Caveat Emptor...another repro body tag?

[68 Ragtop]

The light just came on!!!  Now I got it.

It's really helpful to have a known good tag from the same plant and timeframe for side by side comparison isn't it?

Mods feel free to delete my pictures if necessary.

[Red955i]

When I see a First Gen at one of the Consignment Dealers to me, that alone is a red flag. That may be cruel, but I always get the feeling that there are some people who feel they could not look you in the eye and tell you their story, so they tell that story to a consignment dealer and let them run with it. We all know there are LOTS of fake cars for sale. Most end up on Ebay!!

[william]

A few of my friends have consigned nice cars, for a variety of reasons. Some don't have the sales/marketing skills, time or temperament to deal with the process. In many cases, a sizeable amount of money is involved and it is important to ensure buyers are vetted and the funds are properly transferred. Buying/selling a collector car can stir up emotions; having a buffer in the process can keep those in check.

Collector car dealers usually do not have the in-depth knowledge buyers of '60s muscle cars demand. Some take the time to find out. If it is a jack-of-all-trades dealer making "numbers-matching" claims, take them with a grain of salt. Do your homework.         

On-line auctions are an alternative. A colleague sold a nice OE drive train Z/28 on BAT last Fall. I had slight involvement to ensure the car was properly described. Someone ended up with a nice car for a very fair price. BAT does a great job of marketing.

Don't assume major auctions are necessarily a great place to buy. I have attended 28 collector car auctions over the years and have seen plenty of mis-represented cars. Repro tags, fake paperwork, even a few rebodies. It is impossible to do an in-depth inspection at those venues. Cars are consigned based on the consignors description; the auction company bears no responsibility for inaccuracy. Buy a mutt and it will be your problem.

One major auction company has made no secret of their intention to de-emphasize old muscle cars.

"...with nine of the top 10 sales falling into the hot categories of Resto-Mods, contemporary supercars, '80s and '90s vehicles, and classic trucks and SUVs."

[Red955i]

All very true, especially the part about the major auctions!

[x55cam]

If they filled the rivets properly and put a couple coats of black paint on it, it would be less obvious.

My point is, I see no problems with the codes on the tag. Often when a tag is reproduced, something that was never done at the factory is presented on that tag that makes it an obvious reproduction. e.g putting hounds tooth interior in a convertible that's not a Pace Car. That is what I though William was referring to and did not see it.

No real reason to have a fake tag on this car except for a more desirable color and interior, as 1968, 1969 Van Nuys, and early 1969 Norwoods have no performance options encoded on the trim tag.

I have to agree with this. And there is also the possibility that the tag was removed at one point and put back on. We're talking a 50 year old car that has gone thru so many hands , a lot can happen in that  time span. Not saying there is still a possibility that it is fake but the tag info looks fine to me.

[william]

Nope. The error says it's fake.

[Z282NV]

Nope. The error says it's fake.

Body sequence # is out of wack?

[68 Ragtop]

Nope. The error says it's fake.

Body sequence # is out of wack?

It is a lower number on a later car, but in 1969 they scheduled different and that happened.

I don't see any error with the numbers on this tag. There are only 5 codes to look at.
ST 69 12437 is valid, NOR125674 is valid, interior code 713 is valid, paint code 52 52 is valid, date code 10E is valid (5 weeks in October 1968).
Either there is some unpublished information being held back, or William is referring to something else, such as 10E production alignment with VIN month ending.

[CantRepeat]

With the two tags in the same post it's easy to see the "5"s are different.

[68 Ragtop]

With the two tags in the same post it's easy to see the "5"s are different.

There are some pretty obvious font differences. I think William is saying there is an error, not a difference.

Maybe I am mistaken in what he is trying to say. Maybe there is an error I don't see. Maybe we will never know.

[Mike S]

  I'm pretty sure I see the error.   It stands out actually

Mike