To everyone out there with an old cab on a new frame, does the registration and insurance list it as the mfg date for the cab or for the ch***is? Ive already asked my insurance agent and he didnt know. What did you guys do?
I guess it would depend on what set of numbers your state used to ***le the vehicle. In Illinios, my truck is registered off the serial number on the door jamb tag. The engine or frame numbers mean nothing for mine.
Hot rods are built on new frames all the time and guys generally use the VIN number from the car. Now that number may or may not have been on the original frame, but you can pound that VIN in to the new frame. If using a frame from another vehicle you can grind off the VIN that was there and pound in the one from your cab (or body). Now depending where you live is this legal? Your not a car thief, you are just trying to make a registration body happy. Call it a grey area.
In Pennsylvania all they look at is the vin # on the body tag. Being in the rust belt would make it difficult to get any numbers off the frame. Mine is registered with the year and # from the body. I have had several trucks/cars like this and have never been questioned.
I would check with your local state police department. In Louisiana they can be **** about some pretty weird things. It seems to me when it comes time to register I would definitely NOT ask the DMV so you don't raise any flags or questions. If you have a ***le for the cab I would just take it in and not say anything about changing the frame. To be safe make sure and keep any receipt/***le you may have for the frame vehicle in case it ever comes up. You can always play dumb yet still prove you didn't steal it.
One of the things I learned while registering my T bucket was give them as little info as possible. Make them ask for stuff before just offering up everything you have. More info leads to more questions which leads to more problems......
Here in NZ I will have to register my COE using the donor ('84 Chev dullie) vin number which means it will be registered as an '84 Chev. If I had used an original frame I could have registered it as a '48 using the vin number on the tag attached to the cab.
The final answer is your state statutes. What state do you live in? In Wyoming if you combine two vehicles you are required to provide paperwork on both. Then you have a law enforcement officer do a VIN check on both frame and body. They fill out a form and then you send the form and both ***les to Cheyenne and they send you back a new VIN. This VIN must be stamped on the frame and body. Then the law enforcement officer comes back and inspects the new VIN fills out another form and then you can go it ***le and registered. This proves to be a problem when the ***le went with the body on your donor frame. There are ways around that in Wyoming but every state is different. So you need to dig into your state statutes and figure it out. You need to know the rules because this issue is not something the people that work at DMV see on a regular basis.
Im in Colorado, I called the DMV and they didn't know. But they did say I had to come in to register the frame/drivetrain ehicle as soon as I buy it. BIG Thanks to the seller for not dating the ***le when I bought it. All they. Pile tell me was I would need a vin verification and to come pay them ASAP. It's just all about money. Thanks guys.
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