Am I missing something?

[njsteve]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ds1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My understanding years ago that swapping bodies was not illegal as long as you disclose it. Additionally the Dynacorn bodies are considered and approved by GM as a restoration part. Dan </div></div>

As for the first sentence: Not to rehash, but you are quite incorrect from a criminal law standpoint.

As for the second sentence: just because GM declares it a replacement part, that doesn't over-rule 100 years of motor vehicle laws. Regardless of what side of the VIN swapping debate you are on, this is the problem with old laws not keeping up with the advance of technology. There needs to be an update of the federal and state laws concerning the issue of replacement bodies.

I'll use an example in the legal field: it is similar to the problem with the old wire tapping laws that were established in the 1920's that were still in effect in the 21st century.

Back in the old days, when the cops wanted to listen in on a land-line telephone conversation, they got their court order from a judge and then literally put a jumper wire (a tap) on a telephone line and listened.

With the advent of the mobile phones in the latter half of the 20th century, the same 1920's legal and technical requirements were still in effect. A bad guy could buy a dozen phones at Walmart and make a single call on each and throw it away. But the existing laws required the cops to follow the original land line method of obtaining a wiretap which took them weeks of paperwork for a phone that they knew was no longer being used. Only after the 9/11 attacks were the laws finally updated to take into account the advance of technology over the ensuing 80 years.

So, back to our previously scheduled program: until SEMA or some other powerful entity takes up the issue and gets a final answer from Congress, it is still illegal. And since the statute of limitations has long since passed on the original race car conversion, there isn't a liability issue there for the original act, but the car is still besmirched and could be subject to seizure by a DMV or law enforcement agency at any time. I wouldn't want to buy a car like that, that has the Sword of Damocles hanging over it.

[bulletpruf]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ds1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My understanding years ago that swapping bodies was not illegal as long as you disclose it. Additionally the Dynacorn bodies are considered and approved by GM as a restoration part. Dan </div></div>

As for the first sentence: Not to rehash, but you are quite incorrect from a criminal law standpoint.

As for the second sentence: just because GM declares it a replacement part, that doesn't over-rule 100 years of motor vehicle laws. Regardless of what side of the VIN swapping debate you are on, this is the problem with old laws not keeping up with the advance of technology. There needs to be an update of the federal and state laws concerning the issue of replacement bodies.

</div></div>

Agreed. Disclosure is a good thing, but swapping the VIN tags from one body to another like what apparently happened to the car in question is simply illegal.

What you can do in some states - if the VIN needs to be removed from a vehicle to repair it, you can do so, but you need to have someone from the state police there to watch, verify, and fill out some sort of paperwork. I believe this is how one could try to legally take a VIN from an existing vehicle and attach it to a Dynacorn body -- you would have to say that it's necessary as a repair (i.e., the completely rusted 69 T/A in the other thread). With the police there to verify and document, this might work. A cleaner way to do this would be to use the firewall from the original car and graft it into the new body, without removing the VIN.

Bottom line - you have to concern yourself with the federal law and state law. And state laws differ from state to state.

My $.02.

Scott

[TechNova]

I've swapped VINs more than once with the DOT inspector watching. He had the rosette rivets locked up and issued them one at a time as he documented the process.
All were late 70's early 80's rusted pickups, 3 times if I remember correctly.
State code now says it is a felony and lists no provisions for an inspector to let you do it.
Just sayin it's not always illegal.