Gary Lewis Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 Came across something interesting in my 2002 Ranger the other day. Upon removing the carpet for deep cleaning, I stumbled across a vin tag laying on the bare floor. It had obviously been removed, and upon further inspection, was not the same vin number as my truck. My heart instantly sunk, knowing that my great uncle may have bought a five year old truck with a bad history, and now I was the owner of a truck with a bad history. But after verifying the vin plate attached to the dash, the rivets holding it on, the partial vin on the frame and engine, and the certification label, I determined the vin plate I found was not from my truck. After decoding this mysterious vin tag, I came to the conclusion that it belonged to an almost identical truck to mine, that was scheduled to be built around 60 trucks after mine, and that somebody at the factory in Edison must have put the wrong vin plate on my truck, and for some reason after it was drilled out and removed, it was thrown onto the floor, and the cab went down the line. I also had an issue on my old F150 where the vin stamped on the frame was one digit off from the truck's actual vin, so instead of reading RHD0580, it read RHB0580. The more you know about what happened at the factories the more you realize never to say "they never came with that". Glad it worked out for both of you. Those are heart-stopping moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 The more you know about what happened at the factories the more you realize never to say "they never came with that". Glad it worked out for both of you. Those are heart-stopping moments. Well gentleman, it's Tropical Storm/Hurricane time again. Isaias is almost upon us and tomorrow will be dedicated to protecting the trucks and the homefront. Luckily this year all three of my trucks can roll, so I will be moving them all away from the trees. This storm is relatively weak, and may miss us, but it's always good to be cautious. I'm just outside the cone, so may not see anything more than a regular August thunderstorm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Well gentleman, it's Tropical Storm/Hurricane time again. Isaias is almost upon us and tomorrow will be dedicated to protecting the trucks and the homefront. Luckily this year all three of my trucks can roll, so I will be moving them all away from the trees. This storm is relatively weak, and may miss us, but it's always good to be cautious. I'm just outside the cone, so may not see anything more than a regular August thunderstorm. Glad you can move your trucks. You don't want more tree damage to them. My Palm Beach Gardens kids are in Colorado and fly back on Sunday - to Orlando. So they may have some issues. The other set of kids are in Charleston, and they may have problems as well. Thank you, Isaias. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 Glad you can move your trucks. You don't want more tree damage to them. My Palm Beach Gardens kids are in Colorado and fly back on Sunday - to Orlando. So they may have some issues. The other set of kids are in Charleston, and they may have problems as well. Thank you, Isaias. Best wishes to them as they arrive home during the heavy storms. People don't seem to be freaking out here over it, none of the gas stations were packed on my way home, but that may change tomorrow. Regardless, I have everything I need so I will be staying at home. What surprised me is that my workplace made no mention of the storm at all this week, which I found strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Best wishes to them as they arrive home during the heavy storms. People don't seem to be freaking out here over it, none of the gas stations were packed on my way home, but that may change tomorrow. Regardless, I have everything I need so I will be staying at home. What surprised me is that my workplace made no mention of the storm at all this week, which I found strange. Thanks. I think Florida is in shock, and this is just one more knock in a series of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 Thanks. I think Florida is in shock, and this is just one more knock in a series of them. May also be that the storm is skirting the edge of Florida, and the center of the state where I live is supposed to see low impacts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzFace2 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 The more you know about what happened at the factories the more you realize never to say "they never came with that". Glad it worked out for both of you. Those are heart-stopping moments. Man is that the truth! when in high school I worked part time at a dealer ship body shop, dad ran it but not why I got the job. Any way one day a new car came in off the truck as 2 different cars! 1 side was an Aspen and the other side a Volare I don't remember what the VIN said it was but we had to change the wrong side to what it should have been. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed it. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 The more you know about what happened at the factories the more you realize never to say "they never came with that". Glad it worked out for both of you. Those are heart-stopping moments. Man is that the truth! when in high school I worked part time at a dealer ship body shop, dad ran it but not why I got the job. Any way one day a new car came in off the truck as 2 different cars! 1 side was an Aspen and the other side a Volare I don't remember what the VIN said it was but we had to change the wrong side to what it should have been. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed it. Dave ---- LOL! Yes, I know that happens. In the early 70's I was working with a guy that swore by GMC pickups. Several of us tried to tell him that they come off the same line as the Chevy trucks and that other than badging and the number of headlights they were the same. He wouldn't listen and ordered a GMC. Sure enough, when it came in it said GMC on one side and Chevrolet on the other. Boy, was he MAD!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 LOL! Yes, I know that happens. In the early 70's I was working with a guy that swore by GMC pickups. Several of us tried to tell him that they come off the same line as the Chevy trucks and that other than badging and the number of headlights they were the same. He wouldn't listen and ordered a GMC. Sure enough, when it came in it said GMC on one side and Chevrolet on the other. Boy, was he MAD!!!! Up until the late 60s GMC trucks had their own engines and while the Chevy pickups had front torsion bars and rear coil springs the GMC trucks had rear leaf springs. Neighbor had a 1968 GMC 2500 with the 305 V6 and a granny low 4 speed. When I bought my 1977 F150 we were looking at the engine specs on the GMC 305 vs the Ford 300, very damn close on torque, but the Jimmy was better on horsepower, probably because of cross flow heads and a Stromberg 2 barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 2, 2020 Author Share Posted August 2, 2020 Up until the late 60s GMC trucks had their own engines and while the Chevy pickups had front torsion bars and rear coil springs the GMC trucks had rear leaf springs. Neighbor had a 1968 GMC 2500 with the 305 V6 and a granny low 4 speed. When I bought my 1977 F150 we were looking at the engine specs on the GMC 305 vs the Ford 300, very damn close on torque, but the Jimmy was better on horsepower, probably because of cross flow heads and a Stromberg 2 barrel. Yep, but by ~'72 a GMC was a Chevy with quad headlights. But he didn't believe us. I'd done my research on what was available and eventually bought a '72 F250. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts