Blue Hertz at Mecum Indy this weekend

[Bob Gaines]

I'm not sure it would be illegal to stamp a vin on a block. Shelbys were never titled by a vin on the block. Also say someone found a correct block and stamped it and now called the car numbers matching and not say " guarantied original engine "  is that illegal? I'd say not. Unethical? Yes. Now Chevies prior to 1972 if someone built a very rare car where you cannot tell what it is because of the lack of engine vin and sold it as said rare car to me that would be fraud but it might be hard to prove? 

You opened up an interesting question. Here is a quick overview that I am just learning. I only handle state cases but this Federal statute interests me to dive further. As you see, there are exceptions which would exculpate a restorer.

18 U.S.C. § 511 is the federal law that makes it a felony to knowingly remove, obliterate, tamper with, or alter a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on a road motor vehicle or motor vehicle part.The OffenseUnder this statute, it is a crime to knowingly:Remove, alter, or tamper with an identification number.Alter or remove a theft-prevention decal (affixed under the Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act) with the intent to further the theft of a vehicle.PenaltiesViolations of this statute are considered felonies. Offenders face fines, up to 5 years in federal prison, or both.Lawful ExceptionsThe law recognizes that legitimate repairs or recycling operations may require interacting with identification numbers. The statute explicitly exempts the following individuals from prosecution, unless they know the vehicle or part is stolen:Scrap processors and demolishers who are in compliance with applicable state laws.Repair professionals where the alteration or removal is reasonably necessary for lawful repairs.Persons replacing/restoring numbers in accordance with state laws (e.g., restoring a classic car).

I believe the context of the federal law has to do with the vin on the chassis which is used for registration. I have not heard of a block vin used for registration (in the last 50 years) . I have only heard of a block vin used in recovering stolen property. Regardless in this case it has to do with a bungled restoration attempt and how it relates to other restoration done on the same car and not if what was done was legal or not. 

[J_Speegle]

Just as a note cars built in the 40's and earlier were originally titled by the VIN on the engine not the body/frame. There was a process in later decades where owners could change the "official" VIN used by a state to the frame number. This helped with titling and registering those cars when you hot rodded them replacing the original engines with other (typical example: a small block Chevy) engines

[Bobby Crumpley]

Getting off in the weeds a bit on titles, but here's the text from the Texas DMV title handbook regarding motor and frame numbers in regards to VIN. I would assume other states are similar.

1955 and Prior Vehicles

On 1955 and prior model motor vehicles registered and titled in Texas, the motor number
is the principal means of identification, except Ford products manufactured since March
31, 1932. Motor numbers are die stamped on the engine blocks. Raised or die cast
numbers are part numbers and should be disregarded.
Beginning with the 1956 model motor vehicles, the number on the body or frame is the
principal means of identification and known as the "vehicle identification number (VIN)."
The words "permanent identification number" and "serial number" are sometimes used to
refer to the official VIN.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Until 1968 there was no standardized federal VIN system. Each manufacturer decided on what and where the serial number should be and where it should be located. Some states used body numbers and others motor numbers. There are a lot of cars floating around that were registered by the motor number and with an engine swap they no longer match the paperwork.

BTW: The SFM6S843 stamped on the block is in addition to the Ford stamped 5R09K number that was stamped by them. Since the Ford numbers were never used or seen outside of SA accounting it makes sense to have a way to tie the block to the car in an era when so little was known of these cars. When I bought 843 in 1975 I had gotten a call from a friend who was getting out of the Army and wanted a GT350. We weren't even sure what we were looking at. Red/automatic - gee weren't they all white with blue stripes or all the automatics black with gold stripes. I recalled an old article that mentioned the cables on the rear axle. They were there so we figured it was real. In the end he passed on the car and bought a 65. So I made a deal on 843.

[pchmotoho]

I'm not sure it would be illegal to stamp a vin on a block. Shelbys were never titled by a vin on the block. Also say someone found a correct block and stamped it and now called the car numbers matching and not say " guarantied original engine "  is that illegal? I'd say not. Unethical? Yes. Now Chevies prior to 1972 if someone built a very rare car where you cannot tell what it is because of the lack of engine vin and sold it as said rare car to me that would be fraud but it might be hard to prove? 

I believe NCRS allows a restamp on the block and defines it as a restoration stamp or something along those lines. Many decades ago my uncle educated me that numbers matching and original motor are not necessarily the same thing.