the thread that i started titled "Interesting VIN # on a 68 Barracuda" is still here on FABO. a number of people responded and it includes a lot of good information. i would recommend it to anyone worried about a VIN number.
with that said, please allow me to share some thoughts based upon my 29 years of practicing criminal law here in pittsburgh, pennsylvania.
1. i am most familiar with 67-69 barracuda VIN numbers - i have 2 69s and 2 68's.
2. IF you are buying a car to drive and keep for yourself, the accuracy of the VIN number on that car may never become a problem. however, if you have some suspicions about the car and/or the VIN number, it is possible that the police may knock on your door someday with a warrant to confiscate your car because your VIN number has shown up on a "stolen car" list. assuming that you had no part in the theft of the car, you will not go to jail but you probably will lose the car.
3. IF you purchase a car under "suspicious" circumstances - like getting a "really good deal" on a "really valuable car" and you have actual knowledge that their might be an issue regarding the VIN number, you run the risk of being charged with participating in the commission of a crime - like "perpetrating a fraud" or "receipt of stolen property" or "conspiracy to commit fraud" or some other similar doctrine outlined in your state's criminal code.
4. IF you SELL a car knowing full well that there is an issue with the accuracy of the VIN number on that car - you have a VERY GOOD chance of crossing paths with the local police or local Prosecuting/District Attorney. there are two general types of Criminal conduct in all 50 States: crimes that are crimes simply if certain acts are committed (think statutory rape - er go "ignorance of the law is no excuse) and crimes that are ONLY crimes if the person committing the act "intended" to commit a crime (think theft, assault, kidnapping, destruction of property, arson, etc.). when a person sells a car that they know may not have the correct VIN number, they are "intentionally deceiving" the buyer - and that is a crime in all 50 states AND under Federal Law. this is a very different legal standard than just not telling a buyer that the motor has a noise in it or the clutch is probably bad. alteration of VIN #'s has been made a "specific" criminal violation under Federal and State law.
5. so how much of a car can you "repair" and what must you not "alter?" the simple answer is - you CANNOT "alter" IN ANY WAY the VIN number on a particular car - meaning - you CANNOT take a dash with a VIN number on it and put it in a different car; you CANNOT cut out the metal panel with a VIN number on it and put it in another car. you MUST "repair" the specific car that has an ORIGINAL VIN number on it with a CORRECT TITLE "for that car." IF YOU HAVE TWO CARS - one with a good VIN and title that CANNOT BE REPAIRED and one which has no title or VIN but CAN BE REPAIRED, you MUST contact your local State Police (usually they are the correct ones) and tell them you want to RECONSTRUCT and repair the car YOU DO NOT HAVE A TITLE FOR. the State Police will explain how you can obtain a "Reconstructed Title" for the car you are saving. now, any car dealer will tell you that a car with a "reconstructed title" or "salvage title" IS NOT worth as much as a car with "a clean title." that is the reason why most "repair guys" decide to take "the easy route" and simply "swap VINs" from a "clean title" car to the car they are repairing. while that is an easy way to solve this problem - IT IS ILLEGAL TO DO THIS!! - in all 50 states.
6. there is only ONE WAY to avoid all this VIN number concern and worry: examine the car you want to buy and MAKE SURE all the numbers match! if you get ANY stories about a replaced VIN panel or a dash - DO NOT BUY THE CAR! if you absolutely HAVE to buy a car with a questionable VIN number history/compliance, AT LEAST have the police check the VIN number to see if the car was stolen.
7. finally, EVEN IF you never have a police car pull up in your drive way a couple of weeks after you've sold your "restored" collector car (with a shady VIN number past) to a really excited buyer, YOU CAN STILL BE SUED by that unhappy buyer in a CIVIL SUIT if the buyer gets his new toy "examined" by someone who really knows something about collector cars and tells this buyer that "the numbers on this car are all "f...ed up!" in such a suit, even a mediocre lawyer will be able to force you to "reclaim your car" and give the buyer all his money back plus the cost of the law suit and the lawyer's fees.
if there are any lawyers out in FABO land that disagree with any part of this analysis, please let me know as i am confident that i have correctly summarized the state of Federal and State law regarding VIN numbers on vehicles.