Newly constructed chassis should come, to the original purchaser, with a manufacturers statement of origin (MSO). With that paperwork you should be able to register the vehicle. Again, different states will treat this differently. Some will register it to the original vin, others will create their own and tag it as assembled. As long as it's inspected and tagged with official documentation, other states typically will recognize that. Where things go awry is when builders skip the documenting step and leave subsequent owners with a can of worms.

 

That's what's so aggravating. I've known guys here who have vehicles titled with "historical documents" they bought from other people. On my '37 Buick the number on the title is the engine block number. What are the chances that the engine was replaced in the last 70 years? Pretty likely. I suppose early on if the car was taken in for a replacement engine the dealer or shop could have stamped a corresponding number on the new or rebuilt engine but after the car got to be 20 years old I would doubt it would have been taken to a dealer and most had the engine swapped in a one stall garage somewhere.

 

I wonder how a vehicle from Wisconsin, or any other state that is pretty lenient on titling vehicles are handled. Like I typed, I know a lot of old car guys who have for years used titles from other cars, some from different years, to license their vehicles in our state. Heck, one guy had a title for a four door Model A and when he went to have his two door coupe title he had the person behind the counter change the title to "2 dr". I really think it all depends if the guy behind the counter is stickler or not, at least here. I know of at least a dozen or more people who have used titles from other cars, and if I know a dozen I'd bet there are thousands.

I'd like to hear experiences with having a car from one state registered and titled in another state using questionable paper work.

 

And the reason people do this is because the state regulations for registering old vehicles with lost documentation can be ridiculously cumbersome. It's a heck of a lot easier to get your car on the road by buying a $200 title at a swap meet than to go through the impossible task (in many states, mine included) of getting a car inspected and licensed the right way. Not saying I agree or it's right or wrong, just stating facts. I'll be the first to agree it would be nice to have some kind of process or standards that would work for the hobbyists without making us all out to be criminals, or having to become one just so we can drive an old car or truck.

 

I've called our state DMV to ask about getting a truck registered that I bought in another state that I forgot to get the title, long story, the truck was suppose to have a title but the situation at the time called for me to load and leave with the truck in a hurry. Anyways, the person at the DMV told me I was SOL without a signed title. The last time I bought a parts car without a title but later decided I wanted a title the process went rather smoothly. I didn't have a signed title from the previous owner but the car was never registered to the party I bought the car from. The car had a collector license plate which the DMV was kind enough to give me the name it was registered to. I had that person's estate fill out some paper work and I had a title in about two weeks. I was lucky the car still had the collector plate, which is non-renewable, the guy at the DMV told me they would not have had a record of the car just by going by the engine number, again, the reference number on the title for the car.

 

From what I found out about bonded titles it sounds like that's the way to do if it's allowed in your state.

I may be wrong, but I think a bonded title is good for a certain number of years, maybe five. After the set number of years and there's no claim for the car from someone claiming to be the legal owner it becomes legally yours. The one thing you have to do is keep an accurate list, with receipts, of all the parts you bought for the vehicle. I think if it is claimed by someone else you are able to remove all of the parts you put into it other than body filler and paint. Again, if I'm wrong someone jump in and correct me.

 

In Connecticut the DMV does not require a title for vehicles more than 20 years old. I think it's difficult to register a "composite" vehicle but I had no trouble registering my Model "A" with just a Bill of Sale. As long as they get the sales tax they're not too particular.

 

In some states, a vehicle with a newly constructed frame is titled as a "homebuilt" or "assembled" vehicle of the year of first registration or year of construction of the frame if it has an MSO number. The problem then is that the state may require it to meet all the emmission requirements and inspection requirements of that year vehicle. Many states at the feds "urging" (read threat of withholding fed highway funds) are cracking down on title mill registrations. If you get caught you could be facing a huge fine, confiscation of the vehicle, criminal charges. If he was still alive, you could ask Boyd Coddington, he was fined > $1M by state of CA!