Today i stopped at the Maryland Vehicle Administration. I wanted to talk first hand to them about my builds. Well after melting down some serious attitude from the employees I got to talk to a helpful guy that told me what ever frame year i put my build on is the year is it will be titled period. No exceptions. He was in charge of that procedure. I think i need to title it in another state.

 

Or don't mention a frame swap at all.

 

I need me a 51 Coe title then.

 

I guess that is why it is always good to get a title before doing the work. Or the vehicle in your name.

 

Using that logic, in Maryland, if you buy/install an aftermarket frame ala TCI, Art Morrison, etc you are now registered as a 2016 year model? Gotta love bureaucrats! Makes you wonder just how they determine the actual year of the frame? Local builders here stamp aftermarket frames to match the title of the car/truck and that is just fine with the DMV.

 

Charlie, I think the difference is between a custom made 'replacement' frame and using a used frame from a later model vehicle. I know that in New York state and also here in TN, 'legally' if you mount an older body on a later model chassis it has to be registered/titled as the later model. I know for a fact that in some counties, like mine, the swaps are made and cleared because any Police Officer or Deputy can certify it, even when they have no idea what they are looking at.

 

I can't wait until I license my 86 F250 with an 86 F150 cab on the 250 frame, with an 85 front clip.

 

Just swap a built early frame and put it a newer cab and pay less. I know not for real but sometimes they **** you off.

 

I had a friend who retired from the Navy and became a San Diego city cop. He knew I was into cars and so he told me a few instances where he and his partner were on the beat and running vehicle registration checks. He was puzzled by how a car that was registered as a Pontiac Fiero looked like a Lamborgini...he said that the DMV was really making it hard on the police by continuing to register vehicles by the chassis and not the body. California has since changed this practice. Calif does not seem to be as concerned about frame numbers as they are about data/vin plates. If I bring in a truck with a vin plate on the body and the numbers match the paperwork then all is good...the DMV clerks aren't too anxious to climb around a greasy frame looking for more numbers when they have all they need off the body. My 40 coupe has a TCI frame and a heavily modified body...there are no numbers on either but when I register it all they want is the title and a fistful of cash.
That said...if I were an 18 yo Mexican kid trying to register a Lexus IS300 the DMV would be all over that car looking for identifying numbers. Most of those cars have as many dissimilar parts as our trucks but unfortunately most of theirs are of questionable origin.

 

It used to be in Md. that if you had two vehicles making a re-manufactured one they let you pick which year to register it as. Now that they have taken that away from us what is the future of the hobbyist. As these frames rust out and more and more tittles are lost thru dying owners. (Md. wont let you transfer or send a title copy if owner is deceased.) I feel we are all doing a good thing bringing these trucks back to life but it seems they hate us for it.

 

The bureaucrats would be in Nirvana if all of us whackjobs would just give up our delusional fascination with gas-guzzling antique tin and buy a green Prius or other electric car. Electric is SO clean, just plug it in and it magically runs. No idea about where the electricity comes from or how clean the source...imagine if all cars were plug-ins, there wouldn't be enough solar panels on earth to meet the demand.

 

I was talking to a buddy of mine that does inspections about trying to get my project titled when I get close to finishing the other day. He said that in VA its actually very easy to get a new title made for old vics. All there is, is a form on dmv's website that you need to fill out, take that to state police who gives you a new vin tag (if needed), then you take that form and new vin number back to the dmv and the create the new title

 

Maybe this will help?

SEMA Action Network (SAN) TAG_TITLE_TOOLBOX

 

Truthfully, it has nothing to do with folks like us who restore or rebuild these old trucks. Most states over the years have legislated new rules and laws because of the chop shops cobbling stolen vehicles and stolen vehicle parts. The insurance industry lobby has spent $Millions to have such legislation passed.

 

Hillary has promised to have 500 MILLION solar panels installed by the end of her first term