kind of a garage question, but more of a philosophical one... when is a car no longer that particular car?



for example, you have a car... you have to replace the wheels...its still the same car... then you have to replace the engine... still the same car... then years down the road, the entire chassis... then maybe redo the interior... etc.


at what point is it no longer the original car? is there a point or is it always? even if NO original part remains? what if just one teeny tiny original part remains, does that mean its still the original car?

I often think of this... your thoughts?

2/20/2008 10:34:03 PM

same frame = same car

2/20/2008 10:40:35 PM

^ tr00 tr00

2/20/2008 10:41:34 PM

so if everything else stays the same but the frame is changed out its a new car?



or a better way to put it... a new portion of the frame is welded on, replacing an old part... then down the road, another part, then another, etc. until nothing of the original frame remains... same car?

[Edited on February 20, 2008 at 10:46 PM. Reason : d]

2/20/2008 10:41:45 PM

Well ask youself this if you stich your Ex girls pussy into a sluts mouth are you fucking your X or a slut or both?

2/20/2008 10:49:05 PM

if its a frame then its still the same car

the shop i worked at they rebuilt total loss cars and if they need to, they will cut a part of the car off and replace it.

its nothing new. and its generally a good car when its done.

these cars nowadays dont really have frames that can be "swapped out" like some trucks do.

they have front and/or rear subframes.

2/20/2008 10:53:01 PM

reminds me of the old joke about somebody trying to sell George Washington's original hatchet that had only had 2 replacement heads and 3 replacement handles.

2/20/2008 11:37:35 PM

tr00,


but a camry replaces with camry parts, is still a camry. no matter what you change and how many of what you change.

it might not be "jims camry" but still

2/20/2008 11:40:32 PM

legally speaking, as long as you've got the original firewall/vin plate it's still the same vehicle. this is a commonly debated/asked about subject in the 4wd community since cab trucks, buggys, etc. have all gotten so popular and necessary in recent years.

frame swaps don't mean anything. for example, say i want to slap my 85 camaro body onto a k5 blazer chassis. it's still going to be titled and registered as a camaro. or, if the frame has rusted out of my 83 nissan 720 and i swap everything over to an 81 frame. it's still an 83.

from a personal standpoint, it's just going to depend on individual opinion as to where you draw the line.

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 12:08 AM. Reason : .]

2/21/2008 12:04:26 AM

thats interesting... so if i welded in the firewall/vin plate from a 1995 cherokee i wouldn't have to deal with obdII shit anymore ?

2/21/2008 6:52:20 AM

correct, as long as you had the title for the 85 and it wasn't an obvious hack job grafting in the new firewall or section of it.

2/21/2008 8:13:45 AM

I'm planning to pull and rebuild the motor anyway and... a stroker would be so much easier to tune w/o having to worry about having it be able to be obdII capable.
And one could pick up an 85 for pennies (probably cheaper than the rebuild of the motor)

2/21/2008 8:51:26 AM

well if you put a vin and stuff from another car, you gotta make sure that car you took it off of is not a non operable type car.

if it shows up that is blew to pieces. then you might have some probs, unless you talk dmv and inspectors that you rebuilt it from scratch

2/21/2008 9:28:32 AM

Ok so say i drive a shitty Cherokee thats tagged titled and drivable Grab the firewall/vin plates off of it. And then get rid of it (scrap yard? or will that get you busted)

I mean mine doesn't look like a 95 but the panels can be swapped over to one.

2/21/2008 9:36:10 AM

Quote :

"if the frame has rusted out of my 83 nissan 720 and i swap everything over to an 81 frame. it's still an 83."

The obvious question here, Ivan, is where in the blue fuck are you going to find an '81 720 frame that is less than 98% rust?

Frac had an '83 that the frame literally cracked in half on. Any debate about whether or not to scab said frame together was purely academic, as the engine had blown the hell out of the head gasket two weeks before. A week later, Frac was 100 bucks richer and some other guy had one more doo-doo brown hunk of shit in his driveway.

2/21/2008 12:40:49 PM

Quote :

"tr00, but a camry replaces with camry parts, is still a camry. no matter what you change and how many of what you change. it might not be "jims camry" but still"

I didnt mean was it the same model or make, I meant was it the same actual particular vehicle. I always see these cars that are so chopped that I am like "wtf, thats not even the same car anymore, over the years 99% of the car has been replaced"


and as I said, this doesnt necessarily apply to cars, can be anything. Say you have a book, you rip out one page, its still a book right? but then you rip out 20 pages and the back cover... still a book probably... but as you continue you get to a point where you no longer have the same book, you have a pile of ripped up pieces... where exactly is that point?

2/21/2008 1:17:49 PM

vin tag = all that matters

2/22/2008 11:15:38 PM

This is an age old question
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

2/23/2008 12:49:14 AM