Rebodied cars and do they get certified

[JChlupsa]

Chuck, The question on that car would be was certification done knowing the car was a rebody? If so did the Certification indicate so? Where it gets messy is when you take a $20K car and put a $200K VIN plate on the car and sell it for $250K+ and try to pass it off as one.

[hep1966]

Not a direct followup to the previous post but why do people think that removal of the hidden VIN while making repairs is fraudulent or illegal? There are hidden VINs on many car parts. You are allowed to replace these areas of the car while making repairs.

[JChlupsa]

Removal of the Hidden/Partial VINs is not illegal, Removing the VIN Plate itself and re-installing it on another car is.

[njsteve]

[ QUOTE ]
Removal of the Hidden/Partial VINs is not illegal, Removing the VIN Plate itself and re-installing it on another car is.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you for restating current state of the law to the above people. I can't stress this enough: There is NO recognozed exception to the illegality of removing a VIN tag from one car and attaching it to another. Period!

If you remove the VIN tag from a car during its restoration and then reattach that same tag to the same car it came off of, that is not a crime; that is a repair.

The issue of certification as an original COPO or any other vehicle is irrelevent to the fact that the car is now illegal in the eyes of the law.

[Stuart Adams]

That being the law, illegal cars are out there. I guess if found out the car would be impounded, correct Steve?

[PeteLeathersac]

Great thread going here! . So when is replacing enough metal that includes the Vin tag itself enough to "blur" the line of tag re & re....a whole cowl maybe or just enough to not disturb the rivets? . And is removal and replacement of metal like a hidden Vin and surrounding metal considered illegal? . Like a few guys have noted, whatever is considered legal or not is a different situation than Copo certification or values. . Again if the whole history of what's been done is open knowledge and or part of a sales contract, at least there's not intent to defraud. ~ Pete

[Belair62]

[ QUOTE ]
Do it right, but, when it comes time to sell, same rule applies, you gotta be honest.


[/ QUOTE ]
That means someone having something rebodied would disclose it and take a ton less money for the car...in muscle cars I don't think we are seeing the honesty factor kicking in....should we somehow miraculously get all people to disclose this stuff what would the difference in value be ? Should there be a difference in value ? When a car gets the rebody name associated with it people seem to stay away from them...if the same car was disclosed will it be easier to sell ? Obviously people in the musclecar world would prefer NOT to buy a rebodied car and thats why these things stay "secret". For the most part you only "heard" that this car or that car was rebodied or firewalled or whatever...people aren't slapping signs on them proudly proclaiming that heritage yet.

[sYc]

Lets take this one step forward. What if someone simply buys the trim and VIN tags only through the mail, no sheetmetal, nothing, attaches these tags to another car, the car gets a certificate, and it sells for big bucks?

Who is at fault? If anyone? Is it buyer beware? IMO, <font color="red"> no </font> but???

[737Driver]

It all seems so simple and straight forward.

You find a super valuable piece (exa. COPO, L88, etc.), but, it needs some or most of its original body replaced. It is documented, has the original drivetrain and a known history. If you considered parting it out because it would need a re-body, you should seriously consider having your head examined. Thing is, you wouldn't want to use some aftermarket panels, you would scour the planet for either NOS or excellent used original pieces. If you had to cut out some super secret # and weld it in, sure, do it. Make it indistinguishable from original. During your ownership, it would be at your discretion to let anybody know (or not). But when it comes time to sell, there is only ONE correct thing to do, disclose it.

As for buying just a trim tag and documentation, well, go for it. Do it right, but, when it comes time to sell, same rule applies, you gotta be honest.

That's the way I see it. My L88 had (has) a hit motor in it. So what, the original only lasted a short time. The buyer was told, in no uncertain terms, it is a re-stamp. I still got a boatload of big green daddyoes for it.

Regards,

Mark Donnally