[tom406]

NJSteve's explanation of federal law as it pertains to this is very clear, thank you (again) for the explanation. I don't disagree with your reasoning.

I keep arguing this even though I'm more of a survivor appreciative guy. Why, I'm not sure. I don't even like quarter panel replacement on my cars.

Part of it is probably just rebellion again the enforcement of this stuff. Not that piecemeal cars should exist, but the fact that the enforcement of it is so arbitrary. We all know that who looks at the car, their knowledge, and mood all have great bearing on how "legal" your car is. How many pieces do I have to cut the donor car into before its legit?

My E-body example is one I use to demonstrate the conundrum of going "by the book". In my state, Washington, if you decide to replace the dashpad on your Hemi Cuda, get ready. Odds are reasonably high that the person at state patrol you talk to will be inclined to confiscate that VIN tag as soon as you drill the rivets. They'll be happy to issue you a nice WA state VIN sticker to replace it.

As for the early Mustangs, most cars that were repaired in the 60's and 70's used full inner fenders from donor cars and they just left the donor's VIN on there. God help them if the driver's door got replaced as well. The VIN is on the door tag, although it says right on it that its not an offical VIN. (Many owners think it is "THE VIN" however) Thus many older Mustangs sport somebody else's VIN in the main location.

I once saw a Tri 5 Chev that had almost 300K invested in it. Vin Tag went missing when the body got dipped. Car got finished with aftermarket Chassis, so there's not much to ID it as the original car. Thankfully, the body shop found the tag in the car's folder a year after it was done! Again, once State Patrol sees a tag removed, they often want to take it and stick their own on. But what if you ask the Feds or Patrol what to do? You might get a Barney Fife who decides to grab the car and put you through the mill. Hard to risk when you're $300K deep.

Any given street rod meet probably has 20% that don't have a usable VIN number anywhere on the car that corresponds to the title they have. That's dumb, but its true. Most of those early cars and trucks only had one number, or were originally registered by their (long gone)engine number. That one number is usually on the frame and gets obliterated when the V8 or IFS is put in. As an appraiser, my opinion to my clients is conservative, and I point out these issues as the serious liabilities they are, I do not give them short shrift.

I shouldn't confuse my emotional opinion that large sections of donor cars seem at least as legit as cars that are patchwork quilts of patch panels and putty with the cold legal realities of the federal laws. But more cars than we'd care to admit hover around this line of legal peril.

TOM
(NOT the patron saint of rebodies)