Re-clipped car and VIN number Options

[ThePaintedMan]

So this weekend did not turn out well for one of our members Shane (JetsetSurfShop). We ran his awesome car at the 14 Hours of Sebring and unfortunately a driver suffered and off which bent the front of the car in pretty bad. In my opinion, the simplest, most cost effective fix is to replace the front clip with that of another car. Luckily there are several options nearby.

I know that Shane has not thought that far ahead yet and I'm sure he is still very upset about this weekend. But though I didn't drive the car, he's a good friend of mine, and I'd like to help him get it back on the road. The question is, when a clip is changed on a car, is this the one and only time it is then acceptable to cut out the old VIN and swap it to remain with the chassis? Or is the acceptable practice to retain the vin stamped fender with the new front clip on the old chassis?

[ThePaintedMan]

Yup, good responses here folks. I am honestly asking out of complete ignorance - never got that far into something like this before.

I wasn't able to get pictures of the inner fenders at the track, but the passenger one is pushed back with a good 2-3 inches of "foldover" and the rear of the control arm mount has been torn from the body. The driver side isn't much better. It does seem possible that the fender can be straightened but my initial thought was that it would be easier to just cut those spot welds and do the whole clip at once.

Indeed I would never want to deceive someone about the history of a car. Anyone who would buy a track car down the road would probably expect some prior damage, but the physical evidence of a major change like that shouldn't be hidden from the buyer. I know Shane would never do that. But the guy who bought it from that guy may not be given that same narrative, so I can see the point of retaining the swapped vin number along with the other photographic documentation.

I hope that my post didn't come across as deceptive. Just want to help this guy make it right and do it "right".

If there is any positive, it was really interesting to see how the fronts of these cars deform in an impact as comprehensive as this one. For such a seemingly flimsy front end, you can see how it all works together to keep the driver safe. The DS wasn't hit nearly as bad as the passenger, but it shared a good brunt of the deformation, dissipating energy along the way. It's the price we pay for thin sheet metal, but it's also why these cars are so light and run circles around the bigger BMWs and Mustangs (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[SirAndy]

Just want to help this guy make it right and do it "right".

Like i said above, i've seen much worse pulled back into spec.

You'll still have to replace a whole lot of mangled sheetmetal but as long as you can get the suspension pickup points back to where they should be, you'll be fine.

No need to clip anything.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)