Jeffthunbird

Factoid

AZDoug

A big block! Cool!
Have you had chance yet to see if the car was an original BB car, and if the motor is original to the car, if so?
Doug

GTOguy

jv04 raises and excellent question with his statement: ' ....the court in that case ruled that the chassis was the basis for a motor vehicle, and therefore the VIN belonged to the chassis. So, all of you guys that are building resto-mods, and selling your original chassis, something to consider" We had a big blow-up in the past 15 years or so in CA where a guy was building new kit Cobras, getting the titles for them out of ALA or ARK, and then using the title to proceed onward to register and sell the Cobra as a 1965 model, not a plastic 2005 model, which it was. Many cars involved, dirty cops involved, etc. When a resto -mod is built, and nothing is 1960's except a few body panels, is it still really a '60's Corvette? Or the remains of one? My take is, as long as there's a shred of the original car, it's still what it was born as. That's why people go through the hassle of sectioning an A-pillar or cowl when they re-body a car. As long as the VIN isn't tampered with, or removed/replaced, all is kosher.....depending on where and who you are. Very gray areas out there. I can tell you one thing: I consider an early Corvette with it's original components much more 'genuine' and 'vintage' than I do a slicked up resto-mod with LS power under the hood and billet everywhere else.

GTOguy

This is dead on. Boyd Coddington gets zero respect from me. He was a real jerk when he was alive, and did a lot of shady things. I never was a fan of his style of car, either. Yuck. He was a man after the $$$, that's all. Character, history, and integrity did not matter. A friend of mine just sold his original steel '64 260 AC Cobra.....when I asked him why, he said "everybody thinks it's a damn kit car. I turn more heads in my '57 T-bird!" He had a great point! Kit Cobras don't even get my attention.

Corvette ED

What is the reasoning for states not to issue titles on old cars? With the collector car market on fire and cars bringing more money than ever this should be like insurance that you are getting a car that isn't stolen or some other story behind it. I wonder how many headaches Mecum & Barrett-Jackson have after each auction with the title and or registration problems.

pop23235

DomL64

Where would I go to get a non-operational registration. My 64 has been garaged and not used for close to 15 years.

Thanks,
Dom

Tyler Townsley

n the case of 53 029 the widow found a FL title that her husband got that predated the IN title and the FL DMV advised the IN DMV to invalidate the IN title, they did not have a choice. The earliest original title wins. States do not enter old title information in the databases, in fact the computerized files only go back a certain period. I recently bought a 55 Tbird that came with the original title. when I went to transfer the title they had to call Tallahassee and check the info in the original paper files. My new title had the same title number as the one I got with the car and is how they were able to look it up to verify it was the latest title. This is Florida and other states can be different.
I started the 029 thread because I knew that the iN title was fake. he had created the vin tag after checking the online database to see if it was documented. He showed the vin tag to a friend of mine and admitted what he was gong to do. At the time he was Mr 53 on this forum and no one would believe what he was trying to do. Had the widow not found the earlier title the lie would still be out there.

Tyler

Tyler Townsley

A title is not a registration it is a document of ownership.(title) Registration is for a plate to drive on the roads.

Tyler

emccomas

And I am willing to bet that your 2000 title was out of date and no longer part of the system. Prior to 2010 cars that do not get regularly registered get purged from many state DMV systems. That is what happened to 1953 #029, The owner of the real car had a title from the 1990s. But that title got purged after 10 years. That allowed someone in another state to title that VIN in his name. Then the owner real owner of #029 tried to get a current title and was unable to do so because the VIN was already registered.

All states were required to participate in NMVTIS as of 1 Jan 2010, but many states voluntarily participated earlier. But voluntary participation in NMVTIS does not change what happens with titles / VINs that were registered prior to their participation.

You have to look at more that just the title or registration that you may have in you possession. States were / are NOT required to input past transactions / VINs into NMVTIS. Only new transactions are required by law.

So, if you had a an Ohio title from 2000, and never did anything with the car after that (renew title, register car, whatever), it may have gotten purged from Ohio system.

The other possibility is that the DMV clerk in Arkansas did not check NMVTIS before issuing the title. THe DMV clerks are supposed to check the status of every VIN before issuing new paperwork, but DMV clerks are people too, and they make mistakes. The NMVTIS system should have kept that from happening, but who knows.

Fortunately, your issue appears to have been resolved. Other issues are still pending, or have yet to be discovered (like two 1957 Corvettes with the same VIN number)

emccomas

Too much paperwork to keep track of. Remember, most of these old cars are just junkers. Think about a state keeping up with a 1964 Biscayne 4 door sedan 6 cylinder, automatic rust bucket.

Lots of cars get pulled from the various car auctions after the car is consigned, and then some sort of "issue" comes up with the paperwork.

emccomas

The process varies from state to state. Some states do NOT issue non-operational registrations.

IN Alabama,. cars that are older than 35 years do not get titled. The registration becomes the proof of ownership. So, I have one car that is not yet road ready, but I renew the registration every year, and the VIN is in NMVTIS from my original purchase of the car (again without a title).

59vetteman

In NC, you can have an Inspector from the NC DMV come out to your location, look at the vehicle and process the paperwork for an inoperative vehicle. I currently have 2- WW2 Ford military jeeps that are undergoing restorations this way. It also helps with the local tax appraisal on the vehicles. Another note on NC titling, if the vehicle you purchase is from out of state and you live in NC and the vehicle is older than 25 yrs old, then an Inspector from the NC DMV MUST visually inspect the vehicle for the VIN # and to ensure that it is "road worthy" before NC will issue a NC title. Pray that the state you bought it from does have titles for the older vehicles. I'm currently going through a major headache trying to get a title for the little 1/4 ton trailer that is pulled behind the Ford jeep, because the person I bought it from lives in a state where it was not required to be titled. BTW, NC loves titles and taxes on everything also!!

KENS78SILVERANNIV

You go to DMV show them the title and pay the back fees and get current non-operational registration. Easy.

Jbabek

Sorry to hear about your Adventures in Titleland.

There are rumors that in 1986 when Porsche brought the 959 in from Germany and had to send them back, that 6 cars had stayed behind and were registered as regular 911 turbos in AR before making their way into private collections. Companies like Title Unlimited often issue lost-title paperwork as with an AR title. I have had to use them a few times for legitimate title losses both in NJ and NC. Both states are notoriously difficult and the DMV treats you like a criminal when a car that has sat in a field for 50 years is missing the papers. I even once registered a grey market motorcycle from China that didn't have a long enough VIN. The title came back with extra zeros and a 1 at the end to make up the missing digits. It was a little unnerving how easy it was.

Sorry for the previous typo....I meant Arkansas, not Alaska....

Railroadman

How would cars imported from Germany wind up in Alaska? I would have expected them to come across the Atlantic, but IF they crossed the Pacific why not California or Seattle?

Jbabek

Sorry for the typo...rumor has it they had Arkansas titles...but were never in Arkansas...

Tyler Townsley

Just to clarify the matter, the info is dropped from the computerized databases but not from paper files. If you have a title you have the original title number which can be verified, or you can request a lost title (which is what they did on the Lance Miller car) if you know the owners name. This is in Florida your state may have different procedures.

Tyler

midigike