Tube chassis cost

[lance345]

I'm sure insurance is slightly different everywhere, but seems to be along the same general idea.

My insurance company said when the car is done it will be insured as a "modified mr2" and if I want replacement value greater than the mr2, just get an appraisal. I intend to, and I'll have to wait and see what my insurance comes in at but I'd be surprised if it was more than $100/month. That's how much my new truck is, and my car won't be valued at that much (if it is I'll even surprise myself    )

[eddie]

This has always been my nightmare, having someone else hit me and then their insurance only wanting to pay me Fiero bluebook on my replica.
Heres what I did. First, I got an independant appraisal on my car. I told them I was looking for around $80K and they said no problem, the apprasial came back at $81.5K
I have my car listed as a classic with my insurance, and have full coverage (liability, comp, collision, uninsured motorist). If my car ever gets hit and is considered a "total" loss, I get $80K, whether its my fault or not.
I also have it stipulated that if the car is considered totaled, I get to keep possesion of the car and not pay a buyback fee. My 6 month premium for all this coverage is $212, and I have State Farm Insurance.
 

[eddie]

I too am in Auto body biz, as you can see what happened to me ( read Kitcentral Guywithlambo) I got 14K for bumper and repaint both 1/4s. that is why you need appraisal and go with good insurance comp.for me it paid off well spending 160bucks a month. oh guess what, it was a Fiero based too ,but registered as home build and 50K no
depreciation.
re :the after market panels here in Canada if insurance gives you a OEM part they want to re inspect after. not all cars are checked but in random.

[Murci-Me]

This has always been my nightmare, having someone else hit me and then their insurance only wanting to pay me Fiero bluebook on my replica.
Heres what I did. First, I got an independant appraisal on my car. I told them I was looking for around $80K and they said no problem, the apprasial came back at $81.5K
I have my car listed as a classic with my insurance, and have full coverage (liability, comp, collision, uninsured motorist). If my car ever gets hit and is considered a "total" loss, I get $80K, whether its my fault or not.
I also have it stipulated that if the car is considered totaled, I get to keep possesion of the car and not pay a buyback fee. My 6 month premium for all this coverage is $212, and I have State Farm Insurance.
 

[SchulzeA]

So you pay cheap insurance and pay the differance to fix your car, or you pay very expensive insurance and they fix your car. Either way your paying for it. And from my experience in a body shop, the insurance wants everything half butt so it's as cheap as possible. Every quote was refused when we ask for oem fenders ect. They want everything aftermarket china junk parts. So good luck having them hire a fab shop to rebuild the damaged tube chassis.

[rodrieguz]

so we got Fiero VIN and registered as Fiero so we can save a buck . after that it can be like this.
 http://www.kitcentral.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=11093&sid=c99491661c9cd65451bdc5b4bf6a79f6

Exactly!

[eddie]

so we got Fiero VIN and registered as Fiero so we can save a buck . after that it can be like this.
 http://www.kitcentral.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=11093&sid=c99491661c9cd65451bdc5b4bf6a79f6

[jamack]

Tallon, greatly said, the cost of doing custom is high regardless of the customization, it seems to be never ending with parts, custom chassis build is not the cheapest way to go or easiest...

[aeauto]

Be very careful about removing a VIN tag from one vehicle and installing it on another one.  In some states that will get your vehicle taken away and you might find yourself in jail or at least with a hefty fine.

[Tallon]

No matter how you slice it up a tube chassis fully built will be around 13k, Yes the tube steel is probally the cheapest component but everything else will eat $$$$
Registration is pretty much the same across the board.  Save all your reciepts, get state inspection done, apply for special contructed title.

Why in the world would anyone want to register a tube chassis as a fiero?

Yeah, for a custom chassis that sounds fair.. it's not enough to say "you might as well buy a real lambo."

[SchulzeA]

Why in the world would anyone want to register a tube chassis as a fiero?

Easier... Cheaper... Except for in Cali.
Why wouldn't you register it as a fiero?

[rodrieguz]

No matter how you slice it up a tube chassis fully built will be around 13k, Yes the tube steel is probally the cheapest component but everything else will eat $$$$
Registration is pretty much the same across the board.  Save all your reciepts, get state inspection done, apply for special contructed title.

Why in the world would anyone want to register a tube chassis as a fiero?

[jamack]

or,if you own property in another state have your car registered there, I was thinking about having mine done in Florida even though I live in TN, which ever one is easiest is where my car will be born..

[Murci-Me]

Do you need to have every car fully inspected in Cali? Why not just put the fiero vin tag on the tube chassis and register it as a modified fiero? Here the DMV wouldn't know the differance or care either way. You would only need an inspection if your attempting to get a title for a vehicle that hasn't ever been registered.

 

The problem is the nazi smog laws we have. Your not allowed to swap the engine unless its "CARB" approved. In Theory you can't unless your doing the LS3 Erod swap. Even then the nazi's still want to inspect your car. The only way you can possibly do it is if you get the vin from a Fiero and do it that way but even then your gonna need a decoy car just for smog check and pray to go the cops don't harrass you and force you to pop your hood. Oh well I guess that's what engine covers are for right?

Smog/engine laws here in California state that only an engine model that came with the vehicle originally can be replaced in the vehicle. If the VIN decodes as a '86 with a 2.8L, then thats all that can be in that vehicle. You couldnt even put a 4 banger in it, even though Fieros came with those. The VIN says V6, so it better be a V6 like the car came with.

Yes, you could attach a Fiero VIN to a tube chassis build (nobody would ever know) but the car you're registering as a Fiero better have a Fiero engine it that matches the VIN number.

[Murci-Me]

Why do you have to register it as a Fiero? The truth is, here in California nobody cares, and the DMV never checks, unless you ask them to. They wouldnt know what they were looking at anyway!
I have an '02 Tahoe that has been registered as a commercial vehicle since I bought it new at the dealership. I never thought about it before, even though I had commercial plates on it until my wife asked me why my registration was so high on it (3X what she pays on her '02 Suburban).
I went to the DMV and asked why my car was a commercial vehicle and they told me because it has a "bed" and can carry loads. I said it was an SUV and they said it didnt matter, and I would have to have a referee look at it (lol). Needless to say, its now registered as a passenger vehicle, no commercial fees.
My point is, the DMV couldn't care less what you wanna register your car as.
Lets say you wanna have a 3800SC in your Fiero kitcar. Fiero's never came with a 3800, so thats gonna be a problem with smog, but not the DMV.
To get around the smog, find out what year and model vehicle the engine you're using came out of, and register it as that. The easiest way to do it is to have a VIN from the same model/year vehicle (salvage or not).
Nobody (DMV, CHP, Insurance, etc) is gonna question the vehicle if it displays the proper VIN, and nobody will ever know if its a custom chassis or a donor vehicle. If the engine you're using comes out of a '02 Pontiac Grand Am, then your car (as far as they are concerned) better be built on what you call a modified '02 Pontiac Grand Am, and have a VIN to match. It can be a tube chassis, it only needs to have the VIN!
In California, it really is just that simple.