[MyLittlePWNy]

Okay, here's the story.
I'm a big fan of classic 'Stangs. My uncle is friends with a man and his son who own a car/truck/boat/RV storage and someone had abandoned a 1968 Mustang there. It was abandoned a few years ago and they have tried endlessly to contact the owner and never could. They were selling it for $600 and I thought that was a great buy considering just the shell alone would be expensive. I got excited and bought it. Come to find out, even though it's ALL original and in REALLY good condition for being so, there are no VIN numbers to be found and the data plate is missing. I know it's not impossible to get a new VIN number and data plate. Just can't find out how. Can anyone PLEASE help me? We can't contact the previous owner because whoever he was fell of the face of the earth. It does have inspection stickers and license plates[Outdated], not sure if that helps. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who's ever been through this. I'm willing to go through whatever it takes for this car.

 

[andrewmp6]

Pop the hood on the driver side there is a cut out in the fender there is one vin the other is hidden under the passenger side fender you have to take it off to see it.

 

[MyLittlePWNy]

Thanks alot! I'll look for it tomorrow.

 

[nigel]

Welcome to the site. And what a great buy.

 

[4 stvmcqn]

andremp6 is correct. VIN numbers were stamped on both innner fender tops. I have also found that the VIN number on the driver's side isn't visible 100% of time. Even though the fender has a cut out, you may still need to move the fender away from the engine compartment to see it.

'68 Mustangs also had a dash pad VIN number plate visible from the windshield on the passenger side.

If the motor is original to the car, you can also find a VIN stamp on top of the motor just past the end of the intake manifold. It will look like this for a V8.
1968 mustang vin on motor image by mil1ion on Photobucket

I believe Marti Autoworks can also make a door data plate if you can give him a VIN number. He can also get you plenty of info on how your car was equipped from the factory for a reasonable fee.

best of luck

 

[MyLittlePWNy]

Thanks alot you guys! I really appreciate it.

 

[Jay H 237]

There should be a VIN number on the passenger side of the dash, there is a slit in the dashpad for the tag to poke through. It may be stuck under the dash pad if the pad has been replaced. If this tag is gone but you do find the correct VIN on the fender aprons there is a place that will remake the dash tags, the one set of tags that Marti doesn't do.

 

[C25sailor]

The publications that I have read indicate that the fender stamping stopped with the 67s. The 68 has a vin on the dash and engine as well as the door plate. I can attest that my 68 does not have a vin stamped under either fender. It does however have the dash plate, door plate and engine stamping. The dash is your best first bet.

 

[reign444]

you could always try searching out the old plate and reg if you truly do not find a VIN plate but these days it is hard to get info from any Motor vehicle unless you have the name of the current reg/title holder.

 

[Jay H 237]

The publications that I have read indicate that the fender stamping stopped with the 67s. The 68 has a vin on the dash and engine as well as the door plate. I can attest that my 68 does not have a vin stamped under either fender. It does however have the dash plate, door plate and engine stamping. The dash is your best first bet.

The fender stampings still continued past 67. Sometimes they are stamped further back and you have to loosen the top of the fender and pull it away or if the stamping was done heavily you may see it from underneath.

I should also mention they could try searching through the car well. You may find an old insurance card or registration with a VIN. No way to prove it matches the car if there's no VIN but it could be a clue, especially if it has the prior owners name. It would be easier to do a DMV search with something.

 

[68coupe&06GT]

My 68 is stamped on the fender....

 

[68coupe&06GT]

is the vin near the intake manifold on the front side or the firewall side of the engine block?

 

[4 stvmcqn]

68coupe&06GT,

The one on the engine is on the firewall side of the motor.

C25sailor,

I have three '68 cars and all three have VIN's stamped on the inner fenders.

 

[C25sailor]

I haven't taken the fenders off -- but have read several articles which indicate stamping stopped in 68. What plants built the cars you have stamps on?

 

[MyLittlePWNy]

Okay here's the deal. Me, my uncle and my friend [who are both mechanics] searched the car top to bottom. You can see where the vin numbers used to be. Whoever had the car before me took them off somehow. Including on the dash. When I checked out the car by myself today I did crawl through the back seat to open the trunk and found something laying in there. It looks like there may be a vin number on it. I took a picture but the numbers don't show up. It looks like this...

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt305/SynthLove/My Car/06-04-09_1741.jpg

My Car :: 06-04-09_2011.jpg picture by SynthLove - Photobucket

 

[Jay H 237]

Okay here's the deal. Me, my uncle and my friend [who are both mechanics] searched the car top to bottom. You can see where the vin numbers used to be. Whoever had the car before me took them off somehow. Including on the dash. When I checked out the car by myself today I did crawl through the back seat to open the trunk and found something laying in there. It looks like there may be a vin number on it. I took a picture but the numbers don't show up. It looks like this...

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt305/SynthLove/My Car/06-04-09_1741.jpg

My Car :: 06-04-09_2011.jpg picture by SynthLove - Photobucket

Mary, that tag looks like it belongs to the seat and won't have the VIN on it. The VIN will be an 11 digit number starting with an "8" being it's a 1968 model.

Did you loosen the passenger side fender and pull it back and look at the top of the inner fender near where the battery sits? That's the one VIN spot that is most forgotten about. You can faintly see what I mean by the bottom pic on my website here http://www.jasonsgarage.com/inner_fender_replacement.htm my VIN is very faintly visible in that pic on top of the wrinkled inner fender right in front of the disconnected battery post.


If in fact someone went through that much trouble to remove all the VINs from that car and either hide it's identity or use it's identity to register another car than I'd be very careful about buying it. Before doing anything I would contact the DMV about it and find out what they would do. That car could be stolen. At best case the DMV may assign the car a state issued VIN.

Since none of you own it and it's abondoned property none of you have anything to fear from the DMV or police but they may send an officer out to verify that the VINs are infact gone. You can ask them if it's possible for you to become owner of the car and what that would take and how to go about getting a legal VIN for that car. They may try to contact the previous owner too. A bit tougher situation since the car is not only lacking it's VINs but abandoned too.

 

[4 stvmcqn]

What plants built the cars you have stamps on?

All three are San Jose built.

Yeah, sounds like someone went through the trouble of hiding the VIN numbers. Possible theft.:scratchchin

Any luck finding a VIN on the engine block? If you get the opportunity to eventually pull the drivetrain, I also found my VIN stamped to the top of my C-4 tranny.

 

[MyLittlePWNy]

Aww disappointment. Hope it's not stolen. Thanks for your help! Guess we're gonna have to take off the fender and check anyway. = ( Didn't want to have to do that but that's the only way. Thanks again!

 

[MIL1ION]

65-68 Patent plate pictures from mustangs photos on webshots

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2519593480012099056yslsuY?vhost=rides

 

[67ragtopStang]

Hi Mary,

Your car appears to have a 6 cyl engine in it so it's more than a shell of a car.

Your VIN would start out like this 8_01T_ _ _ _ _. 8 designates 1968. The second digit would be a letter telling the plant it was built at - F, T or R. 01 would be for a Coupe and T is for the 6 cyl engine. The last 5 digits are consecutive assembly line numbers.

Don't forget to pull back the tops of the fenders on both sides to see if the VIN is stamped underneath. Just unbolt the fenders and gently lift and pull out a bit - just enough to see underneath it.

Also, sometimes when a dash pad is replaced, the new pad is installed covering the VIN plate on the dash, so check under the dash pad too.

If you have no luck, then your best bet is to do a search at the DMV using the license plate (tag number). Or, if you have any friends that are cops, they could check it out for you.

Good luck!