What is considered a re-body

[Bruzilla]

My standard is the frame. The frame is what really makes the car. Everything else is just stuff attached to it, so it's the frame that should determine what the car is. If you take the stuff from one car and attach it to the frame of another in order to make the "stuff" car, it's a rebody. If for some reason you have to replace a damaged frame to keep the car the same, it is not.

 

[Bladecutter]

wow,indiana has it easy..sounds Great lol
combined title? sounds a lot better than what we have.

here we would have to go for a reconstructed title,
and have it inspected at a special garage/state in the city and they check everything.

as far as police checking things,a couple of years ago,
scrap was at its highest ever,and a bazillion people jumped into scrapping.
stuff started getting stolen,owners were not getting paid,
ripped off,parts of loads would come off and hit innocents,
and allll sorts of bad things were happening.
the Real scrappers,like myself,who had been doing it for years,
all got lumped into the scrappers are bad mentality and
police were checking everything,and hey i dont blame them.
i myself have never had problems with the cops besides the occasional speeding ticket n meh they caught me,who cares.
i was speeding! lol!

and Jimi,i actually behaved n didnt use his former handle ;)
does that count??
and Dave,if yer reading this,sorry,but,i couldnt resist.
im sure you understand.

I think that was Very Well placed Comic Relief in Good Taste.

 

[lewtot184]

in my opinion a re-body is where all the numbers/numbers parts are adapted/attached to a donor body. i always thought that tampering with VIN numbers (swapping/switching/re-stamping, etc) was illegal.

 

[Speedbird]

I'll come of the couch to say this.
It seems to me that saying "rebody" is sort of like saying "troll" or "pornography".
We really can't clearly define it because of conflicting state laws and opinions.
But it's the ultimate insult on the internet.
Before throwing the "fraud" word around, let's look up the legal definition.
It's a 40 year old car. It is what it is.
Except for a Model A, then it's a lot older.
How many numbers are on one of those?

 

[Bladecutter]

My standard is the frame. The frame is what really makes the car. Everything else is just stuff attached to it, so it's the frame that should determine what the car is. If you take the stuff from one car and attach it to the frame of another in order to make the "stuff" car, it's a rebody. If for some reason you have to replace a damaged frame to keep the car the same, it is not.

If I remember, Az. goes by chassis. You gave me some pause.......a 67 GTO ’vert I & others have considerable work in, all Hotchkiss & Wildwood, built LS-7 etc...........some time ago, car was collision repair, & a donor rear clip was done.......the WHOLE rear clip....must have been a cheap insurance job long time ago.....they literally sawed under rear seat through frame & body & welded on another sawed off half. All the sheet except for quarter panels are the original at point we started. I wonder where this car falls in the debate......is this not to be considered a real GTO anymore?......the car now is what's considered a Pro Touring build I believe.

 

[Darthomas]

Being from Indiana, the whole discussion baffles me.
Like RCB says, piecing together cars is just normal here.
Everyone knows that rust kills vehicles and many people are satisfied to get "their" car back from a body shop, even if it's less than 50% of the original vehicle.
Motors? Never heard of anyone caring about original motors as a legality.
In the early 80s, I discovered the title for my 66 had an incorrect VIN.....
I was required to have 2 different police department officers look at the stamped VIN on the door post and affirm and sign on the form the that the described vehicle
has an actual VIN of so and so......
They never looked at the radiator support, engine or anything else.
I don't have problems with a car built up from a pile of rust as a rebody or whatever, but other people expect a virginal looking car to BE a virgin, and it's way too late in the game to find many of them.
Certainly the practice of selling a selling a base model as a higher optioned, more expensive model is "wrong" if not disclosed in sale as a clone, but even if that is done, someone down the line will be left holding the car and not knowing about its original state.
Honesty is the best policy, but then by elimination, dishonesty must be second best, and a lot of people find plenty of room in dishonesty to make a really good living.

 

[Bladecutter]

My standard is the frame. The frame is what really makes the car. Everything else is just stuff attached to it, so it's the frame that should determine what the car is. If you take the stuff from one car and attach it to the frame of another in order to make the "stuff" car, it's a rebody. If for some reason you have to replace a damaged frame to keep the car the same, it is not.

With uni-body, where is the line between what is considered frame & what is considered body?

 

[eldubb440]

insurance companies have paid shops to replace frames, cabs, suspensions, ect. since the first automobiles hit the streets........... rear clips, front clips, sides........

they are only unmolested originals once........ fix a dent, or replace a fender and the rebody has begun

engines with vin numbers are sold and installed all the time, no one cries

 

[eldubb440]

used body parts are half of the recycling industry.... if a donor rear clip is installed, and years later a donor front clip is installed; have crimes been committed?

lmao, what if both clips come off the same donor car?

 

[eldubb440]

here's a thought............ do you want a rust bucket full of bondo? or some nice solid metal?

perhaps that unmolested survivor is what you are looking for, good luck with that

 

[gtx1of1]

theres a superbird on the auction site ,
its at 3500.00
there is nothing left.
im guessing this car will be back on the road some day.
the ###s will be anyway.

 

[moparnation74]

The thing about the Stephens Daytona is that the car is not secretly being restored, misrepresented and then sold for big $$. That car will always have a thread in multiple forums linked to that car and future publications. That in itself shows the true intent of that kind of build.

All depends on the Sellers conscience and the buyer doing their homework/inspection.....I am only referring to transference of Vin information.

 

[eldubb440]

I believe laws were written to deal with car theft and chop shops....... auto repair and restoration was not a consideration..........

for argument sake, Joe has 3 68 GTXs........ one hit front, one hit rear, one has a rusty roof........ all 3 have clear title

is Joe allowed to piece the good parts together to form 1 68 GTX?

 

[eldubb440]

The thing about the Stephens Daytona is that the car is not secretly being restored, misrepresented and then sold for big $$. That car will always have a thread in multiple forums linked to that car and future publications. That in itself shows the true intent of that kind of build.

All depends on the Sellers conscience and the buyer doing their homework/inspection.....I am only referring to transference of Vin information.

they are only original once....... just like any used car, buyer beware..... of course, a judge in a court room with zero automotive knowledge could easily be swayed to take the other side

 

[eldubb440]

95% of the cars on any of these sites are rebodied to some extent

 

[moparnation74]

they are only original once....... just like any used car, buyer beware..... of course, a judge in a court room with zero automotive knowledge could easily be swayed to take the other side

Don't disagree on a the idea that a car is original once and a restored is a rebody......but removing vin plates, body numbers etc..is the darkside of this hobby and if someone thinks thats OK defrauding people...Well at some point in life/death they will have to answer to someone....Hence as I said earlier it depends on ones Conscience....

 

[eldubb440]

lying and misrepresenting is another subject entirely...... when buying a used car, does anyone take the sellers word without question?

buyer beware, bring an expert, fools and their money are soon parted

 

[BeeKool]

in new york state,if the staties decided to run all your numbers,
that truck would get impounded and you would have to prove a lot of things fairly quickly.

as an example,theres a former scrapper who was a real piece of work,
he got pulled over one day and they ran his numbers,
mainly because the idiot had 15 diff colors on truck/various parts.
cab was off one,bed off another,engine from yet another,
and the chassis wasnt even same vin.
he got arrested and never ever got his truck back either.
not much later,he went out of business and now does flea markets..
chuckles profusely.

as far as this rebody biz goes,
i find it highly ironic that shops can do this and its never really talked about,
but let a reg guy do it and whoa!hes a criminal!
no matter what tho,it ISNT the original car,so its a Fraud,period.
even if it does save a hemicuda,or some rare beast.

I don't see the problem doing it with a truck.
I've done that same thing as the scrapper (I'm not a scrapper, they are a lower form of life) but the dash and the frame are from the same truck. And the truck is registered under the vin in the dash and insuered. I guess in these parts the Coppers got better things to do than harass taxpayers.

 

[BeatersRus]

I don't see the problem doing it with a truck.
I've done that same thing as the scrapper (I'm not a scrapper, they are a lower form of life) but the dash and the frame are from the same truck. And the truck is registered under the vin in the dash and insuered. I guess in these parts the Coppers got better things to do than harass taxpayers.

Dude...really?
its a line of work,just like what you do for a living.
and we make our Rep on how we treat our customers too.
my Rep is Very important to me,as is my Word.
and also,since you mentioned taxpayers,
im one of the Few scrappers that has been reporting taxes.
( this is almost unheard of and i have taken **** for years about it )
so yes im a Scrapper...
and i am Proud to help others and clean up the world a bit at a time as well.

 

[BeeKool]

Dude...really?
its a line of work,just like what you do for a living.
and we make our Rep on how we treat our customers too.
my Rep is Very important to me,as is my Word.
and also,since you mentioned taxpayers,
im one of the Few scrappers that has been reporting taxes.
( this is almost unheard of and i have taken **** for years about it )
so yes im a Scrapper...
and i am Proud to help others and clean up the world a bit at a time as well.

Forgive my rudeness. I've been victimized to the sum of at least 15 thousand by local "scrappers". Vehicles stolen, trucks campers, tractors.In the middle of the night. Iron, several tons overnight. I actually had the varmint in the sights of my trusty .357 and fired a shot into the truck as it drove away with scrap iron falling out the back. So forgive me. Neighbor had a lawnmower and two skid loaders stolen in the middle of the night. I have the Sheriff Deputies personal cell phones on speed dial, thats how often Ive had to report theft, no lies.Around here scrappers get rocks thrown at their vehicles and their tires slashed overnight (deservedly).

So I do feel bad if I've insulted you.
I scrapped in my off hours as well. I have one hell of a scrap pile, just waiting for the price to go up. I have an account at the local salvage yard. I too supplement my income. $30 a ton is hardly worth ones time. He'll if you lived closer I'd split it with you.