"how have you determined that all reproduction trim tags are designed solely for fraud?"
There is NO "legitimate" reason for changing a cowl tag on ANY car! I do not consider the cowl tag to be just another restoration part of the car.
I know of a finely restored '64 Biscayne that was so rotted on top of its cowl that the tag was almost half eaten away by corrosion. The owner cleaned the original tag and reinstalled it after restoration. IT cost him ONE POINT at a national show. AND it earned the respect of everyone who saw the car and realized that the restoration was accurate to the information on the tag, not vice-versa. That added more "value" to the car, especially in the intrinsic sense because if it had been a brand new tag, all bets would have been off as to the rest of the equipment on the car. Doubts in everyone's minds.
Eric could not have echoed my thoughts more succinctly regarding the ethics of this hobby. I am absolutely unwavering on the concept of changing cowl tags. As I stated, there is NO legitimate reason to do so on ANY car. Some are lucky to have survived perfectly, and some are not. That's just the way it is. That's part of the history if the car. We (none of us) should be allowed to change history for the future. We can only preserve it or destroy it.
Verne