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Need VIN tag rivets

Eric M.

Eric M.

1/2 ton status
Joined
Dec 10, 2001
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Location
Oakland, CA
I yanked the VIN tag off my 73 GMC for painting and now need to refasten it. I have since found out that screws aren't the best solution since it will look like the VIN tag has beed tampered with. Does anyone know where I can pick up the factory style rivets for a 73 GM (VIN fastened to door pillar)?

Thanks,

Eric M.
 
Eric...

This happens more than you think...
Unfortunately this may not be what you want to hear....

Once the vin has been altered, removed, or in ANYWAY tampered with in California the vehicle must be inspected by a peace officer, preferably a chippie vin specialist and then it receives a blue chp vin tag....

It is a crime to possess, use, construct, or otherwise puchase for use any vin rivets, Genuine GM rivets are restricted for sale to OEM only. This is not an appropriate place for me to educate you about vin rivets.

Does this mean you cant find some at a swap meet... no.. you might be able to... but if it was so easy they would just sell them and people could steal cars easily and revin them (which of course the pros do all the time).. but they try to keep them generally out of the publics easy grasp...

My suggestion... contact chippie... tell them what you did an ask for their advice...

Blue tagged vehicles generally fetch a lower price here in cali because prospective buyers are aware there is/was something wrong with the reg/vin on the vehicle at some point... leading most people to believe it was a stolen and therefor possibly abused.... I wouldnt buy one


"I carry a badge,,, I was a smog nazi... now Im a ck5er"
 
A way out??

I know of a few guys who swapped rust free cabs onto their trucks,but the cabs came from the junkyard,no title--they got up under the dash with a dremel tool and ground off the underside of the rivets and pried the vin tag out of the original rusty cab,being careful not to damage it or dislodge the rivet heads in it,and used double sided tape or body seam sealer to "glue" it back in place--looks unmolested and still has the OEM rivits in it!--its hard to get underneath the dash to do this though..and technically its still "illeagal"if you get caught--but not many LEO's are too concerned about 20 year old trucks,around here anyway..:crazy: DISCLAIMER--Dont tell them I told you it was ok to do this!!--just telling you what I've seen done before!.:blush:
 
when you remove tag youre supposed to push the pin out of the rivet body so you can save the rivet body and just use a new rivet pin with rivet gun

that way you dont need new stasr rivet body which are next to impossible to buy cept for one place i know of

for obvious reasons,,

another way to do this is to chop backside of rivets off and clear epoxy the tag and rivet heads back in place when done

sounds liek you already screwed up though
go to a junk yard and take rivet bodies off a truck or car out there, dont let them see ya do it though




good luck
 
Check with Corvette places. I know some sell rivets for VIN tags, I've seen them advertised before.
 
Cam, what are you supposed to do then if you cut the dash out and the VIN along with it? Or your VIN plate is actually falling out like it is on my blazer?
 
R72K5 said:
when you remove tag youre supposed to push the pin out of the rivet body so you can save the rivet body and just use a new rivet pin with rivet gun
Click to expand...



Thats a damn good idea, why diddent i think of that????
 
I have made the star style rivets myself...with a cut-off tool on a demel.
I used the old rivet head as a templet..vise-grip clamped it to a standard rivet.
then carefully cut-it.

After hitting the new rivet with a wire wheel...it's ready to use.

Once the tag is riveted back on...I'll hit it with a buffer.:D
 
IMHO thats not a good idea, it will never look the same, and any cop worth his weight will catch that
 
The info I gave has been around many years..
I didn't provide it...so guys can steal or dumby-up there rigs.

It's for the truck restorer...
that has no choice but to remove tags do to repair rust.
 
Last edited:
surpip said:
Thats a damn good idea, why diddent i think of that????
Click to expand...

you didnt learn it from me

/me draws halo over his head

and for my required disclaimer to info posted by self above:

the above info posted by me is solely meant as recreational for helping to expand the mind of the fellow truck enthusiast, and not meant to be used to actually conduct any actions or procedures deemed/ruled un-lawful by any city, county, state, national, or munincipal goverment and/or laws

nor do i conduct or condone such procedures


here in IL if a vehicle is suspected to have altered or non original VIN then it will be inspected by a state licensed facility(could be a service station, or a junkyard, etc)and then stamped REBUILT in bright red ink on its title, forever, even after transfers to future owners, i have owned a few rebuilt vehicles in my day including a 77 NOVA i bought and drove out of a junkyard, and a 69 F-100 pickup that went through a junkyard, was a daily driver of mine also,




good luck :D
 
I had a car of mine stolen and the vin was torn up in the process. I had to take the car to the Highway patrol's inspection station where they looked at all the points where there are vin numbers on the car. At that time there were 4 of them. If you are on the up-and-up there wont be anyproblem with it. They would install a new one for you after they make up a new one.
 
well... technically you cant do anything but turn it over to chp and they blue tag the vehicle....


in reality.... what some of the other posts are talking about is done..... the super clean jobs almost never get caught.... but then you can always get a super sharp copper who would take the truck at the very least... you along with it at the worst...

I always tell people...
ok your vin fell off..... or you mistakenly cut it off... but its really your truck... not a "put together" one but just a legit truck.... all the paperwork matches... the secondary vins match... it hasnt been a salvage/reconstruct
do what you think is apporpriate... why would a copper look at it anyway?
what were you doing to have him want to inspect it closely anyway?

but... when you try to sell it you might have a problem... or at the very least pass on this "problem" to an unsuspecting buyer... at some point somebdy:mad: is going to get stuck dealing with a funky vin tag... whether civil or criminally

if you get caught whatever excuse you have isnt going to cut it.... at least that is what I have seen in my experience.... dmv are bastards with this kind of stuff and dont show leniency

resto guys are very careful NOT to mess up the vin
 
we look for this all the time..

instant felony

they used to have "classes" on this in some of the state prisons here

"how to be a better thief 101"
 
VIN location

hey Cam,


Where are the VIN locations on our trucks? I only know of one on the frame rail, top, drivers side (I think) under the bed. Any others??


Eric M.
 
don't mean to hijack, but is it legal to take a cab from a smog exempt truck and swap it on my 86? It's kidna Changing the VIN, cuz i could register it as the smog exempt one which it really isn't...
 
Cam gave the best advice, IMHO. Just take it to DMV and get it inspected, and you're good to go, no worries. Do it right. I have to do the same thing on my 75, as I no longer have bedsides.
 
Cali Laws

no... it is not legal to swap a non smog cab onto a smogged frame...
remember the running gear dictates the smog...

chevy was nice enough to stamp the vin in several places.... partial vin in several places.... but not always on every truck... go figure

the hidden vins arent hidden at all.... yes the frame.. sometimes on both sides

When we look at a stolen or "funny" vin we begin at the beginning
what was the truck supossed to be per the vin....
what does the model look like
does it have all the right equipment... tail lenses,engine, trans etc.... do the build dates on sub assemblies match.... what is the DMV history... we can go back and interview all the prior owners to see what they did//or will admit to

obviously on our trucks getting as old as they are most of this stuff has been swapped around...

look... the crooks do all the stuff you can imagine

cut and weld new vins in
put new stickers on
rebadge vehicles

the sano ones slip by....

can it be done... sure.... Ive said all along you can do it... and you may not get caught if theres nothing funky about you or your paperwork... but somebody sometime is going to get nailed if you mickeymouse your vin in anyway

blue tag it and be done with it

Or do what some of the other posters said and pass the problem on
 
Perhaps out in Cali where stealing cars/swapping VIN's is more common do police check VIN plates, but I have never had a cop look at mine. I used to have a 86 Blazer with a 77 VIN plate secured to the B pillar like GM did it in 77 with regular rivets. I was stopped quite a few times and never did anyone ask to see the VIN (after a while, the rivets and plate rusted to the point of the rivets blending in with the plate).

I also was stopped a couple of times with my S10 Blazer on the K5 frame, and still never was asked to see the VIN (and one time it involved about 6 of Annapolis, MD's finest, a broken axle on a semi float rear, and driving home through the city at 2 AM on 3 wheels- they followed the scrapes on the road:blush: ). Maybe I am just lucky, but I think if you are polite, and cooperative, most officers wouldn't really suspect any foal play on our old junk.
 
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