Quote Originally Posted by Gaddy View Post
Great thread Absinth!!

A couple of things stick out for me..
Byron posted that Sandmans were only available as XX7 or XU3!!
So does that mean that only a Vehicle whose tags are stamped as such are Genuine Sandmans??

Trim codes, Full length Hood lining GTS dash and door courtesy lights etc wouldnt matter then if these stamps arent present??

IDK??

What about the original Engine block??
Not mentioned anywhere yet!!
Would the engine not be considered the "SOUL" of the vehicle??

And I am also concerned now that if its all in the "TAGS", should we all not immediately remove ours and store them in a safety deposit box so any dis-reputable ppl reading this stuff arent able to come steal them???

My M8 has a beautiful HK Monaro and loves it, but when his Tags were stolen, it significantly de-valued it!!!

Again!!
Great thread!!
It is a fluke that Acacia Ridge vehicles have the vehicle option package code on them, as far as I know it was there to help the assembly line blokes. All optional packages that plant built were stamped as such, look at any Acacia Ridge built Vacationer or HQ GTS350 sedan. If Acacia Ridge had built A9X or BO6 these would be stamped too, and the only reason that late LJ XU1 from Acacia wasn't stamped in the same spot was because it had a unique engine, so under the ENG section on the BODY plate they have XU1, and along these lines if Acacia Ridge had built any LH's the L34 wouldn't have been stamped either, it would just have had L34 instead of L31 on the BODY plate. So if Sandmans not built at Acacia Ridge weren't Sandmans, then there is no such thing as an A9X or L34, and there are only about 30 x XW8's (HQ GTS350 sedan). Hope that bit makes some sense!

As far as the AOMC in Victoria is concerned, the engine number is king, but only because that is how all the Victorian historical data is cattledogged. Changing an engine doesn't change the identity of the vehicle, I think most will agree that the LEGAL identity of a vehicle is in it's chassis number, and the HISTORICAL identity is in the tags except of course on those vehicles you cannot pick from the ID plates what it is, like HK GTS or Sandman, in those cases you need log books and body inspection in some cases. I have no argument against tags making the vehicle, it is the sometimes silly/stupid attitude some people take with tags like they are sacred or something. Some of the misguided souls (being kind here) over at gmh-torana think that once a tag comes off the vehicle is only good for wrecking, so we can no longer repair cowl panels on HQ-WB or replace a radiator support on a VB-VH.