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Ok so I purchased a “1970 bump” vehicle was a transplant from another state many years ago. Vin on door tag matched vin on title for “1970 F100”. After closing deal and bringing the truck home I was excited to tear into it. Rebuilt carb and ran better but had top end noise. Off came valve covers... bent push rod. So off came heads and in that deep pull the motor to go through it.
i started to take close look at vin decoding and trim I wanted to clean and or replace. Ranger emblem on trim was 1969 style. Valve covers off 1976. Lower bed side reflectors look to be from 1969. Grille and front turn signals are 1970 and bump trim is thin trim with black striping. Not wider trim with black like I believe the 70 would have.
So so I decide the door tag there was no other vin tag on cowl in engine bay. 1970 F100 styleside, 360, automatic 2 wheel drive. The kicker is truck paint has great patina and as far as I can tell this is original paint. All areas even in non accessible areas are harbor blue. Paint is way to rough to have been a repaint anytime in the recent past. The door tag comes back with color code of MA ( whimbelton white and raven black and interior code of 4S4 (black and med blue styleside). 🤔 This truck is all blue interior.
So i find frame vin since motor is out. Completely diff vin. Comes back to a 1969 blue ranger from the state this truck was originally titled in. I had both vins run and lucky for me all are clear, no theft.
So what is the chance that someone took a good title and door vin tag and slapped it on 1969 truck close to same specs and just changed grille? And if it possibly happened what should I do as far as restoration.... go 1969 with messed up story. Convert to titles 1970 trim.
Is is there any process to get this cleared up and retitled to 1969. Sorry for the long post but I’m confused and this is my first jump into classic trucks all my time is in the OffRoad world.
The frame vin is the real vin for it. Somebody replaced the left door at one time and didn't change the door tag. The grill must have been crashed. The 76 valve covers usally mean the engine has been replaced. Both titles not a Reconstruct title? You could restore it to a 69 specifically, but finding a grill would be tough. I would just be happy with what it is. To change the vin will be a long and spendy trip through your state's DMV. Some states DMV's have different titling procedures, so in the end it is a 50 year old truck that your state might not want to deal with.
Vin numbers are stamped into the frame. Passenger side in the engine compartment under the inner fender, just ahead of the main frame crossover. Also under the cab.
Ok so I purchased a “1970 bump” vehicle was a transplant from another state many years ago. VIN on Warranty Plate matched VIN on title for “1970 F100.”
After closing deal and bringing the truck home I was excited to tear into it. Rebuilt carb and ran better but had top end noise. Off came valve covers... bent push rod. So off came heads and in that deep pull the motor to go through it.
1 started to take close look at VIN decoding and trim I wanted to clean and or replace. Ranger emblem on trim was 1969 style. Valve covers off 1976 .
Lower bed side reflectors look to be from 1969. Grille and front turn signals are 1970 and bump trim is thin trim with black striping. Not wider trim with black like I believe the 70 would have.
So I decide the Warranty Plate, there was no other VIN tag on cowl in engine bay. (no such thing!)
The Warranty Plate COLOR code is MA: M = Wimbledon White / A = Raven Black.
BODY code is 4S4: 4S = No such BODY code for 1970 / 4 = Styleside Pickup.
So I find frame VIN since motor is out. Completely diff VIN .. Comes back to a 1969 blue ranger from the state. VIN does not decode to the color or model or the state the truck was ordered from.
VIN on Warranty Plate known as the Warranty Number, FoMoCo said it was not for title or registration purposes. The usual reason why...
People replaced damaged left doors with used doors. 99.9% of the time, they failed to install the original Warranty Plates on the replaced doors.
1970/72 have a Safety Standard Certification Label glued to the B pillar (door post) below the striker plate. Has the Production Date & VIN printed on it, and that's about it.
Two different Ranger nameplates. C8TZ-8140216-A (1968/70) or D0TZ-9925622-A (1970/72).
Hood side emblems are 1968/72, Powered by Ford valve covers are 1967/76 for all Passenger Car/F100/350 FE engines.
Lower quarter panel (bedside) red reflectors are 1968/69. Grille is 1970, parking lamps and lower stone shield are 1970/72. Red reflectors below tail lights are 1969/72.
1 1/2" wide upper bodyside mouldings: 1968 F100/250 Custom Cab/Ranger from serial number C56,001 / 1969 F100/250 Custom Cab/Ranger / 1970/72 F100/350 Sport Custom.
3 5/8" wide upper bodyside mouldings: 1970/72 F100/350 Ranger/Ranger XLT .. Rangers have black inserts, Ranger XLT have walnut wood grained inserts.
Tailgate finish panel: 1968/69 Custom Cab/Ranger, 1970 Sport Custom.
Thank you for this information. I am fairly certain at this point that I am up sh*! Creek without a paddle. I am fairly certain at this point that this is a reworked 1969 to fit the 1970 title. The truck is already titled in Florida based on the warranty tag. It seems as if I have more 1969 than 70 but the missing 69 ranger grille is the mission impossible and then the title work to search and try to claim the frame vin would be crazy.
The biggest issue is see to the conversion to the 70 is the rear bump mounted marker lights and different bump trim. Does anyone have pic of what the underside of the bump line mounted side marker looks like.
I may teplace wiring harness and could add those lights at lights at that time possibly. I deff prefer the 69 but that is a pipe dream when it comes to title and dmv
Use this ID guide or Google images for photos of late 69-72 side marker bed sides. The bed sheet metal is different for the marker lights. If you want that style, the cheapest way would be to find another bed. Since it is a long bed, that isn't as hard to find compared to a short bed.
Thank you for this information. I am fairly certain at this point that I am up sh*! Creek without a paddle. I am fairly certain at this point that this is a reworked 1969 to fit the 1970 title. The truck is already titled in Florida based on the warranty tag. It seems as if I have more 1969 than 70 but the missing 69 ranger grille is the mission impossible and then the title work to search and try to claim the frame vin would be crazy.
The biggest issue is see to the conversion to the 70 is the rear bump mounted marker lights and different bump trim. Does anyone have pic of what the underside of the bump line mounted side marker looks like.
The bodyside red markers on your truck are reflectors (13380 in pic). 1970/72 have marker lamps, see 15A201 in pic at lower left.
Note the bedside moulding (29029) has a cutout where the marker lamp mounts.
Don't worry about it. No one is going to verify it has proper marker lights or frame for the year. Guys have been customizing cars and removing marker lights for years with no problems.
I have seen how the state of IL licences a hot rod or built car. Didn't even make the guy pull it out of the enclosed trailer. They then opened the door and suck a tag in the jam with two sided tape. They were only interested in the receipts for building the car so they new how much tax he had to pay. The state of IL is more strict than a lot of states.
The only thing they care about is the value of the vehicle.
Last edited by Lrrr-RulerOfOmicronP; Apr 18, 2019 at 09:01 AM.
Reason: Info
where in florida are you? i'm just north of tampa. my truck came out of alabama. when the sheriff came over to do the vin verification, all he was concerned about was the door tag. i'd just leave it.
style. Valve covers off 1976 .
(no such thing!)
