VIN issues: is my '68 really a '69??

[tylerb43]

So I'm getting ready to tear into my truck and get it back on the road. I bought this truck when I was 15 in 1992. It was a '68 Ranger, my first truck, and I immediately knew I would always have it. The previous owner called it a 68 Ranger, and so did I. I honestly don't remember what the title said and I can't seem to find it now. (perfect) I never thought twice about questioning the year. - until 2 days ago.

The Ranger had a little run-in with a guardrail in early '96, and hasn't been driven since. (Although I did replace the bent up grille and sheet metal with some extra parts I had at the time). So now I'm in the middle of collecting parts and planning to get my truck out of storage and on a path to recovery. I've acquired a couple of parts trucks, and while using this site to run down their VINs and data tags, it hit me that I'd never done the same for my truck. (Probably because I didn't have such an awesome resource in the '90's!)

This truck was originally black with a red interior. I changed it to blue with grey interior. While checking the data plate on the door, the VIN was F10YCC59600, I've always accepted as correct. And it matched the fact that the original owner told me he changed the original 360 out for the 390 it now had. Okay, Ontario, CAN, Dec. 1967, makes sense. But then I got to the interior code: "C" = Medium beige crush vinyl?? Wait, huh?? No way, this truck had red interior originally.

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I thought, okay - someone banged up the door and changed it out with another black one. - no big, it happens. Well, thanks to Keith's amazing site and huge amount of information, I decided to find the VIN on the frame and check it.

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Here it is: F10YKF97538. What the hell? F97538? Well this number falls under the "notes" section of Keith's VIN decoding page, as he says Aug, '69 production only went to F63,999. But regardless of having a really high 1969 number, that's definitely not a 1968 number!

To be continued...

[tylerb43]

I couldn't believe it, could it be true? So I hit the "Identifying" page again to find more clues:

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Holy crap, is it possible that after 18 years of owning a 1968 F100 Ranger, I actually have a 1969??

What do you guys think?

[bluef250]

The parts you have identified are from a '69 truck. The door VIN is a '68. It appears that most of the truck is a '69. Find your title, if it says '68 and that causes you concern talk with the DMV about getting it corrected. There are a number of reasons that all the numbers may not be the same.

[Hawkrod]

First, find your title/registration and see which number it uses. If the title/registration isusing the door number then find a "friendly" cop who will run the frame VIN. You would not believe how many stolen trucks show up like this. In the old days you just swapped the door tag from a wreck with a clear title and nobody ever checked the frame number. The problem is if it is stolen then you have no "rights" to it and all the money you have spent or are going to spend is in jeopardy. The fact that you have parts trucks may be your best avenue as you may have a clean frame and matching title to make it correct. You may also want to delete the VINs from this thread until you are sure of what you have. Long since stolen cars have been found by people Googling serial numbers of their missing vehicle and finding threads just like this one. Sadly, no matter how long you have had it or how much you have spent or done to the vehicle it still belongs to the original owner if it was stolen and you have no recourse or hope of recovery. Hawkrod

[tylerb43]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I appreciate it. I can almost guarantee it's not stolen. I bought it from my football coach in '92 and his father bought it brand new. But hey, just to put that one to bed, I'll check both VINs as I have 3 brothers that are "friendly" cops.

We are searching high and low for a title or registration that may list a VIN. The last time I would've needed something like that is 1995, so who knows, it could be anywhere. Just really curious as to which one was used on any paperwork.

I'm starting to think the door was just changed out and brought a different/wrong VIN with it. The thing is, if I apply for a lost title to get a new one, what VIN do I use? I'd want to use the frame one, correct? (provided it's clear which I'll find out shortly) Because if this truck is a '69 then it should be titled as a '69 IMO, no matter what year I thought I had, it is what it is, you guys agree?

[tylerb43]

Well, 2 things - I had my brother check, and the real VIN (on the frame) is not stolen. So that's that. Secondly, we found an old registration renewal from '95 and it lists the VIN from the door, and calls it a '68 F100.

So, I'm going to contact the previous owner to see if he remembers, but I'm thinking the door was replaced, and someone applied for a title using the VIN that came with the new door. So for at least 18 years, this truck has been labeled a '68, when in fact it is a '69.

My plan is to apply for a lost title using the correct VIN from the frame, as I think that's the proper thing to do. No sense in having the truck wrongly identified any longer. Any issues with that you can think of?

I guess it's possible that if the wrong VIN went back far enough, I could end up being the second "documented" owner of the truck, right? (using the true VIN) That'd be funny.

[70_F100]

Unless you can get a correct VIN tag for the door, it's probably not a good idea.

Just think, traffic stop, cop checks the door for the VIN number on the registration. Numbers don't match. Try explaining that to some rookie cop at midnight...

[fordman]

you might want to see if it has been in a wreck and the frame was swapped in.

[zakt]

why not just take the vin tag off the door, then Im curious what the cops would use?

Todd

[tylerb43]

Exactly Todd. Of course I'd take the VIN tag off the door when I get the title corrected, it would just be silly not too. Besides the fact that any law enforcement would have no reason to check the VIN. If the plates match the vehicle and the drivers address, there's no red flags.

I've already contacted the DMV and they're working the issue. Not that I have a lot of faith in them, but we'll see what solution they come up with.

fordman; thanks for the suggestion, but the frame was not swapped. Apparently the drivers door was replaced after a minor mishap, bringing the '68 VIN tag with it sometime in the early '80s. The entire truck is believed to be original except for that door. Years later (early '90s) the title was lost, and when they applied for a new one, the VIN from the '68 door was used, effectively titling a '69 as a '68, and creating a mess for me.

Does anyone reproduce a door data tag? Dennis Carpenter or anyone?

[ScreaminZ]

Does anyone reproduce a door data tag? Dennis Carpenter or anyone?

http://www.martiauto.com/

[tylerb43]

Perfect! Thanks Z!

[The Good Humor Man]

Most states are getting tough in all vin problems. Illinois is a bitch getting any big issues fixed. You use to be able to go to Broadway title and get a title with a vin number.
I had a 66 Good Humor truck I really wanted in NJ, it had a 69 title with 66 numbers stamped on the frame. I called the state, and they told me to stay away from it, it would take years to get a good title for it, if it isn’t stolen.
Getting one number corrected is simple here in Illinois, you just need to have a police officer verify the number discrepancy, and submit it to the state, but a wrong year, or no numbers matching, is impossible.
I just bought a 69 GH truck, and made sure all the paper work was in order. There is a vin tag on the firewall, and the same number stamped on the frame, as on the title.
I have passed on a bunch of trucks that had wrong years, and wrong titles with the truck. Years ago it wasn’t a big deal, and when the trucks got sold from GH, they just pick a title they thought was for the truck, and handed it over. Different areas are worse than others, since they were run by different distributors.
I am surprised at things I see on these truck. Since they had so many of them, and some got wrecked, they would switch parts like crazy on these things.
http://goodhumortrucks.com/69.html if you want to follow my new project truck.