What defines a rebody ??

[torredcuda]

The federal law states "intent to commit fraud" which would have to proven - is restoring a car you legally own by swapping unibodies fraud? Also as said the  state laws vary widely as to what is legal/illegal when it comes to removing vin tags etc.

[Filthy Filbert]

Rebody:  Fraudulently transferring JUST the VIN tags and stamps from one car to another in order to pass off the car as "original"

That's not really true. "Fraud" is intent to deceive by not disclosing some information. A rebody that is advertised as such is not "fraud".

You said "not true" then said exactly what I said originally.      if you are disclosing that you simply swapped a Hemi R-code vin onto an original, rust free slant-6 car and calling it "restored" then you're obviously not trying to "pass off the car as original"

You'd also be hard pressed to get "real Hemi car pricing" if you did that, no matter how honest you are about what you did.

[lahatte]

You said "not true" then said exactly what I said originally.

No, you had in essence defined "rebody" as fraud. A rebody could only be considered "fraud" if that fact is hidden.

But, semantics.......

[70vert]

the issue with disclosure is that as the vehicle changes owners it can easily be forgotten/buried and the 3rd in line gets taken. It is just not necessary, call it a resto-mod or tribute and leave the VIN alone.

[lahatte]

the issue with disclosure is that as the vehicle changes owners it can easily be forgotten/buried and the 3rd in line gets taken. It is just not necessary, call it a resto-mod or tribute and leave the VIN alone.

Possible, thus my mentioning stamping "REBODY" on the body next to the sequence numbers.

In my case I did not get the serial number plate with the car body. The dash pad had been removed before I got the car, and the fender tag was stolen while the car was at the salvage yard.

[larry4406]

the issue with disclosure is that as the vehicle changes owners it can easily be forgotten/buried and the 3rd in line gets taken. It is just not necessary, call it a resto-mod or tribute and leave the VIN alone.

So with this logic, any quality restored vehicle with panel replacements, sold as so, could by the 3rd buyer, become an original no rust survivor car as the disclosures are forgotten and not passed along.  Accordingly, no restorations should then ever be permitted as the remedy?

[anlauto]

  I was going to mention that earlier....any quality restored car could be a rebody done correctly and nobody would be the wiser

[torredcuda]

So any car that is not 100% original can be mis-represented and the buyer can claim fraud if every single thing ever done to the vehicle by all previuos owners was not disclosed? That would open a huge can of worms. Obviuosly there is no way to keep track of all work done to a 50 +/- year old car, some things are easy to tell, others can be very difficult to see.

[anlauto]

So any car that is not 100% original can be mis-represented and the buyer can claim fraud if every single thing ever done to the vehicle by all previuos owners was not disclosed? That would open a huge can of worms. Obviuosly there is no way to keep track of all work done to a 50 +/- year old car, some things are easy to tell, others can be very difficult to see.

"claiming fraud" and proving fraud is two different things....

[torredcuda]

So any car that is not 100% original can be mis-represented and the buyer can claim fraud if every single thing ever done to the vehicle by all previuos owners was not disclosed? That would open a huge can of worms. Obviuosly there is no way to keep track of all work done to a 50 +/- year old car, some things are easy to tell, others can be very difficult to see.

"claiming fraud" and proving fraud is two different things....

[MoparCarGuy]

Possible, thus my mentioning stamping "REBODY" on the body next to the sequence numbers.

In my case I did not get the serial number plate with the car body. The dash pad had been removed before I got the car, and the fender tag was stolen while the car was at the salvage yard.

I think the point of body VINs is kind of moot on this specific 383 car. With no dash VIN and no original fender tag, most potential buyers will not be interested. Stamping REBODY by the cowl VIN is basically pointless. The car will never be "whole" again without the dash VIN and the value of the car will always be far less as a result. Even adding a repro fender tag will not increase the value as repro tags are easily identifiable as such.

Best to make this body into whatever you want and just drive it.

[anlauto]

Possible, thus my mentioning stamping "REBODY" on the body next to the sequence numbers.

In my case I did not get the serial number plate with the car body. The dash pad had been removed before I got the car, and the fender tag was stolen while the car was at the salvage yard.

I think the point of body VINs is kind of moot on this specific 383 car. With no dash VIN and no original fender tag, most potential buyers will not be interested. Stamping REBODY by the cowl VIN is basically pointless. The car will never be "whole" again without the dash VIN and the value of the car will always be far less as a result. Even adding a repro fender tag will not increase the value as repro tags are easily identifiable as such.

Best to make this body into whatever you want and just drive it.

Well the first purchase should be a reproduction dash VIN tag. They're available on eBay, a couple of people I know have bought them, they look good.

[MoparCarGuy]

Well the first purchase should be a reproduction dash VIN tag. They're available on eBay, a couple of people I know have bought them, they look good.

I have inspected those eBay dash VIN tags and the numerals have just enough problems to easily identify them as repros/fakes.
Numerals 5 and 8 really stand out as incorrect.
This is very fortunate for our hobby as once a perfect dash VIN is out there and readily available then any good body can be represented as any engine combo. At that point, we will have to rely heavily on original documentation and the engine/trans VIN stamps.

[anlauto]

I have inspected those eBay dash VIN tags and the numerals have just enough problems to easily identify them as repros....

YES, I agree 100%, they are a nice alternative for a missing or damaged tag, nice but not too perfect

[lahatte]

I think the point of body VINs is kind of moot on this specific 383 car. With no dash VIN and no original fender tag, most potential buyers will not be interested.

It seems you missed the part of the discussion where I mention that the salvage yard body would be a donor body for a rebody of a different car's build, from the VIN and tags of a different 383 cuda.