I’m not making a judgment, just pointing out what I saw on ProvaMo. But there’s a reason the VIN on the pedal box was removed and it now has a different font (but I don’t know what that reason is).
Is the dash tag still there? What does it say?
Are there any other spots on the car that have the VIN (can’t think of any off the top of my head).
Is there a motor # tag on the body (in the engine bay) and is the motor number stamped on the block “in the ballpark” with other cars in the series? I know the motor numbers weren’t always consecutive, and certainly not consistently aligned with the VIN, but maybe general trends might apply…
Anyway, it’s an interesting puzzle. And I agreed with Larry - there’s a lot of possible reasons, and those reasons may be lost in the mists of time….