Well, it's hard to say what updates I should go with.
The VIN that begins with the 6 is in a dash that isn't even bolted into the car.
The Buck Tag was on the car and it leads me to believe that the car is really a '78, rather than the '76 that the dash VIN decodes as.
I found an old paper insurance card with a VIN hand written on it that the sequence number matches that on the Buck Tag.
The split rear seat of the car also suggests that it is, in fact, a 1978.
So, the car is supposed to be a V6 4 spd, but is currently a cobbled together V8 auto.
I bought this car as a parts car, but after cleaning it up and tearing out the destroyed carpet, I can't do it.
The ONLY rust I've found (so far) is a small patch about the size of a 1/2 dollar in the passenger's side floor.
It's just too solid to ruin it. So, now I have to see about getting a bonded title or something.
I want to get this thing together and use it as a daily driver.
The VIN that begins with the 7 is in a dash that was bare bolted in. 3 screws.
That VIN doesn't match the door tag or the Bug Tag.
The door VIN, Buck Tag, and the VIN tabs under the front fenders confirm the dash is wrong.
This car turned out to be a 1978 Cobra II. A billboard car. White with red interior.
Currently it has black interior. I was able to salvage many parts, but the body has had it.
It suffered a front end collision at one time so the driver's corner is crumpled up in the frame rail.
There is very significant rust through the entire floor, up into the firewall, and up into the door jams.
The hatch/spare tire area are pretty solid and the t-top roof is clean, so I'll save those.
It was a V6 auto car, but is now a V8 4 spd, so those will be saved.
The dash shell was completely unmolested (radio opening), so that will probably go into the other car.
Sadly, the billboard car is junk (as far as I'm concerned) and the car I wasn't even really interested in buying is a keeper.
The only reason I really bought it was because the guy said he was going to turn it into a demo derby car.
I wasn't going to let that happen. At the time, I thought there were too many good parts on it.
I was right. Really solid car.