Idea for spotting fake shortbeds

[davepl]

With probably more shortbeds out there now than were ever built, I think it will become increasingly difficult to confirm the value (ie: originality) of a shortbed.

Of course the SPID lists it, but its easily faked (not easy to do, but easy to have it done for you).

I was thinking that most places I've lived list the vehicle wheelbase on the registration. So, if you're buying a shortbed, ask to see the oldest registration possible. I would wager that a lot of people do not update the vehicle registration info, and they obviously cannot do it retroactively.

So, if you have a registration from 10 years ago that shows it at 115, you've got some good clues. If it shows a longbed and the guy has some lame explanation like "Oh, that's a mistake they made I never bothered to fix" or "They list them all with the same wheelbase", just run away.

It's not a sure-fire test, of course, but just another heuristic to apply when verifying the originality of a shortbed.

And remember, you can't trust photos. I'm a total noob with Photoshop and made this without a problem, so a pro could easily do it with a vintage photo.

I'd also look for a "too smooth" area where the frame cut is typically done. An attempt to hide this will likely mean it's ground down, puttied, and painted. Original bare cast steel doesn't have that smooth sheen. Or at least I think they should be different.

Any other good tips?

I've been in a buying situation with a dealer where an X22 (RS/SS 396) had a fake cowl tag. The dealer played dumb, and may have been innocent. So keep in mind that just because the current owner can honestly tell you that he hasn't modified it, he can't know for sure what happened to it before he got it.