Originally Posted by theastronaut
In my state and plenty of others it's 100% legal to take an old VW Bug, strip the body off, hack whatever you want onto the frame, and title/register/insure the creation (whatever it ends up as) as a "VW Bug" with the VW's vin number. That vin number is no longer attached to a "VW Bug" and no longer identifies the VW Bug that the frame came from, but it's legal. It does identify the owner that registered the creation via that vin number.
Using the Bug as an example, when the bugs were originally manufactured, the VIN was on the pan as well as the body. You can build whatever you want onto the pan/frame, but there's still a VIN on it and it's the same as the body that was removed from the pan/frame. The State would have to issue a new VIN tag to either the pan or the separated body.
Here's the issue with the pre 80 VWs, since both parts, pan and body, have the same VIN, if the body is bought by somebody and later stolen, that VIN is entered into the SVS, Stolen Vehicle System. Now, since the pan that went with that body has the same VIN, there's potentially an issue for the owner of that part of the car. Sorry, but the VIN still identifies the car, this is if the State has not issued a new VIN for either the pan or separated body. I don't mean to sound demeaning to you, as that it not the way this is meant, but VIN means Vehicle Identification Number. It identifies the vehicle, not the R.O.
Lets say that I bought the leftover VW Bug body that the previous owner discarded when he used it's frame to build a Dune Buggy, and the vin tag from the body was attached to said Dune Buggy. I also buy a same-model year VW Bug parts car that is complete with a clean title but is wrecked and rusty and at the end of its useful life. I take the two and make one and it's registered as the parts car but using the clean body leftover from the Dune Buggy build. It's all VW vin'd, VW titled, and registered as a VW. So... I used a different (but same model/year) VW body on a VW frame and it's all registered as a VW but that's illegal because the vin tag was moved over to a better body? What point would there be in me getting a new vin assigned other than to be able to register and title the "newly built" vehicle under my ownership? The vin from the donor/frame serves that purpose 100%.
See my comments above. Beetle production was stopped in the US in 79. Assuming that the body you purchased was 79 pr older, it still has the same VIN tag as the one on the dune buggy pan. There's the issue. Now there are two different vehicles floating around out there with the same VIN number. That's where the State would have to come in to determine which vehicle gets the VIN that was assigned at the factory.
Doing the construction as you describe, then yes, the State needs to either issue the dune buggy a new VIN or use the new to you pan as the VIN for the newly created vehicle. It would up to the State to remove any VINs, not the owner/builder. No, you cannot take a VIN from a one body to place onto a different body, despite the fact they may be the same make, model year, etc.
Which example is legal, and which example is more correct ethically? The mixed-manufacture Dune Buggy is legal but my vin swapped VW would be illegal even though it's more of what the vin identifies it as.
Sorry, yes your build would be illegal for you swapping or removing the VIN. There's no two ways about it.
Being legal doesn't always mean its right or wrong, it's just the way the government thinks things should be. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don't, sometimes the principle behind the law is good but the technical details could use some wiggle room for common sense situations like my body swap example.
This is absolutley true in some cases!! However with vehicles, it's pretty cut and dry.
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