Posted by gmharris [71.105.36.203] on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 at 16:52:39 :
In Reply to: Re: cab swap question posted by Russ Roth [71.222.60.9] on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 at 14:03:02 :
As Russ say, law enforcement knows what the rivets are supposed to look like. This is because the rivets are unique and only available to the manufactures. First thing the cops look at to see if there has been any monkey business are the rivets. This is auto theft investigation 101.
Russ was lucky that he got an inspector he knew. Most law enforcement officers won't be so obliging since they value their jobs more than you having an original VIN.
Changing a serial number or knowingly buying,selling or possessing anything with an altered serial number in California is a crime regardless of intent. I assume this is true in all states. Changing VIN numbers on a vehicle is likely to get you a night or two in jail, at a minimum.
Eventually, either the truck will be sold to someone else or scrapped. Either way, a transplanted VIN can cause problems down the line. Just get a state issued vehicle ID number and live with it.