Question about state issued VINs and "street modified" hobbyist registration.

[Nickerz]

Got a lead on a 20 year old vehicle that has a state issued VIN. It has a chain of custody since it's a rare vehicle, so I'm not at all concerned about the vehicle being stolen.

My primary concern is that it now has a state issued VIN (Either Michigan or Colorado, don't have the complete details yet) and a lot of mods. Including a distinct lack of catalytic converters.

I am under the impression (possibly incorrectly) that this vehicle can be titled under the state "Street Modified" law. There isn't a whole lot of detail on the DMV to handle situations like this and I feel like I'm going to really really need to work my way through the system to find "the guy" that handles this kind of stuff and get a straight answer directly.

But if anyone on here has any experience working fast and loose with this stuff, let me know.

[Nickerz]

Through a combination of Jalopnik's HAMB and calling the state I got the answer for anyone in the future.

A state issued VIN is basically considered totally valid in Wisconsin and is a non-issue. This requires a little footwork from an insurance standpoint because some insurance companies will require extensive documentation or will outright refuse a VIN they can not decode.

From an emissions standpoint, it's older than 1996 so it's exempt.

A state issued VIN does not mean it's salvaged, rebuilt or assembled. In this case, it was a technical issue with the legality of what constitutes a VIN, namely in trucks, the cab. I haven't decided if I'll buy the vehicle yet, but just wanted to pass the info along.

[-stew-]

So with a truck, do they go off the cab or the frame?

[GTSLOW]

What is it?

[Nickerz]

So with a truck, do they go off the cab or the frame?

The cab.

It was a Syclone I was looking at with an SBC V8 TT swap. I did the math and I'd only save like $3-5K over doing it to my truck and I'd have to sell off the motor and deal with a bunch of other issues, not to mention it'd be a "Syclone." Just wasn't even in the same ballpark for me to do it.

It was a pretty stout build, but I just really wasn't interested in the SBC.