Vin Plate rivets???

[smallblk77]

I have been around cars allot in my past but just got my first old truck. I bought a 69 Chevy C10, fleetside long bed. It was rusted really bad around the rockers and cab corners. A guy was refered to me through a friend to fix the rust and get it ready for paint. When I first got the truck back I didn't notice that the vin plate and the little plate under the Vin had been messed with. It took about 2 weeks of me messing with the truck to notice that the rivet were regular rivets. I checked the Vin against the title I have and it is still the same. I contacted the guy that did the work and he said he took it off to put a new peice of metal behind both plates to fix the rust issues. He said that since I have the title with that vin on it that there should be no problems with the other style rivets. Is this true and if it is not where can I get some of the right rivets that belong in the truck.

[lofly'a]

depends on what state you live in, and who u talk to. Louisiana DMV could care less as long as the vin displayed on the tag and the title matches, and some states don't even have a title, and some will hang u from the highest tree if u even scratch the vin plate let alone remove it to do repairs. I'd anonymosly call the FL DMV and ask all the questions u need answers to and go from there.

[va_tlc]

do yall have to take your truck to dmv? if not there shouldnt be any trouble, as long as both #s match.

[sdkid]

You can get the rivets here:
http://trimtags.com/rivets.html

I've never used them myself, but others here have.

[Longhorn Man]

i would call... from a pay phone.

[El Jay]

Originally Posted by longhorn man

i would call... From a pay phone.

^ x 2 ^; ANONYMOUSLY!!!

[petey-pablo]

Wow All that trouble for a repainted cab.. I Guess I should ask my brother about this one he works at the DMV my cab has been replaced and I don't want any problems with the Law if I ever do get pulled over.. That would suck though If I had to change them I heard they are Like $50 Bucks or so each if you can fine the OG rose Bud ones.... Now I have changed the Vin On my honda Dash Because I had to go to the junk yard and get a new dash "Imports" thats a whole nother story I'd expect to get hasslled for that especially since its visable from the out side..

[smallblk77]

No I don't have to take the truck to the DMV for any reason. Just worried that if I get pulled over for any reason, or my son when he turns 16( it is his truck then), gets pulled over for that matter. Don't want the police officer to freak out if he notices the rivets are changed.

[Mudder]

Every state is different, so asking that here you will probably get 50 different answers. You need to make the call where you live and see what they say.

[sjarrett71]

"most" officers won't know. I wouldn't have known if not for this board. From what I remember, there was no training on what vehicle's were supposed to have which rivets (In Missouri anyway, however the Highway Patrol may be different). If I hadn't researched it myself (with help from the board) I would have never known. If officers would pay attention there is a book provided to them (from the NHTSA I think) that provides the information as well as other vehicle identification info.

[mr48chev]

In this state you have to take the vehicle into the WSP inspection station if it is a rebuilt (from a total) or brought in from certa, in states.
The local WSP inspectors are very good at what they do and would most likely spot the special replacement rivits, at least the one who inspected the Camaro I rebuilt from a total a few years ago.

The logical thing here would be to have the truck inspected if it had a cab replacement and have that documented but everyone knows that very few of us would do that.

For those of who redo our own trucks or even those who pack them off to one shop or another to have them worked on I think photo and paper documentation is the key to avoiding future trouble for ourselves or a future owner of the truck.
Most of us who participate on the forums like this one have a tendency to photo document everything we do and those photos would most likely serve to resolve issues. "Yes officer, Here's the link to my photobucket page that shows where I had to cut out the rusted door post, replace it with a good one and refinish it."

I've always advocated keeping a "build book' Not the photo book that you put on display with the truck at shows although I like to look at those but your own documentation book of everything on the project. A three ring binder with a bunch of page saver pages from one of the office supply stores that you can keep every receipt, warranty slip, and what not along with a detailed photo documentation of the work that was done. Among other things it helps when a guy needs to do repairs and needs to remember what part he used. But the same thing would document where the parts came from. That the LT1 engine came from a wrecking yard and you have the receipt for it. That the transmission came from a rebuild shop an was bought online and the wheels came from the tire store you have been doing business with since you started driving or moved to the area.

[leddzepp]

Never had anyone question one here in Calif, CHP, DMV, no one. As long as the numbers matched up, no problem. All they care about is post 75 vehicles smog. Check with your local DMV though, as mudder suggests.