[shook1]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ponti...QQcmdZViewItem

Does this bother anyone else? I mean big name parts supliers are offering entire replacement bodies. Has it become acceptable to put the more desireable vin and title on any body as long as nothing is stolen? I don't like it. It makes me question every restored or rebuilt GTO on the market. Why pay the extra cash becouse someone put a different vin on a clone equiped with the same options? I'd rather have a Lemans or Tempest. They're cheaper and the same amount of fun if you build them right.

Luke

[Joe RKD]

I hear ya there man.

How could you tell if someone took a tempest or lemans and made it into a goat? If the tags and vin were GTO. Where is identifications stamped on the car?? Hood, tailights, grills, interior handle, and emblems are different for goats right? Is the vin stamped anywhere else on the 66's other than in the door jamb and cowl tag??

[shook1]

I think once a professional builder changes the vin/data plates, and excahnges the Tempest/Lemans hood, grilles, taillights, emblems, engine, etc for GTO items, it would be near impossible for you to know the difference. Any bolt on Tempest parts found on the car could be claimed as replacement parts. Even if you somehow located a Tempest vin number on the frame, he could simply say he replaced the origional damaged frame, which is normally acceptable. If someone changes the vin, he's looking to make a profit. The question is, why is the buyer looking for a car with that vin, pride or greed?

Luke

[6d7gto]

It's not as easy as it sounds. Every single body panel is stamped with id numbers in the form of date codes. They may as well be VIN #'s because unless you have the same exact build dates for both vehicles your body panels won't match the data plate or the PHS docs. There must be 50 places where these date codes are stamped. Also, each factory built their vehicles just a little bit differently, so you'll also need both vehicles to be made at the same plant! Besides, the quarter panels, tail panel, rear bumper, interior components, frame, etc. are different for the Lemans not to mention you need a GTO engine, transmission and all the other goodies associated with that particular GTO. By the time you get all that stuff you could have bought a real GTO! I predict the Lemans will be so valuable (from being cloned and cut up) that the day's coming where the GTO will be used to clone a Lemans. Remember, you heard it here first!

[YVEYANT]

Their could be some problems associated with that down the line. Who is to say the car which the VIN was taken from was destroyed? It would be very difficult to verify that. When it comes time to register, there could be major legal issues and possibly having the car confiscated once it comes up the VIN/CAR is already registered, it is a chance you take and could come back to bite you in the behind even if you no longer own the car, I have seen it with 87 to 93 Mustangs when they were hot, a lot. As a matter of fact if any of you guys were into the mustang seen, (featured in Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords around 1993) NYPD made an example of two Mustangs, one was a tag job, the other was confiscated for street racing, they painted the two Mustangs the police colors and was what they used to bust the street racers in as a point, if your caught racing or tampering with the numbers this is what could happen to your car. Strong statement!! I remember it putting a big dent in the street racing, people were scared of losing their cars. Police used to block of both end off the streets any cars in between racing were confiscated, you were lucky if you would get your car back weeks later in pieces, no lawsuites ever stuck, big write about about it in the local papers then. Division was/is called AUTOCRIME.

[242177P]

I asked about the VIN number, got this:

Hi, Peter:

It is 242177P211047.

Thank you very much for your interest.

Regards,

Ryan Smith

Figure that number is bound to show up again some day...