Swapping S/N# and Cloning...question?

[68corazonetR/T]

   What's accepted or is it even worth it? I wouldn't try and fool anyone because that would be just an A-hole thing to do but is it somewhat accepted in this world of collecting cars to clone a car right down to the s/n #. I was originally looking for a Charger But when I came across this 68 Coronet440 It was white with a black stripe painted on in the back, very sloppy, the 440 trim still on it, something about the car told me to buy it.  Untill then I didn't know what a coronet was but I saw the potential and it was a driverl. I knew I could make this car into something else and I had to buy it because the body was solid and it spoke to me.....Buyyy meee. This car had oil change stickers from woolco in californa. It was mint. Years of dings and dents but mint. I bought a coronet parts car. Rotton beyond rotton and really not much left on it. I found an owner ship in it signed where you sign when you sell and also realized the fenders and hood were changed and that it actually is a 68 R/T green with a 440 (originally). It would of been geen in it's day. There was still one baby blue door pannel it.  No fender Tag. I am not crazy about painting my car green but I do know it does look good on these cars. I just want to know it's worth using this dash and s/n seeing that I have most of my clone parts now?
Jack

[Tilar]

Cloning is pretty well accepted and many of us here have clones, however swapping a VIN number is against the law and will not only land you in jail, but they will take your cars and parts away. That one is a big no-no.

[tan top]

Cloning is pretty well accepted and many of us here have clones, however swapping a VIN number is against the law and will not only land you in jail, but they will take your cars and parts away. That one is a big no-no.

nope don't do it  !!   build your self a clone by all means ! but  don't swap any stamped body numbers & dash with vin tags ,            

[Khyron]

what they said.

Like they say on Mythbusters...


Just don't do it....EVER.

[Dans 68]

nope don't do it  !!   ...but  don't swap any stamped body numbers & dash with vin tags ,             

what they said.

Like they say on Mythbusters...


Just don't do it....EVER.

I'll just add "DON'T DO IT!"  to get the point across.   

Dan

[68X426]

Please don't mess with the numbers. 

Just in case the full weight of common sense and moral  authority of the forum members is not enough, why not give a call to your state's DMV and see what they think about it?

[Ghoste]

The only reason to swap the numbers, and I mena the ONLY reason to do it is to artificially increase the perceived value of the vehicle.  It's fraud.

[elacruze]

The only reason to swap the numbers, and I mena the ONLY reason to do it is to artificially increase the perceived value of the vehicle.  It's fraud.

I had it in mind a long time ago with mine, but never did it and now I'm glad I didn't because there would have been telltale details I couldn't have known about at the time, anyway. Plus I have a much better grasp of ethics than I did when I was young.

[Brock Samson]

 Reading your posts it seems your trying to re-invent the wheel... no offence - but I see a huge can-o-worms.. Why would you do that?..  welcome to the site, if you want a charger find a '70 with a bench seat Automatic to please you'r wife. Or am I misunderstanding?.. 

[chargerboy69]

what they said.

Like they say on Mythbusters...


Just don't do it....EVER.

Well. . unless you like having sex with big, hairy men in a jail cell.  Then by all means. . . . .

[billssuperbird]

 

[hemi-hampton]

If the car is a mint rust free California car as you say (only minor dings) then why are you even buying a parts car if it don't need one other then to switch VIN to deceive If you want to clone it buy a used R/T hood & some R/T Emblems.   LEON.

[vancamp]

clone all you want but DO NOT swap the vin numbers

[TUFCAT]

clone all you want but DO NOT swap the vin numbers

Seriously man.... what did you expect us to say - - just go ahead and switch the VIN numbers??

[68corazonetR/T]

Thank-you everyone
    look I am sorry if there some of you got the wrong idea about my intent about this but if I wanted to deceive and sell my car as a real R/T do you think I would even post anything about this. It,s a clone , always will be.  I wanted to know how far people go when they clone a car and if the response would of been different perhaps I would of considered it but I still would of called it a clone. I wouldn't have the nerve or be stupid enough to try and hide all the things like body numbers and holes that are there for the 440 trim. Ok so it's a touchy subject and I won't even think of it again. I bought the rotton R/t for the manual steering and steering column and front sway bar. I got it for 500 bucks delivered. I wanted my own supply of little things like bolts and whatever clips might be useful. It also still has all the glass. Nothing wrong with having it around. I even used the inside of the the doors to make patches where somebody cut holes for speakers in my doors. It must of had an accident at some point and so the front fenders and hood were taken from a regular 69 coronet. I didn't even know it was an R/t until I researched the s/n and saw the holes in the tail made for the R/t tail trim. I am not an avid hobby person,  I have the one car that I want to enjoy for long time and I appreciate the help from you all so I can build it the way I want it. Until I live closer to family I want to make it affordable to drive and that's why I am looking for the easiest way to get an overdrive set up , manual or automatic, it doesn't matter but I do perfer manual and so I do like the suggestion of an a833OD. I do have most of my r/t parts including the bulge hood and I will post some pictures soon. I did try but they were too big and wouldn't up load. So, again, I apologize and if any of you have some hints about how I can easily set it up with another motor and trans or put something behind the current original 318 I thank you.

[68corazonetR/T]

Here is all have for now
Jack

[Tilar]

Thank-you everyone look I am sorry if there some of you got the wrong idea about my intent about this but if I wanted to deceive and sell my car as a real R/T do you think I would even post anything about this. It,s a clone , always will be. 

The part of your original post that made me think you were considering a VIN swap was what you said here:

I just want to know it's worth using this dash and s/n seeing that I have most of my clone parts now?

Cloning a car to an R/T or any other trim package is nothing more than adding the badging and trim.

What you have is looking pretty good there. 

[Old Moparz]

I found an owner ship in it signed where you sign when you sell

Depending on where you live, it seems that you have whatever papers you need to legally title it. (Or a transferable registration) As long as there isn't a newer one replacing the one you found, it should be all you need.

and also realized the fenders and hood were changed and that it actually is a 68 R/T green with a 440 (originally). It would of been geen in it's day. There was still one baby blue door pannel it.  No fender Tag. I am not crazy about painting my car green but I do know it does look good on these cars. I just want to know it's worth using this dash and s/n seeing that I have most of my clone parts now?

If the car has the dash VIN & can be titled, providing it doesn't have a more current paper trail, why not advertise it somewhere & sell it to offset the cost of the car you're fixing? Some people aren't afraid of rot boxes & can work miracles on them.  

[69CoronetRT]

Cloning a car to an R/T or any other trim package is nothing more than adding the badging and trim.

Sadly, this is what some people think 'clones' are.

A clone, by definition, is an exact duplicate of an original. Tossing R/T stripes or Road Runner stickers on a 318 Coronet 440 or Satellite model is not a 'clone'. Just installing a 440 or 383 does not make a clone. From what I've seen, most 'clones' are screwed up "usta be's" that are now "never was'es".

Why are people unhappy with what they have?

[Dans 68]

Self-esteem issues. 

Dan

[BIGBLCK11]

The VIN question is obviously not a good thing.  But, no offense to any old timers, I see nothing wrong with "upgrading" some of your options to an R/T, R/T SE or whatever.  Call it a partial-clone or maybe it is a nut & bolt clone.  Many here are happy with their 318 base model.  Many purists just wouldn't change a thing.  I wouldn't leave mine a 2bbl, column shift if you paid me money, just not as fun.  Yes, I am keeping the old parts, but I am going to change it.  It is after all a muscle car, so I am giving it more muscle.  There are always positive comments on here, about all the cars I see posted, but there is definitely a buzz around here for rare and/or well-optioned cars.  So, it is reasonable that some people, who may have started with a lower model, would want to build on that.  Especially, considering the cost of the cars that came with those options.  Not to mention, the muscle car era was fueled by wanting more power, to go faster and to beat or "out-do"(including looks/options) the competition.

[Old Moparz]

Why are people unhappy with what they have?

I hate the word clone, I prefer replica.   

As for why people build them, well, years ago we didn't build clones or replicas, we modified our cars to be the way we liked them. If what we could afford was only a Satellite instead of a Road Runner, or a GTX, then all that was needed was to add some parts from those cars like a performance hood, stripes, & maybe engines when we could afford it. Same goes for why people are building wing cars, who the hell can afford a car that has a price tag of a house? That's why I am piecing together a Daytona with replica parts & a basic 383-2V Charger. 

By the way, the VIN tag will always be a 383-2V Charger since I don't believe there is EVER a need to swap or replace tags.

[derailed]

Thats good looking Coronet you found there, I can see why it grabbed your attention, always liked the 68-9s myself. 

[69CoronetRT]

As for why people build them, well, years ago we didn't build clones or replicas, we modified our cars to be the way we liked them. If what we could afford was only a Satellite instead of a Road Runner, or a GTX, then all that was needed was to add some parts from those cars like a performance hood, stripes, & maybe engines when we could afford it......

BINGO...swapping a 440 for a 318/383 in your Satellite/Coronet 440 was always cool. Tossing on hood scoops was cool. Moving the column shift to the floor was cool. Replacing bench seats with buckets was cool. 'Rebranding' your car with fake stripes and badges, no matter how fast the car really was, was NEVER cool. You'd lose all street cred by being a poser.

[68corazonetR/T]

 I bought this car because it was rust free. Personally I like the bench, love the way they fold in on an angle, find it comfortable without the head rests, find it looks better without them , turning around and talking to people in the back is easy. I have had some fun nights with it as well as you might imagine. There's nothing like pulling up to a party or a bar and you and five friends get out it, I think that's pretty cool too. No I'm very happy with my car and I plan on making it look like an R/T and don't really care what people think because I know right now that's my focus. Getting it back in one piece. I'm sure you all know how easily it is to slip other engine under the hood. When the time is right that's what I will do. As for the Vin # well I admit I thought of it but only if it was something that is accepted, legal and if it added some kind of value to the car even though the numbers were not matching. OK so you all can stop yelling at me now..it was just a stupid thought when I discovered that this rotton gutted out car was an R/T which I have an ownership for and thought what a shame. I mean it's really been raped of all that it was.I could post a pic of it if you like looking at old carcases. I guess I could resurrect that car but that would really take lots of time and money. First thing to do would be too see if I can have it put in my name and check if it's even possible to register it. Then maybe I could sell it to somebody who could do a nice job because if I do it ....well it would most likely end up a rat car.....go out in a blaze of glory...something to play with....you know straighten some curves....flatting some fields....maybe see how it flies through the air with a small block......could be a lot of fun...otherwise it's going for scrap when I,m done with it.
Jack