[Bryan59EC]

Might try going to the state police and get some information from them.

In some states the state police know more about this than the DMV

[petes67bird]

Originally Posted by boatbob2

Hi,why do you need a title?its a parts car.take it home,strip it of all the parts you need,and cut the rest of the car up.BUT,dont cut it up UNTIL youre sure you dont need any other parts. keep the bill of sale handy,and make sure the VIN is on it,

It would be thousands cheaper, not to mention look better without replacement welds than tearing off all the sheet metal just to reweld it onto my frame/body. the parts car has a registration from 1990, and the bill of sale from that owner in 1990. It also has all original Factory paperwork and manuals as well, so its more "original" than my car ever can be.

[dinger]

Just thought of something, not all states have "Pink slips", some use the registration for the only title.

And...Have you looked here. I forget about our wiki. http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...itle_a_hot_rod

[willowbilly3]

Well, laws are by the letter not by intent. Even if there was no intended defrauding or no victim, the laws are the laws. Transferring the title and vin from one car to another is illegal in every state I have ever lived in. Now if it was something older like a Model A and you had one with a title and a mish-mash of parts, then maybe you would be withing reason but flat out switching the identity of one car to another is against the law no matter how you rationalize it.
I'm sure there is a way. Maybe if you just went to the director of the dmv and explained what you were doing they would have a procedure and a solution.

[petes67bird]

I called the DMV on 6 separate occasions today. I got 2 replies from people saying that the registration and bill of sale will give me an illinois title. Then I got 4 who claimed they deal directly with titles stating that they cannot title it in illinois without a title at all. They said it was up to the previous owner to obtain a wisconsin title. I do not know what to do now. I guess I will still buy the car this weekend, then try to track down the guy. If all else fails, I may have to do some "body" work.

[MARTINSR]

The trick with DMV I learned many years ago, tell them what they need to hear. You can't tell them too much, just the bare mininum. For instance, it may not be necessary to tell them the car is coming from out of state.

Brian

[Centerline]

Originally Posted by petes67bird

I called the DMV on 6 separate occasions today. I got 2 replies from people saying that the registration and bill of sale will give me an illinois title. Then I got 4 who claimed they deal directly with titles stating that they cannot title it in illinois without a title at all. They said it was up to the previous owner to obtain a wisconsin title. I do not know what to do now. I guess I will still buy the car this weekend, then try to track down the guy. If all else fails, I may have to do some "body" work.

Calling the DMV won't help at all. You need to deal with them face to face. Otherwise you may be talking to some yahoo who will just tell you what he "thinks" is the correct answer when in fact it may be hot air up your butt.

EVERY STATE HAS PROCEDURES FOR TITLING CARS WITH LOST OR NON EXISTENT TITLES !!!!!!!!

All you need to do is follow the procedures outlined in the following ILL DMV Bonded Title Application.

Centerline
HotRodsAndHemis.com

"Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary… that’s what gets you." – Jeremy Clarkson

[petes67bird]

Originally Posted by Centerline

Calling the DMV won't help at all. You need to deal with them face to face. Otherwise you may be talking to some yahoo who will just tell you what he "thinks" is the correct answer when in fact it may be hot air up your butt.

EVERY STATE HAS PROCEDURES FOR TITLING CARS WITH LOST OR NON EXISTENT TITLES !!!!!!!!

All you need to do is follow the procedures outlined in the following ILL DMV Bonded Title Application.

Centerline
HotRodsAndHemis.com

"Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary… that’s what gets you." – Jeremy Clarkson

This is what worries me about bonded titles, "• Statement that the vehicle is intact and that all major component parts are present and in running condition (check box if
applicable), or statement that the appraisal applies to a salvage or junk vehicle (check box, if applicable).
• Statement that the appraisal value is accurate to the best of the appraiser's knowledge and that the affirmation is made."

The car is just a shell.

[willowbilly3]

Most often the counter employees don't know all the procedures. If you are just callin the dmv or going to the window, you may well be getting an inept, uninformed employee. You just have to go deeper sometimes.

[timothale]

I got a letter about 6 month ago that someone was trying to create a title using the ID number of my Model A roadster. It turns out that when the V 8 was swapped into the roadster years ago the owner did not do the necessary paperwork . Back in the day the engine number was the identification number . My old engine was resurected and the guy was trying to get the paperwork for an A he was restoring. I told the state DMV officer I had no problen having an assigned Vin number for my roadster since it is not an original restoration. It will still be registered as a 29 roadster.

[Centerline]

Originally Posted by petes67bird

....The car is just a shell.

Maybe so, but its a shell with a unique VIN number and THAT is what the state is concerned about. If it is a shell as you say then a bonded title would only cost you 1 1/2 times the wholesale value of the car. All you need to do is find a friendly car dealer or an officer in an "antique" vehicle club to give you an appraisal and fill out the form. What's so hard about that??

Sure you could just swap the VIN tags but that is fraud. Its not only a violation of state law but federal as well. I'm not saying it isn't done now and then but it can come back to bite you in the butt when you go to sell it and if they catch you it could easily mean jail time.

You may not like the fact that you have to go through a bit of paperwork to LEGALLY title that shell but it can be done... it just takes a little time and effort. This is what you get when you purchase a car without a title and you need to be willing to jump through the hoops the state requires in order to make things legal. I have a car sitting in the garage right now that has just a bill of sale from Alabama. Alabama didn't title cars when this one was on the road so I'm going to have to go through the bonded title process for that as well. Its a complete car so it won't be as inexpensive as your shell but that's the best way in my state to title it.

Good luck.

Centerline
HotRodsAndHemis.com

"When buying a used car, punch the buttons on the radio. If all the stations are rock and roll, there's a good chance the transmission is shot." - Larry Lujack

[petes67bird]

Thank you very much for all the replies. Learned alot from you guys and I appreciate it. Thanks again Pete

[1957plymouthhemi]

Here is also an option for getting a title IF you can track down the last registered owner of the vehicle (the one who would be able to apply for a duplicate title). Rather than trying to convince him to go to DMV and do all the waiting etc, see if he will sign a limited power of attorney for you dispose of the car (most DMVs have the forms). The form has places for all the data including VIN make model etc. All that is required is his signature and to be notarized. This will allow you to apply for a duplicate title in his name and transfer the title to yourself. As you can find a notary almost anywhere (banks car lots etc) it a lot less hassle for them.

Centerline, many years ago I went thru the Alabama title route with on a couple of cars and more recently a motorcycle from California that was only on a bill of sale (not even notarized) and ADOT did not have a problem with it. You may get lucky and be able to get a good title without going the bonded route.

Also rather than posting a bond yourself with the DMV there are many insurance companies that will issue bond insurance at a fraction of the cost. In AZ at the end of 3 years the state will issue a regular title, and if there has been no one that has come forward to dispute the ownership the if you did actually post the bond with the sate it will be returned.

Tim also brings up a good point about many states having used the engine number instead of the actual VIN to title the car (in many cases the engine number was easier to get to than the VIN). Just something to keep in mind if you have a complete car that you are going to be doing an engine swap on. It is also a good ideal to have DMV check both the VIN and engine number thru the NCIC data base.

If you watch the news and are on a few car forums about every 6 months you hear about some car stolen 20-30 years ago being recovered and returned to the original owner. This usually happens after someone has put a lot of money in restoring it or when someone has just paid a bunch of money for it and tries to register it….and these are the just the ones that make the news. I’ve been in the automotive field for 45+ years and have personally of 2 stolen cars confiscated from their “owners”, one being a real nice 64 Impala SS that was being restored, it had started out as a shell ……after the thieves had stripped it.

[Studedean]

Im missouri, all vehicles purchased out of state evidentally require the highway patrol to visit the house and visually inspect VINS vs. title. if it rolls, it gets checked. I can only assume this is for salvage fraud titles, insurance or good old taxes, but thats the rules now in missouri. I bought an out of state ranchero (non running) as a parts car and still had to have them come to the house. The officer that showed up actually had a binder of VIN locations on older vehicles. He told me parts are parts, vehicles are vehicles, parts vehicles fall under vehicles. take it apart before bringing it home if is for parts. I dont know if other states do this or not.