Davtona's statement is correct IMO. It all starts when the car is ordered when a VIN is assigned and Body-In-White hangs or attaches a data tag WITH the VIN on the tag. Then Body-In-White stamps the "hidden" radiator support and drip rail serial numbers. The engine and transmission also get matching numbers stamped and that I think happens very early in the assembly process too and matched to the BIW body. Most of that is done well before the dash and dash VIN plate are ever installed or attached. There's a lot that has to be done or considered the very day the car's order is placed and a VIN assigned and whether it is ordered by a dealer or manufacture (sales bank, media, fleet, etc.,) A Hemi or V8 I don't think bolts up to a /6 k-frame or A/C works with a heater only firewall, or bucket seats or console mounts to a bench seat floor pan. Or dual exhausts have the driver's side exhaust hanger holes or..........on and on. All of the car's identity is created at the time of the order and it is what it is on that day including the VIN. Carry on, better yet OP go get a PA State issued VIN plate and restore it and drive it and be done with this madness.

Here in Sacramento we had a well known 70 hemicuda that had NO NUMBERS stamped in it.

It was purchased by a well known East Coast car pimp. Would not be surprised if it has numbers in it now.

Depending on the model and the options there are between ZERO (that means there is no difference between the bodies) and SIX pieces of sheetmetal that make up the difference. None of them are hard to add.

Exactly.

Carry on, better yet OP go get a PA State issued VIN plate and restore it and drive it and be done with this madness.

[img]http://macswebs.com/cddemo/67cd/documentation/vin/state_vin_pa.jpg

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Do this for PA Dave(Wizard),I do this with ground up motorcycle builds to generate a VIN where there never was one.You are best photo documenting the reconstruction and keep all receipts for the build.Anything bought out of state or tax free you will have to pay state sales tax on at time of registration.PA has certain state inspection stations that are "enhanced inspection" facilities for this purpose.Have the door VIN ran by state or local police to see if exists or is stolen or other title status is known for peace of mind. One other option is a race only build,skip the paper all together!
RT

So here's a hypothetical question. Say a guy was to buy a '66 or '67 Belvedere or Satelite and doesn't much care for the dash and wants to custamizit with one out of a '68/'69 or '70. I'd agree that the car shouldn't be reg'd as the later model since it clearly isn't BUT according to some of the replies here swapping over the VIN is illegal too.

Some here, misinterpret the law regarding the "handling" of a VIN, even if it's going back on the same vehicle, some would have you think that you need the RMV/DMV and LEO present for a mere dash change requiring the swapping of a VIN tag from one dash to the other

Funny thing about these threads is if we were talking about trucks, nobody would give 2 hoots if we were swapping frames, cabs, doors, beds, VINs etc

The dash will not interchange without cutting and modifying. The VIN is on the door post on 67 and older Mopar cars.

Wrong once again.

I have reported VIN swapped trucks to the NICB & IAATI also.

VIN tampering is not 'cars only' & certainly not a .

Truck, car, boat anything VIN swapped & then insured with the new bogus numbers is insurance fraud.

Anyone that chooses to can report insurance fraud to the NICB at this link;

Click here to report insurance fraud to the NICB

It can be done anonymously.

No doubt, you've probably reported mattress tags removed or tampered with as well...

Awesome photo.

I will not ask why he visited or about what he was looking for.

That's not true. I brought up trucks with the VIN on the door and what if I changed the cab but kept the original frame and door.

Can't believe this is 5 pages and counting.

Interesting argument and I will admit I have changed cabs but the VIN maintained from the original cab and I have put heavier (think, 1 ton or 4WD) frames under good cabs with any assortment of body parts but again the original VIN was maintained. I think the difference to me is the intent to deceive, if it's a half ton VIN it will always be a half ton truck regardless of how it's equipped and cabs don't vary from one to another short of maybe how the floor board is cut. I have not issue with someone putting Hemi running gear in a base Satellite, my issue comes in when they attach the Hemi VIN to the base Satellite body.

To the original poster, this is something I did. I have a motorcycle frame that was given to me in SC years ago. I live in Tn, and wanted a title for it. I called not only the TN DMV, but also the SC DMV to see if the bike was ever reported stolen, both states said that they had no records that went back that far, and nothing came up on the computer, so I applied for a title for in Tn, and received one cause it is older than 1979. Used the original vin.

it happens all the time with big rig trucks
some of those trucks are worth a hundred fifty thou to a quarter mill
80k to swap out a frame cab door happens all the time.
the biggest laser frame machine in the state in newark has
truck cabs stacked up 3 high in the yard
i don't think they care much what is stamped on the part
they will stragtin the frame and slap it together
they will piece together all kinds of stuff
they take what is scraped up off the turnpike and they will rebuild it

I understand some of the arguments about owning two vehicles LEGALLY and holding legal titles and documents for both and then mixing and swapping parts from one to the other but this whole thread started with a vehicle in a salvage yard or farm field or wherever WITHOUT A VIN PLATE ATTACHED TO THE DASH, NO LEGAL TITLE OR DOCUMENTS TO THAT MISSING VIN PLATE, AND ABSOLUTLEY NO, THAT'S NO PROOF THAT THE MISSING VIN PLATE IS NOT REGISTERED TO ANOTHER BODY OF A CAR IT DIDN'T COME OFF OF and the OP wanted to know how to register or get a VIN plate MADE to match a FMVSS compliance LABEL on a door frame? What am I missing???? If this can be done as some have implied, you members that have cars that are not registered yet, or in the process of restoration and not registered yet, or just sitting in the yard behind the house had better hide the VIN because it seems that anyone can write it down, email it off to Vermont or wherever and take LEGAL possession of YOUR car without so much as a worry when they get caught about them legally owning it! Isn't this backa$$ward from HAVING A VIN and legal possession of a car and the VIN plate damaged and a legitimate need to have it legally reproduced?? THERE IS NO VIN PLATE ON THE CAR THAT THE OP WANTS TO HAVE ONE MADE FOR. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH REBODYING, OR SWAPPING PARTS. If the OP can have a VIN plate made with as little as a door frame decal and then end up as the legal owner, God help us all.


MikeR

In either situation a rebody was committed, a replacement frame carries a VIN from the donor,you are now combining 2 vehicles, if a cab was replaced, and the "original" VIN was carried over from the original cab it's technically a rebody, you yourself earlier said that you considered the passenger compartment structure of a vehicle as the main focal point of maintaining the "originality" of the vehicle when restoring it, that when that was replaced and the "original" VIN attached to the replacement, then it became a rebody...

IMHO Trucks because they are not deemed "collectable", fall into a gray area where the terms rebody, VIN swapping, donor vehicle, seem to have little to no concern, often when an individual slides a 4wd updated chassis under an old Sweptline we just say nice upgrade, or when every body panel, cab, frame was replaced using 2,3, or more parts trucks to make one vintage truck whole we just give a thumbs up for the effort, why do automobiles require a different set of "rules" in this regard?...they shouldn't