Freakin Out vins don't match HELP

[karenna]

First i want to thank everyone for being so nice and helpful to me, you're a great bunch! I just checked vin #'s on door and engine and they do not match!! I was sold this as a 1961 it has the 61 grill, although I thought the tail lights did not look right. Well I was right it is a 1962! I now do not have any info as to what the original color interior, or anything else is! Should I get my money back??? What should I do??:confused: :( :doh:

[Nathan289]

Which vin matches the title?

More than likely a door has been replaced at somepoint in its life..

Does the car have the 62 fenders or does it have the 61 front sheet metal..

Are you trying to make a contour resteration or want to make the car your own??

Just becasue the door doesnt match the under hood vin doesn't make it a horrible car.. My ranchero is that way. Someone replaced the door..
It just allows you to do whatever you want with the car and not worry about the door tag not matching...

Nathan

[pbrown]

First i want to thank everyone for being so nice and helpful to me, you're a great bunch! I just checked vin #'s on door and engine and they do not match!! I was sold this as a 1961 it has the 61 grill, although I thought the tail lights did not look right. Well I was right it is a 1962! I now do not have any info as to what the original color interior, or anything else is! Should I get my money back??? What should I do??:confused: :( :doh:

The 61 grill will not fit on a 62 without major work. Can you post photos of the front and rear of the car?

[karenna]

How do you tell whether it has 61 or 62 fenders? The aluminum trim matches up with the rest of the car, it says Falcon with a gold bird. I can't find anything on the web about that?? I want a car that can be shown as a 1962 if that's what it is. I don't want something that's been piece milled together like it is now. It has a 61 grill but 62 tail lights. I know this is something I can fix but if the body is also piece milled together such as front fenders of a 61 but rear fenders of a 62 that's a huge difference. I can't go to car shows like that. What am I gonna register i as a 61/62 ? It is upsetting. thank you for your help.
Karenna

[karenna]

What kind of major work and how hard will it be to put a 62 grill back on it? Why would someone put a 61 grill on a 62 if it involved major work??

[karenna]

I am taking photos to post now

[pbrown]

The 60-61 fenders taper more to the front and are interchangable. The grills for these years are also shorter. The front bumper for a 60-62 will curve up at the ends.

The 62-63 fenders are different and don't taper much at all. The grills for 62-62 are interchangable as are the bumpers and fenders. The grill is taller.The 62 grill will have vertical bars whereas the 63 has horizontal.

The tail lights on the 60-61 are smaller diameter than the 62-63.

[pbrown]

I am taking photos to post now

That will help a lot.

[Nathan289]

does the front end look like the first car a 61 or the second car a 62

[pbrown]

What kind of major work and how hard will it be to put a 62 grill back on it? Why would someone put a 61 grill on a 62 if it involved major work??

I've heard that it can be done. To put a 60-61 grill on a 62-63, the whole front clip would need to be changed. This would include fenders, grill, stone guard, bumper, hood, and modifications to the inner fender and radiator support.

[Nathan289]

here is a picture of a 62 fender from the side.
I tried finding lighter pictures but I dont have any..
The third picture is a side view of a 61

Nathan

[pbrown]

does the front end look like the first car a 61 or the second car a 62

I think the front end of the 61 is cool. I would find a spare bumper and replace the center section with a strait piece to remove the bump for the license plate. It would clean it up a lot. I never liked the bump.

But I digress... back to the topic at hand.

[Nathan289]

I like the way they look with the front bumper removed and the front pan filled in..

There was a maroon one if the falcon news letter about 3 months ago.. that was filled.. very cool..


I agree with your idea pat, maybe I'll try it..

Back to the vin problem...

Nathan

[karenna]

Okay here are some pics(hopefully) wasn't real clear on how to post em :):confused:

[Nathan289]

Thats all 61 except your taillights...

Nathan

[Nathan289]

the trunk lid is also from a 62 or atleast the latch/lock assymbly is

Nathan

[karenna]

Ok here are the pics(I hope) that didn't come thru the 1st time :)

[pbrown]

The back end is a 62 for sure but the front clip is from a 61. No biggy, you have a custom.

[Nathan289]

well the car is either been in a front end collsion and they replaced the front metal with 61 parts or its been rear ended and they replaced it with 62 parts..
third possiblity is that its a really early 62 and ford was using up left over 61 parts.

Whats the 1st digit of the vin per your title? and does it match the door or the under hood vin?

Nathan

[pbrown]

Thats all 61 except your taillights...

Nathan

Are you sure? That trunk lock is a 62-63 part only.

[pbrown]

I say that if the VIN under the fender says it's a 62 then it probably is.

[Nathan289]

pbrown,
I caught the trunk lock on the second looksie at the photos.

It also looks like the side trim running down the side is from a 62 as well..

I'd agree that the car is probably a 62 and has 61 front sheet metal..

It's still a good looking car though.. I like it.. i'd register as a 61.5 that will raise a few eyebrows..

Nathan

[pbrown]

pbrown,
I caught the trunk lock on the second looksie at the photos.

It also looks like the side trim running down the side is from a 62 as well..

I'd agree that the car is probably a 62 and has 61 front sheet metal..

It's still a good looking car though.. I like it.. i'd register as a 61.5 that will raise a few eyebrows..

Nathan

It also has bucket seats which were only in the Futura AFAIK. It doesn't have Futura badges on the rear so they were probably changed to. I think someone has been playing mix and match. I wouldn't worry too much.

Karenna,

Drive it and enjoy it. Don't worry about originality.

[karenna]

The title says 1961, matches the door tag. The brace under the hood says 1962. If we keep this, are the tailights from 1961 interchangeble or should we keep the rear like it is?

[pbrown]

The title says 1961, matches the door tag. The brace under the hood says 1962. If we keep this, are the tailights from 1961 interchangeble or should we keep the rear like it is?

Call the DoL and see what they say. I'm pretty sure that is a 62 in 61 trim. The door was probably changed at some point. The VIN under the left fender is what I would go with. Just make sure that both VIN numbers are free and clear - not ever reported stolen.

[Nathan289]

I'd keep it how it is.. the 61 tail lights would require some work to get them to fit.. they are smaller in diameter than the 62..

you have a very interesting car.. I still like it.. it's got an interesting history would be neat to find out more..

seems that someone retitled the car using the info off the door either not knowing it didn't match the info on the under hood vin or they did it to deceive someone.

as long as everything checks out sound I'd keep it and have fun with it.. Make it whatever you want..

Nathan

[karenna]

What do you mean,under the left fender Do we need to remove the fender? Where under it do we look? Also if the fender has been replaced won't it be a different number? The 2nd vin# we found is on the support brace that goes from the shock tower to the rear firewall

[Nathan289]

some of the later cars had an area cut out of the fender where it bolts to the engine compartment that had the numbers stamped in it like the support brace does..

i actually think there is another number stamped on the pass side under the fender if you were to unbolt it.. but I wouldn't bother..

Was the support braces first digit a 2??

Nathan

[pbrown]

What do you mean,under the left fender Do we need to remove the fender? Where under it do we look? Also if the fender has been replaced won't it be a different number? The 2nd vin# we found is on the support brace that goes from the shock tower to the rear firewall

There is another VIN number between the second and third fender bolt when counting from the windsheild. Later cars had a small notch cut in the edge of the fender that would wrap around the number. Earlier cars would have to remove the fender to see the number. It's not on the fender itself. It's under it.

[karenna]

some of the later cars had an area cut out of the fender where it bolts to the engine compartment that had the numbers stamped in it like the support brace does..

i actually think there is another number stamped on the pass side under the fender if you were to unbolt it.. but I wouldn't bother..

Was the support braces first digit a 2??

Nathan
yes it is a 2 the whole number on the support brace is 2H11S256635.

[karenna]

There is another VIN number between the second and third fender bolt when counting from the windsheild. Later cars had a small notch cut in the edge of the fender that would wrap around the number. Earlier cars would have to remove the fender to see the number. It's not on the fender itself. It's under it.
is it on the drivers side or passenger? I've heard both. thanks so very much 4 all the help.

[pbrown]

is it on the drivers side or passenger? I've heard both. thanks so very much 4 all the help.

Drivers side for left hand drive cars.

[redfalken]

If you want to get the data plate on the door to match the body I think there are companies that will stamp a new one and you just pop rivot it in place.

Don't ever worry about bringing your car to a show because something is not perfect. The people that care about those things should just take their trailor queen home, park it in the garage, sit in the driveway in their lawnchair and stare at it! :WHATTHE:

[Nathan289]

Ditto what kenny said.[thumb]:BEER::rocker:


So the car has a history.. have fun with it and make the car your own..

unless you feel like you were ripped off then do what you gotta do..

I like the car its cool..

Nathan

[Luva65wagon]

Kareena,

The simple fact is there are only about 5 people in all the world who would ever know things are not original unless you pointed them out. Then all the rest of us would go... "ah... yeah'. 'How cool is that?" I think all of our cars have some things on them that are not what the car came with. It's not like you have a Falcon with Mustang taillights (which would look very weird). You have all Falcon parts on it.

Now to get down right practical... You should have the title to match the VIN number on a part of the body at the lowest level. They put a lot of VIN numbers on various parts of the car to make sure you could work your way down (or inward) as needed to get to the original number... just in case of a wreck where lots of parts were swapped out. If the number on the title matches only the door and no other number, then you may really have a problem that may make it hard to sell the car in the future if you ever decide to. Just something to consider. Like you though, many only look at the title and the most obvious number, which is on the door. So who knows how many have owned it like it currently is.

:confused:

Also, you can tell (usually) when a car has been in a front end collision by looking at the panels just to the left and the right of the radiator core support (under the hood) and the core support itself. Unless these were "toast" most body shops just pulled them and flattened them as best they could. If it was seriously damaged there may have been an entire front clip removed and put onto the front of the original '61 body (and would likely carry forward their VIN numbers along with them)... but again any good body man can tell if you have one take a look.

You have a mystery, that's for sure. Just be sure, whatever you do, that you are protecting your interests. Looks are one thing, but legalities are actually way more important.