Quote:
Originally Posted by jw hash
the title should go with the chassis. the title says what the body is on that chassis. here i bought a 31 A with a 29 motor in it. years ago in this state if you change the motor you would go to the DMV and they would change the number on the title to match the motor number, I lifted the body and took the car to the DMV and had them change the vin number on the title back to the chassis number. I had installed a diamond block with no number on it.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Licensed to kill
By that description, it is the frame number that is the VIN, the engine VIN pad is just the visible LOCATION for the actual VIN of the car. If you change the engine and RESTAMP the VIN ( that is on the old (original) engine and therefore on the frame) on the replacement engine, then the VIN did NOT stay with the engine. It stayed with the car.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1928Mik
A partner and I used to run a small company where we would purchase run down cars and part them out. That's back when you could find cars sitting in lots or fields for $50 or $100. When we would strip the car, the title always stayed with the chassis.
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This is probably the last time I am going to discuss this until I hear back from how the lawsuit comes out. I may be called as an expert witness, which is another reason why I am going to stop for now.
I will say that based on the determination of legal counsel, the engine number is the prevailing location. The question was asked to me were all frames stamped during assembly? My response was they were supposed to be however I have encountered original vehicles where there was not any evidence of a stamping. The same question was asked about the engine number, -and my answer was I feel very certain that every engine installed on the assembly line had a stamped number. The next question was, which was stamped first? The correct answer is the engine. I think the argument that is made is the frame stamping is an alternate identification area, and the engine is the primary identification area. This is confirmed by what is printed in the Instruction Book.
I know some are suggesting it is up to the state's laws. This topic came up in our discussion. A title is a legal document affirming ownership of an object. In our discussion, it was mentioned that a modern vehicle has a VIN displayed on the cowl, -and typically another VIN located on the driver's door. The manufacturer's primary VIN location is on the cowl at the bottom of the windshield, and the driver's door was an alternate location. Their opinion is the Model-A engine was the primary location for the VIN and the frame was an alternate location. Therefore their contention is the title remains with the engine which was the primary location established by Ford. I honestly see no rationale for why some state's DMV feels compelled to use the frame number as a primary source of identification. I think this boils down more to the vehicle owner was ignorant of the law, and so if the DMV told them the title goes with the frame, they just complied. Had their instruction been challenged in a court of law, likely the DMV's instructions would have been overruled.