Porsche building cars without a VIN? (911), 914s also, maybe? Options

[74ravenna]

Hi all,

Last week a coworker sent me a photo of a 911 without a VIN.
Its a factory built race car that the owner bought new around 1970 (i think) and put the car away, never really drove it i guess.
To look at the photo you'd think it was a nut and bolt restoration, but its all original!

So, did Porsche actually build cars without a VIN in situations like this?
I can't help but think that they had to put some sort of numbers/ID on it.

Did they build any 914s in this same manner?

Steve

[larryM]

interesting discussion - there is a 356 thread that gets into some detail about how Porsche would supply a new body shell w/o VIN if the owner of a wrecked car could prove it was "junked"

Porsche then provided some affirmation that the old VIN was re-asssigned to the fresh shell - for a car in Germany, they would have sent a letter to the TUV validating it's resurrection so that it could be re-registered

- and therefore the new body wore the old VIN and - & as noted above - also likely wore many of the salvaged donor pieces from the old body

dunno if it was ever done in the States (tho, an above post suggests yes)

here is the 356 thread
http://www.abcgt.com/forum/4-356-Forum/290...and-Kardex.html
* summary:
"I believe that Porsche required a vin n​r stating that it was destroyed to sell a replacement body.
they did not verify the actual status of the replaced vin.
Providing a good nr was all that was needed to get a new body without buying the entire car.
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Even some dealers would sell cars that had a replacement body and install exchange motors and transmissions and pay the import duty on parts not vehicles.
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isn't re bodied an inaccurate term ​(if) ​
the replacement bodies were new production not a repair?
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Yes, 'replacement' is not a perfect term but is what Porsche used overall. 356 are not VWs where you unbolt the body from the pan. If Porsche says rebodied they meant that a new body was offered as a replacement.
"
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also see - http://flatsixes.com/cars/porsche-356/myst...e-chassis-1021/
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here's the UK version of re-bodies -
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/rec...lassic-vehicles
heritage MGB bodies can be bought http://www.bmh-ltd.com/bodyshells.htm
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https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm...ak/67052/page1/
" Race cars are a whole 'nother ball game. So may Porsche 917's and 956's were wrecked and rebuilt that the same chassis numbers are now 2 complete cars, and both are legitimate!"
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Vintage Car Law gets into excruciating detail about "re-bodied" cars legality in USA http://www.vintageautomotive.net/?p=356
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if that's not enuf to confuse us all - just google it
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+a+r...-8&oe=utf-8
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