I think we are all with Chris on this one...lol.

So what is the Ford literature referencing? The Certification Label being on the doors of the 1973-1979 trucks?

 

Ok so I called it by the wrong name. I would call it the latch pin on the jamb.
I also don't care what the parts book has to say about where this sticker is placed. We have 3 people that say it is on the left door jamb under the striker pin.


Dave ----

 

 

Now, now, be nice to Bill! I've got to pick his brain over the next few days for my soon-to-be epic starter relay thread. Stay tuned for that one. But in the meantime, I need Bill at the top of his game, so no getting him riled up.

To the original poster, I'd be VERY hesitant to purchase a truck from "some guy you don't trust", no matter how much of a bargain it may seem to be. Two big reasons:

1) I've done a lot of horse-trading for used vehicles. You can only tell so much about a vehicle's condition by inspecting it. There's so much stuff that's easy to miss. That's why I've always paid close attention to the seller, moreso than the actual vehicle. I've walked away from a few deals just based on a gut feeling about the seller, and have never regretted it. If your spidey senses are saying you don't trust the guy, run away!

2) Does Utah do any kind of VIN inspection on used vehicles? Here in Oregon they do when you initially register the vehicle in your name. If the VIN (and related paperwork) says one thing, and the vehicle is obviously different, that throws up all sorts of red flags. The inspectors have seen it all, so they aren't going to miss the difference between an F150 and F350. The little chrome numbers on the fender are a dead giveaway, for example. Any inspector worth his salt will also notice the huge difference in the suspension, too. If the vehicle has been legitimately reconstructed or whatever, there are ways to legally accommodate that. But if you've got some glaring discrepency between the paperwork and vehicle, and no paper trail to back it up, you may be walking into a bureaucratic nightmare.

 

The VIN decodes to a F350 2WD Cab & Chassis and since people are saying the label is glued to the B pillar below the striker plate, this cannot be an F150 unless the cab was swapped.

The other thing that smells is the so called "Heritage" moniker. In 2004, when the new F150's were introduced, Ford continued to build the 2003 F150's for a short time calling it the Heritage.

AFAIK: This is the only use of this name for an F150. This is the fugly sloped nosed version that was introduced in 1997.

 

Interesting that they check the VIN's. I wonder how common that is? They certainly don't check them where I live...I don't even think the police check them, let alone the DMV. One case where it has become a bit of an issue over the years is when insurance companies started finding out that many (if not all) of the VW Manx buggies were all still licensed, insured, and plated as the donor VW Beetles the chassis came from...LOL.

 

That;s interesting, because I've come across not one, but two Bullnose trucks for sale recently listed as "Heritage F150". I had no idea what that meant, and when I Googled it, all I could find was info on the 2000's model you mention. Just a mistake on the seller's part I assume, unless there was a regional dealer decal package or something at some point.

 

I just went back to check the first post and now see pictures.
Guess what I see ...... yep a CC F350 / 10,000 GVW truck so the seller must not know what he is selling.

Dave ----

 

 

No idea. Here in the People's Republic of Oregon, it's actually a simple check. If you bring an out of state vehicle into Oregon, the DMV clerk goes out to the parking lot with you. He just checks the VIN tag under the windshield and the sticker on the door pillar. Newer models with a bar code get scanned. As long as the tag, sticker, and out-of-state paperwork match, you're all set. I'm sure they also check if it's listed as stolen, but that's not really part of the physical VIN verification.

Washington state had something similar when I lived there, but that may have been phased out by now. The check was done at your local State Patrol office, not the DMV. When I lived there (left in 2006), my neighbor bought a reconstructed wreck. The seller was totally upfront about the new cab on the existing frame, etc., but he never registered it like that. He just did the work and kept driving, as there was no in-state inspection just for a regular renewal. The VIN tag from the damaged cab (existing frame) was swapped to the donor cab. The inspector caught this right away and even though my neighbor wasn't trying to hide anything, they put him through bureaucratic hell. He had to have the windshield removed so the inspector could replace the swapped VIN tag with a new state-issued tag. It was quite the ordeal, and all the extra labor and fees cost him nearly what he had saved buying a reconstructed vehicle. I don't remember all the details, but I don't think they'd even let him drive it on a temporary permit. The truck was impounded (for a fee, of course) until several days later for an appointment with the inspector. The windshield guy met them there, which of course wasn't free, either.

The moral of the story? If subject to such an inspection in your locale, or you might ever move somewhere that is, don't even think about buying a vehicle with mismatched documentation.

 

I just saw the pictures and the truck is a CC F350 truck with duel rear tires and a GVW of 10,000 lbs.
From the motor numbers you posted I would say it has a Ford 460 in it.
I would say the seller does not know what he has as it is NOT a F150 truck
Dave ----

 

Yes...so I'd say it is more likely that the guy doesn't know what he has more so than trying to pass it off as something that it isn't.

 

If it says that, it's wrong. IIRC the previous generations' Warranty Plate stuff was on the doors, but not the 80s+ stickers.

 

 

Those books are wrong in several places but they're the best thing we've got.