73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => 73-87 Chevy & GMC Trucks => Topic started by: hogwild on March 03, 2008, 07:58:05 pm
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does the serial #on the dash indicate if a truck is long or short bed?, i found out today that my truck has been wrote off, so i am thinking of changing the vin # from another truck
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What a coincidence! Same thing here except I got a donor cab because the last one was rotted out. So I was wondering if it's legal to change the vin #.
There's also a Vin on the frame. That's what makes the truck.
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my cab was the only thing that was good on my truck, so i am going to take vin from donor truck , put it on mine and say i changed the cab ,who will know the difference. dont think it is legal but i am not about to scrap a truck i worked on all winter
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I swapped my 86 K 20 VIN tag over to my 83 C 10 cab when I put it on my 86 frame.
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I swapped my 86 K 20 VIN tag over to my 83 C 10 cab when I put it on my 86 frame.
How did you go about changing it?
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Drilled out the rivits, and riveted the new one in place. I took a file to the rivet heads to give them the same look as the originals.
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http://www.73-87chevytrucks.com/VIN.htm doesn't mention anything about LWB versus SWB in the vin. When I towed for a city towing the police looked at the rivits holding the VIN plate to the body and if they were not the original ones they would find the frame # and go to town looking it over. This was 30+ years ago in Indiana and things may have changed since then. My $.02
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i want to change my vin to but it is a little different my vin says that my truck is a gmc and 78 but it is not either one
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i swapped a whole new body onto my totalled monte carlo, but kept my original vin and nobody said anything when i registered it. i've never had the pleasure of having my vehicle scrutinized by the fuzz yet. with my luck, if i tried swapping in another vin, i'd probably get one that comes up as stolen. ;D
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I ain't scared :-X! Thats my concerned look in my avitar!
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hahaha, You really ain't scared if that is your concerned look Harold....
Technically that is illegal. VIN doesn't indicate wheelbase at all, and the frame does have the VIN stamped on it...
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all done , me and you are the only ones that know,
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Be careful they can impound you and your truck 10yrs jail 250K fine, and crush your truck. if your going to change things get or make the rivets, keep the title with the frame so you can at least prove that. Those rivets are stainless steel by the way.
Have a nice day
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Up here in Hickville I don't think I have to worry. Plus I drove my truck with the old cab on same color for 3 years prior to swapping the cab. All the cops know the truck. I am friends with several of them.
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keep the title with the frame so you can at least prove that. Those rivets are stainless steel by the way.
i'm using the original frames on both vehicles. just changing sheetmetal. the original doors from the truck are long gone and the drivers door was smashed on the monte. still got the sticker out of the trucks glove box, too.
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i wanted to find a truck with a title and take the vin plate and the title and use it on my truck
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Its one thing changing cabs and reusing the vin for the new cab, but its another when you just blatantly change vins and paper work from one truck to another. If flags come up when you try to register it you may have problems, maybe not. Depends on how thorough your state is with inspections and registrations.
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Well, I know the guy who owned the cab before hand. And I don't think the cops would care as long as the frame vin matches the one on the dash. I'm still waiting for my dad to call me back about the ordeal. He called the DMV of Florida and told them the situation. I might have to go threw some hoops to get this done the legal way, but as long as it won't come back to bite me in the tail.
Gotta love the beaurocracy.
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Where is the VIN stamped on the frame? Anyone have a picture of this? I have looked but can't find it.
I have taken several trucks and pieced them together. (I have all donor trucks registered in my name anyway)
I have read the Colorado State Statutes and it says that the VIN can be removed for a "qualified repair".
You would have to get in a ton of trouble to get the cops to take that close of a look at your truck these days.
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here is a few pics
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd224/74chevy/75IMG_FramepaintedwithPor15029.jpg)
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd224/74chevy/75IMG_FramepaintedwithPor15028.jpg)
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mine was on the passenger side frame rail, i think about halfway under the cab.i think it was only the production number(last 6 digits of vin). but i didn't look to close. saw it when i had the cab off.
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I just went out and checked and still can't find it.
The frame is a 1 ton 4x4 Crew Cab (that has had about 16" removed from just behind the cab and 8" behind the axle to fint a short bed on it).
I looked under the hood and can see pretty far back down the frame rail and there is no stamping on either frame rail. I also just had the bed off of it and there is nothing under the bed. Near as I can tell there is not one under the cab. (I have looked as much as I can). Which means that it would take A LOT of work for an officer to dispute the VIN on the door or dash.
Are we sure that ALL trucks were stamped with VIN or just ones in certain years, plants, military trucks?
Also, is that a complete VIN number or is it just identifiying marks like GVWR stuff etc?(more like a part number than a complete VIN) In the pictures above I only cound 9 characters. All these trucks should have a 13 or 17 character VIN depending on age.
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It is illegal in most states to do a body swap or a frame swap of any car/truck because there would be two VINS on a car. To change the VIN on the dash by drilling out the rivets and replacing it with another VIN would also be illegal. Changing the frame VIN would be a "no-brainer" no- no because you'de have to re-stamp the frame. California law brings up "intent" as in, is the VIN change done to "disguise a stolen vehicle?". A restoration is a different bird because a VIN plate or data plate could be removed for the repairs/restoration. You can order a brand new VIN plate from some places but they require paperwork and your VIN plate (and they cut your old one up) for a concourse type of restoration.
For most of the stuff that goes on here, I think the "intent" is missing but it's still probably illegal. Again, in CA what should happen is....the truck is built with a different cab and inspected by the California Hwy Patrol or any full time auto theft investigator. The truck would get a "blue tag" that has the FRAME VIN on it. A blue tag is a new label that is riveted to the door jamb. Then the truck can be registered under the exhisting frame VIN. It's not a difficult process out here. And if you get stopped by a policeman that knows what to look for, they will impound your truck and you either give it up or there's a court hearing. In the end, even if you win in the hearing, the police will only give you back the parts you have papers on, like the frame and engine. Anything they can't prove the identity of will get crushed.
Sooooo, go to your local State Patrol, DOT, Hwy Patrol and ask about vehicle inspections and if they have something like the "blue tag" I mentioned. It's the right way to do it and you get to keep your truck. None of us want these trucks getting crushed!!!!
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All of these trucks will have a frame VIN number. It is a partial VIN (not the whole thing).
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FWIW I was a cop for 10 years and recovered many stolen cars. Can't think of any reason I would ever crawl around on the ground or under a cab (removing it) to verify a VIN on an old pickup.
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connecticut doesn't do inspections anymore. as long as you have up-to-date emmissions, you can register anything. nobody checks at all.
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I've never been pulled over and had a cop take my reg and compare it to the vin.
My 74 Has the vin stamped into the frame rail near the steering box.
My 86 has it on the pass side top frame rail under the cab behind the gas tank
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I sand blasted the frame on my 86 GMC and I could not see any numbers on it anywhere. I had read previous posts about the frame numbers. I looked in all the spots mentioned. plus every where else too. Two of my buddies looked it over as well. Not one of us found even a hint of a Vin #. I have stripped allot of these trucks to the frame and only seen a VIN # on about half of them. I was not specifically looking on the ones I stripped. I am sure there where more that had them just didn't see them due to rust or crud.
I have never had the cab off my 84, but I would say its a fair bet it doesn't have them either as the frame was changed back when the truck was only a few years old. It was in a front end collision that totaled the truck. It has a salvage title, not sure if the salvage VIN # would have been stamped into the new frame or not. is registered in N.H. with the original VIN # as my ex's cousin bought it from a snake fly by night car dealer. He peeled the salvage stickers off of it. Her cousin got it registered with the original VIN #. Then when I bought it I too registered it with the original VIN #. It wasn't until two years later that the previous owner happened to mention to my ex one day when she took it to work that it was a salvage vehicle, thats how I found out. State never caught that one and supposedly the old VIN # is now invalid in their computers!
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All of them I have ever stripped had VINs, they were generally all over the place but always on top of the framerail. A lot of them were under the cab though.
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my truck is now registerd and insured, donor truck is gone mine has new vin . when i did restoration i had vin tag off , get the point , never have i been stoped and questioned about vin #, if i do they are welcome to take cab off and check frame , thats like my butt i cant see it. illegal yes but so is speeding and we still do that.
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I found numbers under the cab on one of my frames but not on any others.
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OK I know this thread is 8 years old but what I have to say is specific to the topic of changing cabs onto an originally owned frame whence one owns both the old cab being removed and the new one as well.
I would title this post "changing the Vin without drilling out the rivits."
As I understand it the 1981-1987 (1991) series of chevrolet and gmc trucks have the same as I call it dash / cluster mount / ash tray / glove box / framework that Unbolts from the sides and a brace that mounts to the firewall.
Maybe it's too much effort for some but once the bolts on either side of in the front of the door frame area are removed and the brace to the firewall is also removed the only other thing in the way is how this piece of sheet metal attaches to the firewall at the base of the windshield.
So swapping out the dash frame just happens to take the Vin tag that is still riveted to it with it.
I own 5 of this series of trucks ( mine are 1983 thru 1986 ) and if I ever need to keep a Vin from the cab matched to the frame this is the way I plan to accomplish that task.
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With trucks the VIN goes with the frame, not the cab and your frame has the original factory VIN stamped in a couple of places, I wouldn't go changing the plate in the dash.....you're just asking for trouble when the two don't match, if and when.....
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The whole thought behind this is that the Vin tag rivets won't be touched, the entire dash framework (not the trucks frame) that the Vin tag is attached to will be swapped out to put onto the cab that is being used on the new frame.
This makes it so there is only one Vin and not two.
Both trucks owned
Truck A has good frame Truck B has good cab and front clip.
Removing vin dash framework that trucks A cab had installing same dash framework into cab from truck B.
Just changing sheet metal Cab, Front fenders, hood etc, from one truck of the same general year range IE 1981-1987 vintage into another truck of the same year range.
Both trucks owned by same individual, no need to involve any government agency as their assistance not required with building my property.
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The whole thought behind this is that the Vin tag rivets won't be touched, the entire dash framework (not the trucks frame) that the Vin tag is attached to will be swapped out to put onto the cab that is being used on the new frame.
This makes it so there is only one Vin and not two.
Both trucks owned
Truck A has good frame Truck B has good cab and front clip.
Removing vin dash framework that trucks A cab had installing same dash framework into cab from truck B.
Just changing sheet metal Cab, Front fenders, hood etc, from one truck of the same general year range IE 1981-1987 vintage into another truck of the same year range.
Both trucks owned by same individual, no need to involve any government agency as their assistance not required with building my property.
still technically illegal but who is going to check a 30+ year old truck... My $.02
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OK I know this thread is 8 years old but what I have to say is specific to the topic of changing cabs onto an originally owned frame whence one owns both the old cab being removed and the new one as well.
I would title this post "changing the Vin without drilling out the rivits."
As I understand it the 1981-1987 (1991) series of chevrolet and gmc trucks have the same as I call it dash / cluster mount / ash tray / glove box / framework that Unbolts from the sides and a brace that mounts to the firewall.
Maybe it's too much effort for some but once the bolts on either side of in the front of the door frame area are removed and the brace to the firewall is also removed the only other thing in the way is how this piece of sheet metal attaches to the firewall at the base of the windshield.
So swapping out the dash frame just happens to take the Vin tag that is still riveted to it with it.
I own 5 of this series of trucks ( mine are 1983 thru 1986 ) and if I ever need to keep a Vin from the cab matched to the frame this is the way I plan to accomplish that task.
The metal dash does not just bolt in. You have about 5' of cutting and welding to do.
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we (as a website) cant condone the act of breaking a federal law. i understand some people think "i own my truck i can do what i want to either one". and just like guns what part of gun is considered the "gun" (the lower receiver on ARs) and this part receives the number. our vins are easy to change rather its the whole dash or just the rivets but theres a few L.E.O.s on here and you never know who is watching.
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Most states have composite vehicle allowances for registering but if you have a vin and a title most states will not care or investigate unless there is a stolen property concern or a reason.
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i had a friend who had a chevy with the vin in he door. problem was too many people knew, and one guy wanted his truck. so he got blackmailed and the guy told him he was going to alert dmv/cops so my buddy had to sell it to him.
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I would have payed him a midnight visit with a ball bat. Then he would be worried about recovering after leaving intensive care, instead of buying a truck!
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