Quote:
Originally Posted by shakerz
Just watched Dan Short owner of FantomWorks Shop rebody a rusty 57 Chevy on Motortrend. Cut around serial number by a couple inches and bondo-ed and sanded and painted it.
NOW.. Do not jump to any conclusions that I do this with my cars just cause I posted this. I wouldn’t do it cause I don’t want the headache that could arise out of it. My issue has always been the guys yelling the loudest about how wrong it is are the ones doing it the most lol
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My Vo Tech instructor did exactly what you're describing here, and was arrested in PA, and jailed back in the late 70s. He was later acquitted and charges were dropped. He did loose his job though, not certain if he got back wages, or not.
The whole thing is about fraud, and if changing numbers made you enriched from the act. In this particular instance it has swapping a cab on an older chevy truck because of rust. I believe it was easier to swap the cab than repair the old one. But he then would have to get a state issued VIN tag, which he didn't do. He cut the old one out and spliced it into the donor cab. It comes down to the prosecutors view if this was against the law, and if they want to enforce the law to the letter.
The truck was confiscated, and destroyed by the state in his case. The person who bought the truck was reimbursed for their purchase price by my previous teacher. He didn't do any jail time other than when he was arrested, and posted bond to be released. He essentially got a slap on the wrist. Now if the swapped cab came from a stolen truck, all this would have changed.
VIN numbers are a federal offense, if you want to roll the dice and hope your not caught, then that's your choice, and you live by your choice.
Block codes aren't a federal offense, that's more of an ethical thing. But it can become a case of fraud in a misrepresentation of facts. When people feel they got swindled, and didn't get what they paid for, is when these practices become fraudulent.
Many have heard a plea that I was just keeping up with traffic in defense of a speeding violation, it usually isn't considered a legal excuse in a court. The defense of, everyone else does it, isn't a defense in a court of law.