I have a 93 Civic hatch that I puchased frome a very reputable salvage yard back in '01 with a clean title.
Since then I have slowly been building the car till now. The chasis was purchased already acid dipped and a chrome-moly cage was already in place. I finished the project as a pro all motor car and during the process we cut the vin # off of the fire wall to make clearance for an aluminum box that took air off of the base of the windshield to feed the ITBs. The scraps were discarded by accident.

Fast foreward...

A local competing shop was investigated by the police. They found stolen stuff that was confiscated. I didn't want to be caught in a similiar situation, so I took the car to AZ motor vehicle to get a level 2 inspection. Trying to do the right thing... I figured they would find the other "confidential" numbers on the car. They said it was too cut up. The inspectors wanted to take my car because it no longer has a vin #. They called it "contraband". They let me take the car home to remove all of my parts, but they will be coming to collect the chasis.

So, If you modify your firewall and cut up your front end, how to you prove ownership of the chasis? A title doesn't mean anything in this case. There is no way to prove the car belongs to any title any longer. Does anyone have a suggestion?


Modified by 2point6 at 5:54 PM 4/27/2007


Modified by 2point6 at 5:59 PM 4/27/2007

 

Maybe you should have gotten a bill of sale from the junk yard.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BoogieDownBrown &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Maybe you should have gotten a bill of sale from the junk yard.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Bill of sale/title is not the issue. The issue is no more VIN to match. This mistake is going to cost me my chasis. #1 I hope other's learn from my mistake and #2 If anyone has any experience with this, please help!

 

I have experience with this as i recieve visits from suffolk county auto crime on a weekly basis. I have learned alot from them over the past several years. You are as good as screwed since you brought the car to an inspection afer cutting the firewall. Legally 99.99% of the race cars out there are subject to being impounded. There is nothing to differentiate your chassis from a stolen one. In order to legally touch the vin numbers on the firewall you must have a dismantlers license and that is not easy to obtain.

There are no real hidden numbers on a honda once everything is out and acid dipped, there are alot of things such as bumpers, hoods, fenders, steering wheels, carpets, clusters, seats , even the wiring harness has a numbers on them among other things. The chassis has the one main vin on the firewall and the tag on the inner drivers side door beam and thats it. I really dont know what to tell you but good luck.

The auto crime detectives over here understand what goes into a race car but will always tell you to keep the vin on the firewall and if you are going to cut it up to bring it to an inspection place prior to doing so. You must bring all paper work ie..bill of sale and title. In that case they will give you a little yellow tag on the inner drivers side door with a DMV record number and new paper work for the car. Then you can do from there as you please.

 

too late for me, i stilll have the piece of metal from mine with the vin # on it.

Sure would be a bad situation for it to be impunded....I wouldnt let it happen.

 

wow... thats what i call a set back... argue till you lose your voice, maybe you could "sell" it to a friend in another state as "scrap",,, or, o dam , thing got stolen last night???,

 

Why are you guys cutting the vin off the firewall to begin with? Just about every class requires an unmodified firewall.

 

I would get another JUNK shell and give that to them...... Keep the RACE chassis in hiding for a little while.

 

i tried to register my race car for off road use at the dmv here in cali. and the ladys told me i can register it non-op only

 

I think the lesson here is never go to the DMV with the racecar. lots of cars out there have no title, no VIN, and get bought and sold all the time with a bill of sale, but never never get the DMV involved. Once the DMV is involved, you have a hard time getting them off your back.
If you buy a car and try to transfer the title, they wont complete the transfer without a smog cert anyway.
I have pink slips for my cars, but many racers dont.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why are you guys cutting the vin off the firewall to begin with? Just about every class requires an unmodified firewall. </TD></TR></TABLE>

To put it plainly, we messed up experimenting with our air box.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fmrprojects &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i tried to register my race car for off road use at the dmv here in cali. and the ladys told me i can register it non-op only</TD></TR></TABLE>

my race car is non-op. I only get a moving permit if i use the tow dolly to take it to the dyno. But when i go to the track I use a open trailor.

Sorry to hear about this maybe you can find a junk shell and cut the firewall out of that one or the vin # plate.

 

sucks man

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nonvtecallmotor &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would get another JUNK shell and give that to them...... Keep the RACE chassis in hiding for a little while. </TD></TR></TABLE>

x2. Get a shell of the same model, take it apart, cut it up a bit and tell them they are welcome to it. Just make it look like you picked it TOTALLY clean - pull off any panels that you can and weld plates in to make it look like it had a cage. Hell, take the suspension off the decoy and have it on cinder blocks when they come for it. Make them work to get it loaded up and hauled off. ; )

If you paid for the car its not like you are trying to be shady here.

 

Since the police investigated my competitors shop, from the results of it seems they have been watching things for a while now. I am sure they have done the same for me. I do live in the car theft capital of the world anyway... and I am anticipating a visit by the police in the near future. I cannot switch the chasis because it is my own fault for making the mistake and playing the "switch-a-roo" game would just incriminate me. Maybe it sounds stupid to all of you but my reputation/honor is worth more to me than losing this car. If it has to go, unfortunately it goes. I won't make such a careless mistake again. I appreciate all of the input given. Thankyou.

 

scott stop the charade we know for a fact that they've already visited you but you want people to think that they didn't which is all good but come on you knowingly cut the vin outta of your car which in the eyes of johnny law means something aint right . and posting this topic only makes them wonder whats really going on


Modified by fuccarlos at 4:39 PM 4/30/2007

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fuccarlos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">scott stop the charade we know for a fact that they've already visited you but you want people to think that they didn't which is all good but come on you knowingly cut the vin outta of your car which in the eyes of johnny law means something aint right . and posting this topic only makes ya wonder whats really going on </TD></TR></TABLE>

Mike, you know it is funny that you post in my thread. Too bad you work for the competing shop that I have purposely left nameless in this thread. I didn't start this thread to put on a "charade", as you call it or for that matter to badmouth any one's shop. Unfortunalety for you, I have more credibility than you in this case. I do expect the police to visit my shop soon, since you guys got caught up to no good, but that is your issue, not mine. Personally, I made the mistake, have tons of pictures of the car including the VIN number as well matching the title that HASPORT (Keith Gillespie) sold me the car with. I have no problem asking either Keith or Brian Gillespie to vouch for me in this thread if needed, but I feel that is uneccessary at this point.

The only problem is the pictures match, but the VIN isn't on the car anymore.

So get off of your hidden implications that I have done something wrong and deal with your own issue.

 

wow sounds like a PITA... sorry for you troubles...

not to get off topic, but where on the firewall is the vin? I guess I never noticed it..

 

And just to clear up any further confusion Turbo Elements is not the shop Mike works for.

I built the setup and cage in mikes car so that is why my name is in his signature.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurboElements.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And just to clear up any further confusion Turbo Elements is not the shop Mike works for.

I built the setup and cage in mikes car so that is why my name is in his signature. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Tim at Turbo Elements is a cool guy and as far as I know not involved with any of the local investigations in anyway.

Turbo Elements...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2point6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Mike, you know it is funny that you post in my thread. Too bad you work for the competing shop that I have purposely left nameless in this thread. I didn't start this thread to put on a "charade", as you call it or for that matter to badmouth any one's shop. Unfortunalety for you, I have more credibility than you in this case. I do expect the police to visit my shop soon, since you guys got caught up to no good, but that is your issue, not mine. Personally, I made the mistake, have tons of pictures of the car including the VIN number as well matching the title that HASPORT (Keith Gillespie) sold me the car with. I have no problem asking either Keith or Brian Gillespie to vouch for me in this thread if needed, but I feel that is uneccessary at this point.

The only problem is the pictures match, but the VIN isn't on the car anymore.

So get off of your hidden implications that I have done something wrong and deal with your own issue.


</TD></TR></TABLE>you go on and believe what you want get all the vouches you need that wont help your situation in anyway you should of known better than to go cut your vehical id out of your car and "accidentally" toss it to the garbage

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fuccarlos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you go on and believe what you want get all the vouches you need that wont help your situation in anyway you should of known better than to go cut your vehical id out of your car and "accidentally" toss it to the garbage </TD></TR></TABLE>

Mike, You are correct. All the vouches in the world will not help me with my situation dealing with the authorities. It was a very stupid mistake I made. What the vouches will help me with is when you imply to the readers here that "something else is going on".

If that is not your intent, then you need to clarify.

 

sorry i misspelled a word in that paragraph my bad im not saying its stolen or even implying that thats how the popo think

 

I would personally take it to a crusher, have them flatten it. When they come to pick it up, say "here's your car!".

 

any pics of said chassis? maybe someone may want to buy it and use it as a track only car.