[John V.]

Originally Posted by johnta1

This would be a great example of why VIN swapping is illegal.

The only reason to swap the VIN is for monetary gain.
If the Cobra guy destroys his car, he's SOL.

Why wouldn't you keep the VIN of the 'parts car' your going to swap the GTO VIN onto?

Put all your GTO parts on the Tempest and use the Tempest VIN?

Because you want to deceive people and get more money.

Otherwise, there is no need to swap VIN's.

John, money is the cynical reason. The reason you would do it legitimately is because you OWN the wrecked car and the proof is the Title.

If you buy a donor, you might not get a Title, or else it may have a Salvage Title that by law cannot be re-Titled for road use. Or you might obtain necessary parts from multiple donors. Using the Tempest VIN makes no sense if you don't have Title to that VIN.

In the world of true classic cars (a world where Pontiac GTOs are pedestrian wannabes) and extraordinary one-off custom bodied cars, donors cars are non-existent. Restoration involves fabricating necessary parts. At least some of these have serial nos. bolted to the frame. You can bet nobody with a V16 Cadillac or Duesenberg is swapping his tag to a donor rather than repairing/restoring whatever needs fixing.
, including the area of the frame (or the entire frame) where the VIN tag was attached.

You can say it is about the money, but nobody is denigrating the practice in that world. Rather, such painstakingly meticulous restorations are admired.

Originally Posted by johnta1

In most states, (might be Federal too) if the damage is bad enough that a VIN has to be removed/transferred, the State DMV will issue a new VIN.
(if not also giving you a rebuilt/junk title)

I believe this only applies where there has been an Insurance settlement. AFAIK, a car owner is under no obligation to forfeit his property and remove the VIN tag. And if he chooses to fix it, that is his business. This might be murkier for cars that have VIN labels on virtually every body part. At minimum, the owner may have to prove that the parts used were legally purchased. But this would not apply to a '64 GTO.

Originally Posted by johnta1

With the replacement parts from the factory, like the door pillar, that part didn't come off a car that had a VIN or come with it's own VIN.

As I've stated, the door pillar is just another part, it isn't made special just because the factory attached the VIN tag to it. I don't see how salvaging a pillar that once had a VIN tag attached to it makes a difference.