OdinVII

I'm really interested in a 1960 Falcon at a local dealer, but there seem to be a few discrepancies with the car.

Firstly, I discovered that the 5.0 Cobra HO engine under the hood is just a 5.0 HO with a Cobra plate screwed on in place of the stock plate. Not a big deal, just some extra leverage for me in bringing down the price.

Secondly, comparing the VIN I have found on the car to examples of VINs from other 1960 Falcons, the VIN is incorrect. There are two plates, one on the driver-side door column, the other on the inside of the driver-side door itself. The tag on the inside of the door says Tennessee Department of Safety (or Transportation, I forget), then it has a place for VIN, and Make. In the VIN spot it reads TNVIN013807059312. In the Make spot it reads 1960 Ford 2D. On the tag on the door-column the tag reads Georgia Department of Safety (or Transportation--it was the same as the Tennessee one), and the same VIN is listed.

I can't find any way to even morph that VIN into something remotely similar to a Falcon VIN. My dad even put in his two cents and tells me that if the TN originally stood for Tennessee, well, then the plate is forged--in 1960, TN wasn't the abbreviation for Tennessee.

Did I find the wrong VIN (even though it was clearly labelled VIN)? Or, according to some Falcon sites, is the Falcon originally Canadian, in which case its VIN would be different?

I can't say these things have broken my love of this car, but they are starting to worry me. Like I said, the motor isn't a biggie. However, not being able to locate a REAL VIN is a little weird.

Would any Falcon buffs please shed some light on the situation? I'd be much obliged.

PS - For the curious minded, here's some pics of the car and misleading engine.