Maybe there is already an accepted, standard answer... but I don't know:

What is the "correct" way to label/re-label an altered vehicle? For example. If I buy a 3/4 ton, two-wheel drive Dodge pickup and add a 3/4t front axle etc (mostly factory OEM) to make it four-wheel drive. Do I now say I have a W250 (what I would do) or is it still a D250 (born that way) even if the emblems have been changed as well? I'm not talking about a radically altered vehicle with frankenstein parts. I'm fine with labeling it as what it came off the assembly line as since it is obviously reengineered and hardly even close to stock anymore. What if I take my rusted out W250 and put a nice D150 body on it from the SW? It's still a W250 right? But a simple change from two to four wheel or SRW to duals could be done with nobody the wiser - unless it's described as what it started out as (or even worse - what the current model year type nomenclature is).

Maybe it's just ignorance/lack of knowledge but a pet peeve is describing a D as a W or vice versa. And don't even get me started about calling it a 2500... Am I being too picky or does this bug/confuse others too?

 

Changing it from a D to a W would be a gender reassignment. Doing a body swap would be a face lift.

 

I knew somebody would go there...

 

Dodge fans,

Having tranny issues since before it was fashionable...

there are legalities around body/frame swaps, as to which can be married to what without causing a stink with registration or plating. But these rules differ by jurisdiction.

 

It depends who you have to report to.

Here, officially changing 2wd/4wd or fuel type usually forces you to a vehicle inspection. Colour is about all thats easily changed. Since we never get a proper insurance payout - ever - its proper details and valuation are moot anyway. We simply pay insurance to be legally allowed on the road.

 

So, eliminating any requirements by the legal authorities (and tags to DEI) is there a generally accepted or expected usage? Or am I the only one that is bugged by it? I guess there are bigger, more important things in life to get my panties in a wad over...

 

I call it what it is, not what it was.

A D150 longbed club with 3/4ton axles and a tcase is now a W250 to me.

 

Me too.

 

When I built Project Covid out of a running W250 with side swiped sheetmetal and a rust free, running D250 for the sheetmetal. I registered it as the D250, using that Vin.
I also left the D250 emblems on the front fender.

I have had one guy at a car show tell me I had the wrong emblems on my truck. I told him they had been there on the fenders since '92. He told me I was wrong. I sipped my beer and smiled.
He was standing right next to a photo album that would have explained it all.

So on paper it would seem like I drive a 2wd truck...but using your eyes it is obvious I drive a W-250 on 37s with a working T-case and a Dana 60F.

I don't really care what anyone else calls it. I know what I built.

I also keep a picture album in the truck of the build, incase I am ever asked any questions about it on the road by a DOT guy.

On the other hand.
I can not count the # of guys that get angry at me when I tell them the "D250" they are trying to sell is actually a W250 since it is a 4x4...."My dad has owned it since new and it IS a D250" - they reply.
I just give up. The Facebook experts do not like facts.
Knowing what to call your truck when your trying to sell it seems a little more important.

 

I guess that is what I was getting at Oliver. The guys that post a vehicle to sell or ask a question for the first time and what they state, is not what is, makes for confusion.

On the other hand, if you aren't marketing it or seeking answers to something, then it can be whatever you want it to be and leaving the emblems as is, is fine to me. That's hilarious about the car show interaction. That just proves that it was/is a build. Not much different than setting a '40s body on a later, more modern chassis - it's pretty obvious what it is and isn't.

 

I know that I would be pretty sad after driving a long time to go look at a truck to buy that was described as a 4x4 W250 truck over the phone... only to show up and see a 2wd D250 in the guys yard with a for sale sign in it.

I always ask questions like "so it has a transfer case lever in the cab coming out of the floor?" and / or "you have to get out of the truck, to lock the hubs, right?" before trusting someone's D / W identifying skills.

 

As Pind said, it's by jurisdiction. Don't ask a cop, they will accuse you of VIN swapping as what happened to me. Ask your local DMV for instructions. Most likely they will tell you to document anything that has a VIN attached to it and that you have paperwork showing legal ownership.

 

Fortunately, Kentucky is still pretty lax.

I got into a heated discussion over a speeding ticket once when I got pulled over in dad's '72 D100 with a ford bed & tailgate (my uncle installed utility beds for a company and had brand new take offs for cheap). The cop wrote on the ticket and insisted that I was driving a ford even though the front half was obviously Dodge.

I've re-tilted salvage vehicles and all the Deputy did was verify all the lights and wipers worked and had a legible VIN.

 

Ignorant bastards can become cops too.

They're here. The funny part is they cannot read cursive, nor can they shoot to save their own lives. Zero time target practicing makes for an unqualified firearm holder, unless you're one of the gifted.