here we have no inspection and as far as i know there is no bring it to the dmv to check vin. i know in indiana if you have an out of state title they have to verify before they will title it and think they have to check road worthiness. here ive never had to do that but never bought anything out of state, just transfered my titles from IN when i moved. i think the best thing right now is to quit asking the dmv questions and just find a cab with a title and move on. anybody have a busted up rotted out cab with a title for cheap lol.

 

jafo56 yeah i just need to get a gov job. do somebody a favor then boom, here we swept that mess under the rug, here is your title lol.

 

Our trucks are titled/registered by the frame number. The key is the frame number since it is stamped into the frame while the plate on the cab firewall can be removed/changed.

 

Hey Kev,
As Bill said - The Frame is the key to this predicament. You need a clean Frame # that's not in the South Dakota system as salvaged. You can use your current cab or if the frame you buy comes with a better cab - use that one. The Title is tied to the Frame - not the cab.

Good luck over there. If you need doors or a hood or other parts - this is your shot at getting them with a nice frame.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

The 2nd chassis or frame is not a bad idea.....once registered and driving you would have a spare frame to build and still drive the ole girl until ready to swap.

 

Your right 4tl8ford thank god all my trucks have had good titles! I was just at the Carlisle show and saw someone advertising titles, I know years back a buddy of mine bought a title for a 36 ford he had then he actually got a NJ title in his name, even though I have all legit titles from jersey when I moved to PA I had to take them to a mechanic to verify vin numbers, all they did was look at the vin plates on the glove box or door jam then I was good

 

A few years back Boyd Coddington (well know hot rod builder star of American Hotrod TV show) got charged with title laundering and tax evasion by the state of CA for registering the cars he built using title mill titles. He ended up pleading guilty in a plea bargain that kept him out of jail, but resulted in a HUGE fine! As others have stated, the only part that is legally associated with the title is the frame and it's factory stamped #. Trucks the age of ours do not have VIN #s, that's a fairly recently adopted standard id method, so if you can find even a completely stripped frame with a valid transferable ID # you can swap ANY and/or EVERY other part from whatever source you want and still be able to get a title for it as whatever year and model the frame was from. The 15 homebuilt title is a valid option as long as you do not have vehicle inspections and equip it with whatever safety features a '15 vehicle must have to be sold in your state in case you get pulled by someone wanting to write equipment violations. This might include 3 point seat belts and shoulder harness, front and rear self cancelling turn signals, DTRL, restricted size gas fill neck, catalytic converter, 3rd brake light, etc, etc. It all depends on the state, but the feds are pushing hard to get the states to conform to uniform rules and record keeping. You may even need an certified appraised value statement if your state charges a highway use tax, transfer tax or property tax based on value.

 

Wow that would suck!!! So ultimately the lesson learned here is buy something with a title, unless total parts truck or yard art!

 

An even more important lesson is to take care of the paperwork and get a/the title in your name immediately upon taking possession, before spending a day or a dollar on it. Even worse would be after getting it all built
you go to get it titled and the number comes up as reported stolen. The authorities will come and tow it away without a dime's compensation for any of the time or money you spent on it.

 

Yea, I mentioned this in another thread some time ago, regarding the idea of buying vin plates and titles. During my 25 years on the police dept, I also ran a contract security detail for an international bridge commission that ran 3 bridges between the US and Canada. During that time I saw about 25-30 cars impounded after routine inspections of the frames revealed numbers that did not match the paperwork. Most of these were very high dollar hot rods and exotics, those that could not be verified as stolen or otherwise legitimate rebuilds were crushed at a local scrapyard.

 

Hey harleymsn i have seen 5 in my career with altered vins vetts and a GTO and a street rod , I also did 25 years as a police officer I'm glad I'm retired!

 

Seems like every time I turn on the TV news I am glad I retired too!

 

so finally took a drive out to the barn where the truck is stored to check all vins, and as i feared it is a number matching truck. so no applying for a title with a different vin.

 

What I had to do in IL is apply for a "bonded title".
I got a 1950F2 with bill of sale only from the guy because the truck was in barn for 41 years and org owner was LONG gone.
I had to get an apprasail and post a BOND with my insurance company and then fill out ALL the darn paper work that the DMV wants.
Took two trips and about 6 weeks but it worked!!!! Have clean title in my name.

 

I don't want to speak for Kev here but his problem is that as far as S.D. is concerned that truck with his Vin was junked in his state and can't be titled OR registered with the Vin. I really think that the best recovery is a different truck/frame with a clean title and then shift the rest of the parts.