The only reason to "preserve" the VIN, if the original car is expired, is to screw a buyer or your insurance company. Either way, it costs us ALL money.
What Adam is saying is that if you have a rust bucket tii, move all your tii specific parts to a clean shell and transfer the VIN to the shell. It's not screwing a buyer if all tii specific parts are there. The car is not wrecked so it's not screwing over the insurance company. Tii's are primarily traded among enthusiasts so most enthusiasts will hopefully disclose the history of the car to a potential buyer. If you are smart, before you buy an 02 or tii, email Andreas at Mobile Tradition with the VIN and ask for the history of the car. You'll find out the correct color and if it's not the right color of the car from the factory, caveat emptor if the seller did not disclose a VIN swap. I wouldn't have an issue of buying a clean tii from someone if I knew that all specific tii parts were transferred to the shell. What's the difference between a tii and a regular 02? It's bolt in parts. Under the hood is the no snorkel and the bracket on the inner fender for the air cleaner mounts. That can easily be welded in before the tii parts are transferred to the shell. the dash can easily be modified to accept a tii clock. I'm condoning it because VIN swap is illegal but it does happen to keep them on the road.
G-Man