Hi all,

After perusing the local salvage yard, I considered revitalizing one of the 'birds sitting sadly by itself and rusting. After crawling in and around a few, I noted how all of them had rusting VIN plates on the dash. Assuming I would decide to bring one of the 'birds back to life, how do you reconstitue the VIN plate? I assume you can't get a replacement from anywhere, however a shiney car with a rusted plate seems somehow incomplete.

Any ideas?

I would have to say contact your local Dept. of Motor Vehicles, or whatever it is called in your state. They would be able to tell you what could be legally done.

HTH

Put some Naval Jelly on it. (Not to be confused with navel jelly, which is probably something entirely different)

i bustged my windshield trying to clean mine off, it sat in caspewr wyoming not running for a couple years the LG4 died in it, the plate is badly rusted but i managed to get thin metal utensils up under the glass through the sealer and to scratch the plate off so io can read it, at several different angles that is, but it cracked by windshield so now thats junk

have no door frame sticker or anything

you can figure out the vin code from the body tag plate on the rad support though, ask 82recaro or someone how to do it

good luck

Excellent, thanks for the ideas. I think going to the DMV is probably the wise choice right off the bat. If there's a way to replace the plate (though wouldn't that be a function of the OEM?) I would prefer that option.

Now I just need to decide (and get the wife's approval) on whether to restore or not.

In Illinois, you contact the State Police who set up an appointment to check other locations of the car. Once the correct V.I.N. is found in the locations they need to satisfy their paperwork, a new plate is made and secured(usually to the drivers door frame) to the vehicle.

what if you know of a vehicle in IL that has a vin plate stuck on it from an older vehicle and is a smaller size plate than the original one was ?

it probably would have to be satisfactorily claimed as abandoned and then the owner of the property that it sits on would have to not claim they are the owner and would probably have to sign something that says its abandoned

i think as long as the actual vin code of the vehicle doesnt come up to be stolen or junked then they would probably make a new plate or number for it without any question other than to ask if its abandoned or what


vehicle in question is an 81 chevy pickup, its got a 79 plate stuck in the windshield and 80- older are 13 digit, 81-up are 17 digit, the plate is obviously too short for the 81 spot you can see oen original plate rivet hole,
and the RPO sticker is missing from the glove box lid and the door sticker is gone too, and vin codes on frames only include the lastr six numbers, IE the sequential build unit number.

i could figure out the vin from the year and series and original engine option and such but i dont know what plant, it either will be janesville Wis or St Louis

that would be the hard part

then i could have a towing company run that vin code and check to see if itsa stolen or junked

if either comes up then its screwed

in IL a green junking certificate(looks just like a normal blue/purple title except that its light green) is issued to all junked cars and they are non registerable and cannot be reversed.

you can also apply for a salvage certificate they are reversible back to normal title after you have the vehicle inspected
but the titles in the future for it will be forever stamped "rebuilt" in red letters, i think salvage certs can be applied for and reversed back to normal title only once though, and no more, ive had two vehicles that went through a junk yard and were rebuilt titled, i saved a nova from one yard and they rebuilt it and got ther title backl for it even though they were nnot supposed to in that case because they actually reversed a junking cert somehow, i dont know how he convinced the state to allow it to happen i think something along the lines of that he accidently sent in the title for junk, so they changed it so salvagew and then he rebuilt it from there back to a rebuilt normal title
and i also bought a 69 F100 that was stamped rebuilt it had been in a yard too at some point in its life back in the 80s


normally yards always send in titles for junk certs and pretty quicly after getting the vehicles too, its rare that they salvage them or keep them and not turn them in and sell the vehicle out of the yard,
salvage cert used ot cost 5 bucs i know, now its at least 10 or maybe more, so no one will be doing that these days, all will be saved and sold out of yard, or straight to junking cert and thats the end of it,.





good luck

I'm not in Illinois, however I'd like to make sure I understand what you just posted. It may be relevent to my decision as something similar may be in place in NJ.

In IL, you said you could not register a salvaged vehicle? What about titling it? If its titled, couldn't it be registered? Or does it have to be operable to be registered? What would a salvage certificate do for you, other than stamp your name on the junk in your yard?

Thanks for the info.

Mine was rusted out when I got my car. I took off the window and vacuumed it out. After I replaced the window, I went to the DMV. The cops had to verify it wasn't stolen, then they put a tag on the inside of the driver side door with the VIN #. Any questions?

Bring this back from the dead. I have the same problem, but while the whole VIN plate renewal is being done I want to make sure how ever the water is getting in there stops from getting in there. Has anyone found anything else that was rusted besides the VIN?

Kevin

I don't understand why you'd replace the VIN tag. To those who have done this or are considering it: Are your tags rusted really badly where the metal is eaten away and jagged?

My VIN tag just has a light coating of surface rust. It happened after the windshield was replaced by an incompetent shop and the new one leaks drops of water down the inside of the glass. I'm pulling the windshield out this winter when the car gets painted and I'll remove the rust from the VIN tag (with naval jelly or someting similar), prep it with metal prep and paint it grey so it's close to the original color of the metal tag.

I'd try to avoid replacing the VIN tag if not absolutely necessary. Someday when you want to sell your car, having a replacement VIN tag might be a deal-breaker. Even though your reason for replacement is on the up-and-up, and you get paperwork from the state, the potential buyer may be scared off. I know I'd be leery to buy a car with one.

WHAT!?!?!?!

I did not say I was gonna replace it, if it cant be saved then yes I would want to replace it how ever the IL law requires it to be. It is only gonna get worse the longer I dont take care of where ever the water is coming from also. And yes mine is really bad, you cant even see it due to the condensation. I was just asking if anyone found anything else that was rusted under there besided the VIN.

You need to check your laws. Most states (not all) make it illegal to remove/replace your vin tag. This is a felony in Illinois, as is most states. It is also illegal to posess the factory rivits, as well as a vin not attached to the car. In the instance that a vin is stolen, a car is recovered that has been stolen, or it is a "kit" or special interest car; then the Secretary of State (Department of Motor Vehicles) takes your car and runs every "vin" and "serial number" off of teh parts of the car (frame, engine, body pannels, etc.) to make sure there are no stolen parts.

This doesnt mean that you cant remove it anyway, but there would be nothing worse than going to a car show, get in an accident, or get stopped and a police officer sees a vin plate that has been altered/ tampered with. You dont want to get into that kinda trouble, trust me I know people that have.

There are some states that do allow vin plate removal, but you have to be a certified shop with that state; and right off hand I cannot recall which state. So check with your state agency, they have to get you the answers to the questions you ask. Just research your options before you do anything with your VIN.

Yes Doodie, it is true. I am currently working out the details with a painter. I know how much you love my white gelcoat hood and primer spots, but you'll have to get over it when the car is blue.

Mine had fallen apart, it was that rusted. No chance of saving it.

i guess this is a common problem with our cars. My vin plate has some surface rust that I'll clean up and painted when the windshield is off (as firebird383 said he's doing also). My friend recently bought an 87 Camaro and the VIN tag was completely rusted away. All that was left was the rivits and flaky rust around them and the middle of the tag was gone. The VIN stickers on the doors, rear quarter, and hatch deck lid all matched the title though. the New York DMV didn't hassle him about it.

There are places that do it advertised in Hemmings.

I can't remember the name of the place I saw but there is some info here:
http://www.corvettefever.com/techfaq/6874/index24.html