Legal Considerations when Doing a Frame Swap?

[peterabbitcook]

Hey folks,

I severely damaged my frame a few months back. (Rear Suspension/Frame Damage)
I located a replacement frame shortly after that, and it’s been to the sandblasted and back. A friend an I will be welding some precautionary gussets, and possibly even new spring hangers (they’re cheap enough, why not?), into it before coating it in POR-15 paint.

Anyhow, I noticed post-sandblast that there’s a serial# stamped in the replacement frame. I believe the frame came from an ‘85, my vehicle is an ‘84. I do have the assurance of the guy who sold me the frame that the title on the donor vehicle was clean before he parted it out. Are there any legal consequences to transplanting my ‘84 body/motor/axles/etc onto a newer frame? i.e. does any form of government bureaucracy need to get involved?

 

[mattressking]

No, you only need to worry about VIN which is on body.

 

[3_puppies]

you'll have other issues with an 85 frame and an 84 running gear than just the vin.
-trans crossmember
-power steering box
can't remember if there are more differences

swapping a body is a big undertaking

could you cut the rear of the good frame and graft it to the old?

 

[rrv333]

Hey folks,

I severely damaged my frame a few months back. (Rear Suspension/Frame Damage)
I located a replacement frame shortly after that, and it’s been to the sandblasted and back. A friend an I will be welding some precautionary gussets, and possibly even new spring hangers (they’re cheap enough, why not?), into it before coating it in POR-15 paint.

Anyhow, I noticed post-sandblast that there’s a serial# stamped in the replacement frame. I believe the frame came from an ‘85, my vehicle is an ‘84. I do have the assurance of the guy who sold me the frame that the title on the donor vehicle was clean before he parted it out. Are there any legal consequences to transplanting my ‘84 body/motor/axles/etc onto a newer frame? i.e. does any form of government bureaucracy need to get involved?

I'd make sure and get documentation from the seller of the frame (Name/Number/Address/DL/ID Number, if at all possible and a bill of sale) In Tejas, you will run into trouble without proper documentation of the frame swap. Same concept of swapping a motor just get the documentation: Vehicles leave the factory with matching numbers. Chop shops swap and deface vin numbers in order to hide their ill gotten gains. Without the paperwork, how's a buyer or law enforcement officer know that your vehicle is legit? If the seller of the frame is telling you the truth then he/she shouldn't have a problem giving you the information you request to complete the sale.

 

[Spike Strip]

Any idea what month '85 the frame is? If it's early (4/85 and before) you should be ok, with swapping parts).

VIN number on frame matches number on chassis. Different States have different vehicle codes on it. You might want to ask your local DMV or AAA.

 

[Willard]

Any idea what month '85 the frame is? If it's early (4/85 and before) you should be ok, with swapping parts).

VIN number on frame matches number on chassis. Different States have different vehicle codes on it. You might want to ask your local DMV or AAA.

Exactly
When I was a resident in VT they looked at the VIN on the body, then the frame.

Also check with your insurance company if they have any restrictions.
Frame swaps are popular in the Land Rover crowd, so they can be done.

 

[peterabbitcook]

@Spike Strip @3_puppies I am going to lookup the donor frame VIN to see what month it was built, it does look the same as my current rig but I am going to take some measurements of the above mentioned parts (PS box, trans x-member) to get a double-check. I know its going to be a big time commitment, but it will give me a chance to dig in and replace/work on parts/systems all at once that I wouldn't otherwise be dealing with - I've got a pretty good sized wants/needs checklist for this project. I expect it to take about a month of evenings+weekends.

@rrv333 Thanks for the insight there, it definitely seems like I'll have to get involved with looking up local & state laws before we get this thing going. I know the seller and have a BOS from him, I'll probably get back at him to get the paperwork for the pre-partout title as well just to be safe.

 

[3_puppies]

easy to tell the differance in frames. the crossmember will either be a 3 piece which would bolt to the inside frame rails or it would be a 1 piece and there will be angle brackets on both the inside and outside of the frame rails to bolt the crossmember to.

PS box will either have a square bolt pattern or a parrallelagram bolt pattern pics below show the difference.

 

[cruiserdan]

Check with the state before you start and find out what the requirements are. In New Mexico for example the vehicle needs to be inspected before repairs start. The replacement frame also needs to be inspected. After repairs are completed the completed vehicle gets reinspected. The completed vehicle then gets a new title with a secondary VIN recorded on it.

 

[cruisedeisel]

Try giving less of a phuck.

 

[lcwizard]

It's only an issue if one or the other doesn't belong to you. That being said, I would have in my possession the documentation for both