help me with my VIN dilemma

Went to CL and found this locally.  Yes it involves work on your part but it puts the matter behind you for good.

https://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/d/1985-nissan-300zx/6426145136.html

Two pages and none of this guy? 

“This Vin Ain’t getting swapped, I’ll die before I go back to prison!”

Sure glad when I had to deal with this that I was dealing with a 50 year old car. I recovered the dash in my 70 Opel GT. I removed the VIN plate and reinstalled it on top of the new covering in the exact same place it was. Just used pop rivets. Looked like pop rivets was used at the factory in Germany in August of 1969 when the car was built. Never been questioned on it. Wouldn't really be too difficult to reproduce the one in my Opel, although I do know it is technically illegal. Just thin aluminum (.015?) with numbers stamped, no other markings. Done something like that for aircraft component data plates when working as QC Inspector except we used real blank data plates. A little more difficult now that they have bar codes on them, but we have a machine at work that will make any type of bar code data plate we need. The only questions I've ever gotten from vehicle registration is questions about the short VIN. Some have had to look up that some older (especially foreign) cars have short VINs and/or different VIN format. Should be real interesting when I get around to registering my 63 MG Midget, it has an even shorter VIN and format.

I still have a piece of the firewall with the VIN for the V8 Pontiac Firefly.  If it gets pulled over, the "unattached" VIN will be the least of my worries.

In reply to wlkelley3 :

as I said, VIN in the proper sense was created in the mid-late 1970's   I have seen spridgets registered with the engine code where you expect the chassis code (what you might think is the VIN) to be on the paperwork.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_identification_number

ah, 1981...

dean1484 said:

A z31 is the 80's 300zx yes?  I would just get another one.  They are not rare or expensive.

Yea it's an 87. The problem isn't finding one for cheap that had a bad engine or something like that, it's finding one that isnt destroyed by rust like most late 80's/early 90's japanese cars. The car i have now is 95% rust free and finding another one like that local to me and for the right price wouldn't be easy.

It seems the general census is that step 1 is definitely remove the non-mathing VIN from the vehicle so there is atleast never a mismatch anywhere on the car. Step 2 being work on getting a 'dash plaque' made with a 'random assortment of numbers and letters' that may or may not match the other numbers/letter on the firewall/door jam.

Luckily the VIN on z31's are set pretty far back from the windshield compared to some other cars and it's reasonably easy to get to and work with.

I'd say a missing VIN is more explainable than a home-made VIN.

But if you're going to make your own VIN plate, at LEAST put the CORRECT VIN on it - otherwise you're right back where you started: a non-matching VIN. 

I would not have a new VIN plate made. I would remove the non-matching one and if anyone wants to check there are other places to check.

Having a plate made just opens up the possibility of trouble for no reason.

I just looked into what PAs policy is on this. It appears there's a form to fill out and the state police do a verification then they issue you a new VIN plate. 

Looks like a pretty simple process, much like titling a homebuilt trailer, car, or bike. So if you want to do it the correct way that's probably your best bet.

YYMV with another state.

If it gets assigned a custom/homebuilt VIN I would expect a whole 'nother sort of problems such as insurance and resale.  I doubt most buyers would touch a car with an oddball VIN with a 10 foot pole.  

Far and away best suggestion is jam a business card in on top of the VIN and rock n roll.  Its already registered legally.  Anything else is asking for trouble.

As far as being spot-inspected - I dunno, thats not one of my worries.  I have had a lot of shady/questionable cars in my younger, poorer, and dumber past (mustang built out of 3 cars and titled as a 4th, wasnt even the right body style or year, several Eclipses that were built out of various cars, rocked a motorcycle with home-made dealer plates for 2 years, you name it) and been inspected by the cops exactly zero times.  

The only place where it would be an issue (here in MA) would be at the yearly inspection.  I am not sure how to Handel it if the vin was missing from the dash.  It is was a mismatch then that would cause all kinds of issues.  Does the vin place on the door jamb have the barcode one it?  If so that is the one that we would generally scan and photograph.  On modern cars the vin on the dash also has the barcode and that is the one we scan.   I am going to ask how to handle a car that is missing the vin on the dash and see what they say.

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

It's actually called a replacement VIN plate here in PA - form MV-41. Check the box that says "Application for State Replacement Vehicle Identification Number Plate/Decal",  Check "lost" box, and have the police inspect the jamb and firewall. The state issues a replacement VIN plate of the same number no fuss no muss.

Seeing as PA isn't terribly advanced with its DMV (Seriously can I just schedule a berkeleying appointment instead of wasting a couple hours?) I'd image other states have an equivalent form.

In reply to edizzle89 :

Do not make a new vin tag for a motor vehicle!   I would get rid of the bad vin number off the replacement dash.  Keep copies of the  inspection paperwork documenting the inspection by the police along with the registration in a little folder in the glovebox.   This is a common problem at work and isn’t nearly as bad as when ALL vins are destroyed on a vehicle.

"I stupidly replaced the dash pad not thinking about the tag.  The correct registered VIN is still *here* and *here*"