Frame Swap question

I just picked up what I have been told is a 1964 CJ Frame in very good condition, (bill of sale only).
I know things very from state to state, I live in Tennessee.
What have you experienced in putting a non matching vin # frame under a legally registered (1961) body.
The vin on the frame I bought has the vin stamped on the frame.
I would like to put the frame under my 61 CJ.
All suggestions are welcome.
John

 

How can I have 28 views and no replies?

 

It all depends on the laws of your state. In some states the frame is considered the basic unit of vehicle, in others it's the body. If your current Jeep has a valid title there should never be any question of what the frame is out of, and unless you have to get a police inspection for some reason no one will ever look at the frame number. I once bought a Jeep Comanche with a salvage title. After rebuilding it I had to get a state police inspection (Missouri) to get a regular title. They went over it with a fine toothed comb and made sure all factory numbers matched. If you ever had to go through something like that, I can imagine you'd end up in a bit of a pickle, but with a 50 year old vehicle it's easy to understand that parts get replaced.

 

Tennessee's law talks about replacing engines and bodies and requiring you to provide the DMV with a bill of sale or title from the donor vehicle, but doesn't mention frames, making me believe that they would consider the frame to be the basic vehicular unit: http://www.tennessee.gov/sos/rules/1320/1320-08/1320-08-13.pdf But honestly your best bet is to call up your DMV and ask them. Don't ever ask for free legal advice from a public forum, you could well end up running afoul of the law.

REPLACEMENT OF ENGINE OR BODIES WHICH HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN
DISMANTLED OR JUNKED. In cases where an engine or body is replaced by another engine or body which has
been previously dismantled or junked, the applicant for a corrected Certificate of Title shall present, in addition to
the affidavit required for a change of engine or body, a notarized bill of sale from the person selling the dismantled
or junked engine or body with an indication thereon of the permit number given for the dismantling or junking of the
motor vehicle by the Division. The notarized bill of sale shall note thereon any assignments if any have been made.

 

IMHO, just do it, and dont tell anyone.

Remember the old saying;

Forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission.

 

I wouldn't think twice about doing this. If you have valid registration who will ever know.

 

John,
The correct answer is:
It Depends.
It depends on the state laws, the DMV person involved, time/temperature/rain outside that day, and probably a host of other factors.

As an example, I recently registered in Califormia the former Sparky/Wuze Jeep. I had a Florida title signed off by Wuze's friend Jim, no Bill of Sale, and a fiberglass bodied Jeep with no VIN plate. I expected a good chance of trouble with this, but what happened amazed me.
The DMV people told me that an out of state title transfer required a VIN inspection, and when I told the nice lady that this was an aftermarket replacement body, she immediately said they would issue a California Assigned VIN (commonly known as a blue sticker). When I told her there should be a frame stamping of the original VIN, she showed no interest in trying to look for it, maybe because it was close to 100° outside that day? She was back outside in about 5 minutes with the new sticker, applied it and told me to park it and go back inside. Within only about 40 minutes I was out of there with new plates and registration papers, new title arrived in the mail 2 weeks later.

Your mileage may vary....

Don

 

Thanks to all who replied. I will do the frame swap and move ahead with the project.