do a tracing of the frame #'s. take that to dmv. they should be able to tell asap if there are any hits on truck. off you go.

 

I mailed everything I had (a copy thereof) to the DMV in Austin. Hopefully I will hear some good news in a few weeks. If not I will find the numbers on the frame and keep trying.

 

Could you keep us posted? Sometime these things come up and we never hear the conclusion which makes it somewhat difficult to offer free advice ....(and also I don’t get to say “I told you so!”). .....Thanks.

 

Yes I will keep you posted.

 

I've gotten titles for a couple vehicles that didn't have them with no trouble. My method follows Old F1's general philosophy about government and honest people having to be less than honest to get something done, but as long as you came to own the truck in a legal manner, it's a victimless crime. Some of the hoops that some states (mine included) want you to jump through to replace a lost title are absolutely ludicrous. In IN, they expect you to mail a bunch of registered letters, advertise in the newspaper, and then actually hire a lawyer to sue the BMV and compel them to issue a title.

Alabama does not issue titles for vehicles built in 1975 and older. They just trade on a generic bill of sale. I just draw up a bill of sale with a "fictional" seller's name and a random address that I pick from the online white pages of some random town in Alabama and then I have a friend autograph it with that name. With that in hand, it's as simple as making a call to the local police and request a VIN verification inspection. Take the inspection form the cop gives you and the fictional BOS to the license branch and tell them that you purchased it in AL where they don't issue titles for vehicles this old. They'll scratch their heads, check their computer, shrug their shoulders, and issue a new title. It works for me every time. The state gets their wheel tax and title/registration fees and I get a clean title. Everybody wins - except the lawyer you didn't have to hire in this state to do it the "legal" way. The rules and procedure vary a bit from state to state, but the general process is the same.

 

Texas is not that bad about it, I've gotten one on a Harley before, so I hope not to have too much trouble with the truck. I already talked to State Farm and they will insure it as a Farm Truck too. So good there.

 

This is getting into too far into a grey area with the mention of switching serial plates and using generic bills of sale.