my 81 rex needs a body. the old one has rust bad and i just wanted to switch bodys with an 85 i found for 200 little rust. now the issue, the vin plate inside engine bay. do i drill out rivits and switch that one with mine? the donor car has a salvage title i belive and i just want the body. basicly, i need to know how i reuse the body. and by body i mean frame,unibody, rear portion.

 

.....Da VIN should be on your dash board, but if you want a numbers matching body, then yes do that.

 

oops, double post..................

 

so i shouldnt get in trouble for switchin? just dont want to be arrested for a stolen vehicle.

 

The main vin # is stamped in the firewall, that identifies the car. It is illegal to cut the vin out and transfer to another vehicle. In many states, salvage tittled vehicles can be licensed to drive on the street, once all defects are repaired.

Why does it carry a salvage tittle?

 

bad idea switching vin plate

most likely
switching vin plate = felony

 

Just do it the car is like 25 years old who the hell is gonna check to see if it all matches and as long as you legally own (owned) both cars there is no harm no foul.....

Jay
1984 FB

 

Just do it the car is like 25 years old who the hell is gonna check to see if it all matches and as long as you legally own (owned) both cars there is no harm no foul.....

Jay
1984 FB

 

Well, they check if the vehicle is registered out of state and you xfer it to yours. They definitely check to see that all the VINs match. If you ever sold the car to somebody who went out of state and they found out it could come back to bite you.

I wouldn't recommend it. Just figure out how to get a regular title from a salvage title. There are ways..
Is it likely you'll get caught? No. but in the off chance you do, you'll wish you hadnt by the time they're done with your car, cause it may very well go bye-bye to the state impound for good.
Then again maybe you can buy it back at auction and get a legitimate title.. lol

 

Keep both titles and blame it on the guy who sold it to u. lol j/k

 

I once bought a motorcycle with a salvage title (here in Missouri). To get the title restored required a trip to the Highway Patrol station.

All that their inspection consisted of was a check of the serial numbers on the engine, and the VIN on the frame. Call your local DMV office for info, but I imagine that restoring the Salvage title to an Original should be pretty simple provided you have the titles for both vehicles. The serial number on your engine is tied to the VIN of the car it originated in.

I wouldn't try to work around this issue as the legit way was pretty easy...seems that I went to a lot of trouble getting all of the lights and such to work as I was expecting a full safety inspection, and all the Highway Patrol is concerned with (in Missouri) are the numbers. The laws undoubtedly vary from state-to-state, so make a few phone calls. I'm sure that the legal path will be rather painless!

And I should mention that trailering the vehicle to them might be a good idea, but would ask them on the phone about this when you schedule your appointment.

Good Luck!

 

you won't get in any trouble for switching the vin's theres one in the bay and on the dash...as for just using the rear portion...do you mean recip sawing it off and arc welding it to your old rust bucket or you just going to switch the engine...etc to the other body...because theres a difference...if you recip the back and weld it onto the front you've just compromised the integtity of the car as its a unibody...unless you roll cage the hell out of it...

 

I can't believe some of the crap misinformation some people spread.

It is illegal in ANY state to switch vin #'s, PERIOD. On the S3's there are 4 vin#'s, if anyone took the time to look. One is a sticker on the door jamb, driver's side, one is on the dash and 2 are in the engine bay, one of which is stamped into the firewall and is part of the body itself, the other one in the bay also lists the paint code.

I suggest you call your local DMV or State Patrol and ask them what is required to to remove the salvage designation from your title. They will have the correct answer to your question, not the internet guessers.

Now as far as cutting your car and using the unibody part of it, not possible. If you remove the front and rear bumpers, bumper shocks, hood, front fenders, hood cowl and doors, what you have left is the entire unibody.

 

thanks. all of your info prompted another do at the title place. they said to switch the vin on body is a felony. if i buy this car,which i will, it will have a salvage title that i can take and register.the only time i would need to go have a cop look is if it were a totally rebuilt car and had different vin on body than the title had. it would then classify it as a custom rod and get a reassigned vin. cop told me just to take the salvage title to get it reg. no prob.

 

and the reason it has a salvage tiltle is cause it comes from a junkyard. a non-touched completely intact, 84 gsl-se. and yes, to the amazment of the guy who OWNED it, i put gas in it, new plugs and fireed it up for a sec. i paid before i started it. afterwards he just kept lookin at it saying, "it didnt start four years ago?" and i paid 200 bux.
lol

 

For 200 bucks and an SE to boot, I could live with a salvage tittle. Nice find. Glad to see you are staying legal.