Ohio State troopers investigated barn find Chevy Chevelle

This YouTuber thought he’d hit the jackpot when he found a 1966 Chevy Chevelle SS in a barn find, but it was taken away by the Ohio State Police.

US YouTuber Mark Meldrum, host of Meldrum’s Monster Garage, was delighted when he discovered it in Vermilion, northern Ohio, USA.

Upon inspecting the car, he noticed that the Chevelle’s VIN tag was slightly different from the car’s title.

This proved to be a big problem.

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How this Chevy Chevelle SS ended up being taken into police custody

When the Chevelle was last sold in 1993, the title bureau made a mistake with the VIN.

For those not familiar with American bureaucracy, the VIN (vehicle identification number) is the 17-character number that encodes specific information.

After reporting the mix-up to the title bureau, they directed him to speak to the Ohio state troopers.

When they came in for an inspection, they found that the VIN tag on the inside of the door panel had been removed.

The car had also been given a red paint job over its original blue color.

It’s illegal to remove a car’s VIN tag, except in exceptional circumstances such as in the aftermath of a crash or severe rust damage.

The Ohio police impounded the car for six weeks to run a full investigation.

One car being taken into police investigation is rookie numbers compared to some other police forces – like the London police seizing 60 supercars worth up to $7 million.

What did the investigation discover?

The state trooper in charge managed to track down nearly all of the car’s previous owners.

The original owner had sold it to his brother, who then removed the tag to spray the car.

Its 396 V8 engine had also been switched out for that of a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro.

Once everything got ironed out, Mark got the Chevelle back.

Whilst many American drivers understand what a VIN is, they likely don’t realize that removing it is illegal.

Removing the sticker is a felony under federal law, and could land a person in prison for up to five years or with a $250,000 fine.

It’s also prohibited under state law, with California law making it punishable by three years in jail or a $25,000 fine.

So, our advice would be – definitely don’t do it.

Drivers can often get caught out by obscure laws, such as this Staten Island man who was landed with a ticket for his car’s ‘excessive noise’.

To hear the full story from Mark himself, head over to his YouTube channel to watch the video.