Re: Title for car where engines are swapped
The last thing I would do, or suggest someone else do, would be to grind off the old serial number and stamp in a new one. To the best of my understanding (I haven't had reason to research it) it is against Federal law to alter a VIN (serial) number. Your next problem would be with your state DMV when they looked at the car and said "this has been altered, they must be trying to hide something". The numbers were stamped into an "as cast " pad which would not be the surface left by a grinder. The "font" of the numbers was also unique (but they are available). At that point the DMV would probably remove the body and look at the serial number stamped into the frame (at your expense). If the vehicle had been stolen sometime in its life it would be returned to the rightful owner.
I encountered a similar problem in 1971 on my '31 RDPU. I wanted to change engines and have the paperwork revised to match the new engine serial number, which is what was done by the DMV for many years. I was told the policy at the time was to no longer register by the engine number but to assign a number and attach a plate to the door jam (see attached photo with a couple of blanked out digits) A plate with the same number was also hidden elsewhere on the chassis. Call our DMV and see what they recommend.
Charlie Stephens
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