8R01 Question

[davidathans]

A california special's vin # will always start with 8R01.
But all other 1968 Hardtop Mustangs that were built at San Jose that year also have vin# that start with this, correct?

Does anyone know how many 8R01's were made total?

of which 3867 were California Special's and 251 were High Country Specials, correct?

If someone wanted to use a real 1968 Mustang Hardtop built in San Jose, they could clone it as a california special and sell it on ebay and say it was a california special couldnt they?

To avoid this you could do a Marti Report before you bought the car, but is that the only way to really know?

Can you find out if a car is a california special by any other means, DMV, etc. if you were going to buy an 8R01 (possibly posing) as a GT/CS?

this entire topic popped into my head when i looked at this 429 GT/CS on ebay that looks like my car that has an 8R01j152398 vin #.

thanks,
David

 

[miller511]

David,

No way to really tell if it's a bona-fide GTCS without a Marti report. If you know the range of VIN numbers that GTCSs were produced (per Paul's first book...earliest to last known) that would narrow down the likelyhood that it was real.
Some things that I looked for when I was in the market was the tail light assembly inside the trunk (cutouts on between two of the original three slots for the tail lights...and the wiring looked original) Also, the hood pins were very worn on the outer finish. And the grill is fairly unique.

That said, I was still relieved when I got the Marti report (a long time after I made the purchase) and saw the "California Special" on the list of options ;-)

 

[Mustanglvr]

True, the only way to really tell, other than a Marti report, is in knowing what to look for and being able to spot a clone.

 

[gt bandit]

thanks to Miller 511, i narrowed down my Vin to within a digit of a known CS. But i 2 was glad when that Basic Marti report arrived , documenting its authenticity
for the $14 it cost , can you really not afford to get it ?

 

[Mustanglvr]

Luckily mine came with a deluxe report. I had no idea what a Marti report was at the time.

 

[case12]

Marti Report or Original Window Sticker. Casey