Very legit Facebook page that helps people find cars that mean alot to them
So we have:
1968 GT500
White top
Convertible
White exterior
Black interior
4spd
No AC
From Windsor, ON, CN
Built after 2/15/68
I'm sure the Coralsnake Ministry can figure out the number!! 8)
I will need some help, but will try
I am not on the Facebook, but if someone has contact I think we can ID the car.
We should confirm its a GT500 and get owners name.
Also see of it had AC (doesnt look like it)
Confirm 4spd.
More pictures might help
I just read through the comments. Mongo asked for the fathers name. No response yet.
Appears to have large letter Goodyears, Marchals and later style quarter reflectors.
He will find the car number, but I suspect there is some detail that is incorrect. It appears all the cars that match the above description can be excluded by history and build specs
The tires exclude very early built cars, Marchals cant really help us too much.
They would eliminate a GT500 KR
The reflectors would be after 2/15 and maybe just a little later for convertibles
Did I mention I love these problem solving exercises?
If you want a good laugh, you should read the comments. ;D
You can sign up for Facebook without giving much info about yourself. You can then look at everything and be as active as you want or almost completely inactive like me.
Never
😁
I actually have read some of the replys. The one interesting to me is a guy that has detailed records of every 1968 sold? Hmmmm 🤔
A great crowd sourced list of where not to find information on your car.
There's like two guys on there that know what their talking about.
Almost got it, anyone recognize this dealer tag?
(https://www.saac.com/forum/gallery/8-270324092855.jpeg)
That's as clear as I could get it. I couldn't figure out how to save the enlarged picture. Looks like 3 letters to start. I thought SUD but doesn't look like ones I've compared.
Windsor is right across the bridge from Detroit. Could have come from there (or anywhere). Hell, it could be a 350 or an automatic.
It doesn't seem like she's gonna give up the father's name. My arm was getting sore holding up that damn book. We need a searchable database! There were also a lot of convertibles with a - for top color. The white top narrows it down a lot.
Well if she's not going to share information, then you get what you get.
I am believing that the above information has some inaccuracies in it.
She has shared the name "Umberto Pomponio"
Can someone ask her to post other photos??
And let her know we are working on the puzzle
Couldn't find the FB listing?
https://www.facebook.com/lostmusclecars/
Definitely not a GT500 KR, that part of the discussion is a little off base
Car has round tailpipes and Marchals, that excludes a KR
Paul has identified the dealer badge as Dingwall Ford in Windsor
We should have a number shortly
Paul's matching photo
(https://www.saac.com/forum/gallery/8-270324140430.jpeg)
Winning!
Here is our best guess based on the information provided by the Facebook post:
1968 GT500 / Matches information below
White top - confirmed by photograph / Matches information below
Convertible - confirmed by photograph / Matches information below
White exterior - confirmed by photograph / Matches information below
Black interior - confirmed by photograph / Matches information below
4spd - currently no match
No AC - believed from photograph / Matches information below
From Windsor, ON, CN -Dingwall Ford decal on rear valence above LH tail pipe / Matches information below
Built after 2/15/68 - confirmed by photograph / Matches information below
Car can not be a GT500KR, do to information provided in photographs.
Dingwall Ford sold 14 new cars in 1968 according to Shelby Club records.
They only sold one white, convertible to Roy J. Merlo (Windsor, Ontario, Canada). It was Vehicle Identification Number 8T03S173645-01995.
This car was an automatic transmission car.
We believe: Its most likely this car was purchased "used" from Dingwall Ford by the Facebook poster's father.
This car was last seen in Indiana in 1989.
This information is a collaboration of Mr. Paul Orr, The SAAC / Vinny Liska and Coralsnake. Also assisting forum member "KR Convertible"
It did not come from a Facebook Group, Barrett-Jackson, Marti Autoworks, The Canadian Ministry, Shelby American, a private investigator or any insurance companies.
Those are all great resources, just not for finding lost cars.
;)
If anyone knows the current disposition of car # 1995 Mr. Liska would love to get an update on that car.
The block codes says 1995 was a black top car. I had written that one off because of that. I would assume an
original top in 70, but I think this must be it.
Ok, sill ask Mr Liska to check it
BY dso #01995 is in the middle of a production run of 15 gt500 convertibles , all with black interior, white top and automatic.
trhe previous owner info from year 1999 was report to have a black top
Lower left corner of the block codes are how they were originally built, right? it reads W B B A H N Y W3. I looked for dealer code 200 in the upper right corner and went through all of them until I got into all the KRs. I wrote off 1995 because of the black top designation. This has been a fun exercise.
the left corner of the box "in the early days" of The Registry was what the owners told SAAC & The Registrar before we started collecting more detailed info from build sheet & Shelby codes!
As we learned more we tried to keep up with more accurate info and made changes!
I see says the blind man. I thought they came from factory documents. The dealer codes must come from factory documents right? That's probably why I assumed the original configuration codes did too. Still learnin'
Vinman da man
You folks are the Magnum PI of Mustang Sleuths
Love it
Its still the best guess, but pictures of car 1995 would be very helpful
😉
But, I think you also have to take into account, Dingwall only had one car that matches the description to the best of our knowledge
Quote from: Coralsnake on March 28, 2024, 06:54:35 AM
Its still the best guess, but pictures of car 1995 would be very helpful
😉
But, I think you also have to take into account, Dingwall only had one car that matches the description to the best of our knowledge
Just a thought, but, perhaps, the car was sold "used" at Dingwall, or transferred in from another dealer and sold new there.
Stranger things have happened.
Bill
Possible, but that would need some supporting documentation.
The number of cars that check all those boxes is very limited and then if one does it has to be in Windsor, Ontario and be a copy of the one they sold earlier.
I also thought about the possibility that an early car was repaired with a newer style quarter panel. But, those are long shots in my opinion
If I remember the newspaper ads from back then, I seem to remember that new tops with plastic rear windows were something like $39.95 installed and with glass another $20 or so?
Although white tops are better to keep your head from cooking under a very hot black top in the sun, I don't remember them as being popular because of the difficulty in keeping them clean.
At that kind of price, I can envision dealerships like Gotham with Bill Kolb willing to do anything to sell the car, changing the top from white to black to make the sale.
I personally would not automatically dismiss a car because it is reported with a black top by the last owner or vise versa.
Someone on the Facebook, should tell her to look at reply 21 of this thread.
I dont think anyone will come up with a closer match
I have built trust with Lisa Reia. Something I wasn't sure I would be able to do. I know I'm quite suspicious about randos from the web.
We are working on the timeline now. We think the car could have been bought used. The license plate was issued in 1970 and according to her mother, the father sold the car in the summer of 69 (cue Bryan Adams guitar riff), so there's some discrepancy there. She has a cousin that was a couple years younger than her father that hung around with him. They are trying to find more info.
I did send her a link to this post and coralsnake.com
Stay tuned.
Great, cant wait to see what she comes up with!
thecoralsnake.com
Were there owner reports that 1995 was converted to a 4 speed? It does say it had a CJ later in life.
Car #1995 at Pocono SAAC (post restoration)
Owner currently listed in Registry does not own car anymore
(https://www.saac.com/forum/gallery/8-280324173437.jpeg)
What year was that?
The year was 1989 I think
Thanks
Quote from: Coralsnake on March 28, 2024, 05:36:41 PM
Car #1995 at Pocono SAAC (post restoration)
Owner currently listed in Registry does not own car anymore
(https://www.saac.com/forum/gallery/8-280324173437.jpeg)
Do you know what is handwritten on the picture? Looks like "belt rear"
Sorry I only have four pictures and this was the best one
She just got confirmation it was an automatic being manually shifted through a friend of the father. Getting close to 100%. She still wants more and is going to try the local DMV. You go girl!
Previous photo enlarged.
Ah ha! I only say that because there was no car built at that time that matched her recollections. You just bumped up my confidence rating to 99%.
When she catches up, I can tell her how to track it down.
😉
Updated information
1968 GT500 / Matches information below for car #1995
White top - confirmed by photograph / Matches car information below
Convertible - confirmed by photograph / Matches car information below
White exterior - confirmed by photograph / Matches car information below
Black interior - confirmed by photograph / Matches car information below
Automatic Trans- matches new information from daughter
No AC - believed from photograph / Matches carinformation below
From Windsor, ON, CN -Dingwall Ford decal on rear valence above LH tail pipe / Matches information below
Built after 2/15/68 - confirmed by photograph / Matches car information below
Car can not be a GT500KR, do to information provided in photographs.
Dingwall Ford sold 14 new cars in 1968 according to Shelby Club records.
They only sold one white, convertible to Roy J. Merlo (Windsor, Ontario, Canada). It was Vehicle Identification Number 8T03S173645-01995.
This car was an automatic transmission car.
We believe: Its most likely this car was purchased "used" from Dingwall Ford by the Facebook poster's father.
This car was in Indiana per the Registry, but was sold circa 1991. More information might be available.
This information is a collaboration of Mr. Paul Orr, The SAAC / Vinny Liska and Coralsnake. Also assisting forum member "KR Convertible"
It did not come from a Facebook Group, Barrett-Jackson, Marti Autoworks, The Canadian Ministry, Shelby American, a private investigator or any insurance companies.
Those are all great resources, just not for finding lost cars.
Lisa Reia reached out today with a couple of new pictures. I think I see an automatic shifter in the first picture.
Please reach out if you have any leads.
This thread has been dormant for a while. I figured since the car was last known in California and the convention is there this year I would throw it out there.
Please keep your eyes peeled for 8T03S173645-01995, a white '68 GT500 convertible.
A previous owners daughter would love to find out what became of her father's prized possession.
Quote from: Coralsnake on April 04, 2024, 07:43:27 AMUpdated information...
1968 GT500 / Matches information below for car #1995
This car was in Indiana per the Registry, but was sold circa 1991. More information might be available.
This information is a collaboration of Mr. Paul Orr, The SAAC / Vinny Liska and Coralsnake. Also assisting forum member "KR Convertible"
It did not come from a Facebook Group, Barrett-Jackson, Marti Autoworks, The Canadian Ministry, Shelby American, a private investigator or any insurance companies.
Those are all great resources, just not for finding lost cars.
This is the most fun thing I've seen today. Fantastic work guys :) 👍✅
Mark, we could have made your day just a few days ago.
There was another.
Its getting harder to stump Mr Liska
That FB page has been very successful in finding lost vehicles
Probably who currently owns it wants to keep it away from the public
.
Mark,
That disclaimer had to be added because some of those listed like to take credit for other peoples skills and hard work. 😉
Quote from: Coralsnake on August 21, 2025, 01:51:43 PMMark,
That disclaimer had to be added because some of those listed like to take credit for other peoples skills and hard work. 😉
^^^ that seems sort of "the way of the world" these days (unfortunately) ::) :o