with the DOT. They have to come do an inspection of the VIN# and do a search if stolen. If there are no signs of MIG welding on the inner fenders then that is a huge flag waver for a stolen vehicle.

A Shelby locally that had been verified by the Shelby Cobra people was found to be a coupe made into a fastback big hack job for sure.

Here in FL they don’t do inspections, they just take the title and search the vin for stolen records. I will look for welding inside the fender once I get it back off, I can also take the shock tower vin to the DMV and have them search it as well. The dash vin seems to match perfectly with what I have so I believe the clip was replaced but we shall see.

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[Usafsac]

If I am correct the buck tag shows the car should have AC? The car doesn’t have any AC features so that also points me in the direction that the front clip was replaced?

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[Hemikiller]

If I am correct the buck tag shows the car should have AC? The car doesn’t have any AC features so that also points me in the direction that the front clip was replaced?

Stick your hand in the cowl through the exterior vents. There should be a "hat" on the passenger side cowl floor if it's a non-A/C car. AC cars will have a flat cowl floor with no hat. 

Dash VINs are very hard to replace or swap, which is why everyone is hinting at a front clip replacement.  The screws/rivets are proprietary and extremely difficult to replicate.

71-73 VINs are riveted to the upper trim panel of the dash, which pops right out with about ten screws. Some people would swap a dash around to various cars they owned, we used to call that a "phillips" registration transfer. I believe it was common for other fords of the era. Not sure when they stopped doing it, as it was a completely dumb idea to begin with.

 

[icejawa]

This thread has me paranoid now, I'm gonna check my vin stampings everywhere myself now. You probably didn't know at the time of buying of the spots to check for vin numbers, but neither did I.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Midlife commented on the rivets for the VIN# being difficult to find with the flower pedal shape. You can order them I think maybe $25.00 a pair. If you need to replace dash and keep your VIN# let me know I will locate the supplier. My friend that does the restorations has used them in past. PO lost the VIN# tag and had Marti make another after proving ownership. $500 for a new VIN# for dash so never loose them.