Topic: Need help with VIN problem.

[Coach]

I purchased a 1968 Mustang Convertible. My problem is the VIN number in all locations is 8T01C216305. This is a VIN for a hardtop coupe. The data code plate on the door, has this number, but also includes 76B-W-6A-25F-24-5-W
Which tells me that it should be a Convertible with luxary interior, meadowlark yellow, built on the 25 of June. I ordered a Marti Report to try and help clear up the confusion and it only added to it. According to the report, the VIN located all over my Yellow convertible mustang with a 289 2v engine and c6 transmission, is for a Lime Gold coupe with a 289 2v with a c4 transmission, and standard interior, All of the other information matches up. Date, New Jersey Plant, etc.
The guy at Marti Reports told me sometimes mistakes happened.
?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!?!?!?!?

Here are my questions:

Is there anyway to find out how/when/where this mistake was made?

Is there any way to get varification that a mistake was made? I guess some one could have chopped the top, converted it into a convertible with automatic top and all, painted absolutely every nook and cranny yellow, swapped out the whole interior, swapped transmissions, and then ordered a new data plate but with the original VIN number on it, but I am leaning toward "mistake"

If there is no way to resolve the problem, then am I right in determining there is no way for this to ever be a "numbers matching car"?

What does this do to the value?

I am new to all of this. My wife and I love the car and that is all that should matter, but I find the history of the car interesting. Production numbers and all. I would also like to know what I have valuewise if we ever decide to sell.

I think it may have been ordered with the sprint package. But, all of those things could have easily been added later. It does have the "C" stripe, fog lamps, GT style wheels without the GT emblem, Pop open gas cap, chrome wheel moldings. I believe all of these were part of the Sprint B package. I thought I would start with a Marti Report and work back from there. Thats when I descovered that Ford thinks my car was a completely different vehicle.

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated. 

[Thierry]

 Mistakes happened in Ford plants and it could be what happened with your car. It could also have been stolen or totaled at one time and all VIN numbers replaced by the ones from a coupe but I don't think there will be a way to find this out if you have no history records about it.
 Did you ask the previous owner since you discovered this problem?
 The door VIN is not the legal one, so technically your Mustang is not a convertible but a coupe and it will never be a number matching car. Whatever the history of the car is, officially, you own a coupe that has been converted to a convertible.

[Coach]

Thanks Thierry.
 The previous owner didn't have much to say about it. He was satisfied with the data plate info that does match the car. It has been restored and not by the man I bought it from.
I dont know ANYTHING about this stuff. It just seems a shame that there is no way to establish for certain that this car has not been "converted", since it seems so unlikely that such a good job could have been done. Stolen? Maybe, but all of the VIN numbers in all locations match. I could buy that some one could have purchased a door data plate, but why put the correct Body, Build date, etc. and not change the 01 to an 03 in the VIN? Also, the change would have had to come YEARS ago, because the chrome trim around the windows and the interior are obviously much older than the restoration, pitted and the worn smooth. All of this matches the data plate, but not the Marti Report.

Oh well. My wife loves it (it was a present for her B-day) and now I guess I dont have to worry too much about "original equipment" as I replace items, since it cannot be "#'s matching."
It just seems a shame not to be able to determine.

Thank you for your help, and reply.   

[Thierry]

 The car may not be a matching number one but coupes converted to fastbacks or convertibles and clones can be sold for top dollars if they are well done and from what I can see on the photo, your wife's Mustang seems to be a beauty.
 One thing is sure, don't change the 01 to a 03 in the VIN tags as this would be a crime and you could end up in jail.

[Soaring]

Just enjoy the car as it is, and stop worrying about the numbers game.  It looks like a vert to me.  And, if I were going to buy a classic vert, that one would be on my list.  It's a beautiful car, and your wife should be very tickled to have it. 

[Coach]

Thanks guys.