Like most im pretty new to restorations and such but im picking up things as I go...I was curious what people mean when they say all the numbers match....do they mean the VIN numbers on the door and inner left fender, or does it have to do with the engine block? please fill me in...thank you!

 

yes it means that the production date of the vehicle should match with the date stamp on the engine block. You will need to do a little bit of researce but heres an example. If you take the last six digits in the vin and read them out...ill just use my car for an example, my last 6 digits are 137411. This means this was the 137411 car made for the 1967 model year. Now anything that is from 000001 to 187000 on the vin is considered an early car which would have been produced after 10/27/66-4/8/67. mine was produced on dec.22 1966 so the engine block should be a 1966 carryover which it is. The reason for this is because my car is so early, Ford carried over leftover engine blockss, assembeled for the last remaining 66 models, so if you have an early 67 it should carry an late 66 motor. makes sense? Just like early 68 models carry 67 289 motors, and late ones had the 302. But to really get it right, the block should be stamp with diff parts of the vin, i know of the intake having one, as well as behind the starter having one. Its been awhile since ive had mine apart, so im not sure what it exactly tells, but many cars were stamped differently, so as long as parts of it match the vin, your good to go

 

thanks for your reply...makes a lot of sense...does having the original engine block increase its value, not that Im looking to sell it after im done. I bought the vehicle without the engine block but I might be able to contact the guy I bought it from and he might be able to locate it for me. Otherwise I was going to go with a crate motor.

 

The original engine will make your car a LOT more valuable but if you dont plan on selling it the you dont need to worry bout it. I'd go with the crat motor [8D]

 

i agree, number matching cars, are so few and far between, mainly because, you have to really know your s@#t to tell if it is or not. Trust me, i go to shows all the time, and the last thing i do is check to see if its numbers matching or not. But yes it does raise the value of the car a bit, mainly because, when your going to buy a car, you want to know your getting the real deal, not a non numbers matching car, that has a huge engine, when you know its not original, it tends to throw red flags about[&:]

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall reading somewhere that the early Mustangs never had "numbers-matching". The engine year should match or preceed the cars manufacture date, but before 67', I read that the VIN was never stamped on any engine components. Is this correct?

Tom

 

Yes, that's correct. Early Mustangs do not have numbers that match.

 

Glen-

so if I were to look for the original block for my 67 fastback I would not find it?

Thanks!

 

Gentlemen, with regard to the phrase " numbers matching ". I have read all of the above comments and while I agree with everything you say, there is one small discrepancy. Numbers matching means EXACTLY that. That means THE original block, transmission, rear end housing, inner fenders etc... It does not mean correct date coded anything but rather it is in reference to the original VIN numbered components that THIS particular car was born with. In my opinion, if you sell a car as numbers matching it damned sure better be THE original critical components rather than a "service" or "replacement" part.

There's a reason that there are so few numbers matching cars out there. Most of them have lost some or all of their numbered drivetrain components at some point in their lives. To obtain a correct date coded block, machine the old VIN off of it and restamp it with the VIN to your car does not make it numbers matching. It makes it a replacement of a "like kind" nature.

Some folks like to throw around terms like clone, re-bodied etc... It does not make them real Bosses, Shelbys etc... It makes them wannabes of a like kind nature. It most certainly does not make them authentic. Grinding off numbers and restamping them is no different.

Just the humble opinion of a correct, numbers matching 73 Mach 1 , Dean

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I have to agree with Glen because in my 35 years or so in this hobby, I've never seen a VIN code on any early Ford transmission or rear end. I've never seen a complete VIN on any early Ford block either. I've seen partial VIN's on Boss 302 blocks and some early standard 302 and 351w blocks. Date codes and part numbers are used to determine the originality of early Mustangs for everything from blocks to transmissions to exhaust manifolds. That's the reason many of the auctions on Ebay list the date code and part number for early Ford parts. IMHO, he term "numbers matching" refers to GM and maybe Chrysler vehicles.