I have finally gotten the 56 running reliably and braking reliably so I thought to myself:

"Self, you should register this beauty so that you can enjoy her a bit while working on other parts of the beast."

I called the DMV and they quickly rained on my parade.

I dont have a title to the truck (just a bill of sale) and the vin plate is missing from the driver door jam SO i dont even know the proper vin number for the thing!

They told me that because I dont have a title in hand I will have to get a bonded insurance title from my insurance company using a dmv form that I can only get in their office. BUT, I would need a vin number to do this at all so I will probably have to pull my cab off and trailer it down there so they can perform a level 1 and 3 inspection to find a vin number on it

They told me that they would "diligently" search through the seven surrounding states and my own for a previous owners address and I would have to send a certified mailing to that PO asking for power of attorney for this vehicle. If the letter comes back unclaimed I can get ANOTHER kind of bond and have it temporarily registered IF my insurance company will give me insurance with the title in "question" until they figure out what to do about the truck...

They told me that there would be several other steps that I have to take care of after all of these "Simple" steps are taken and it could possibly take 3 and a half to 4 months...

I called my PO who is actually a very nice guy and he said he would look again very hard for the title to send to me so that I could circumvent all of this mess...

Let the hair pulling commence!

 

Sorry to hear about your difficulties. Dealing with the DMV can be a drag. Hope you can get it sorted out without all the extra steps.

Some good vehicle purchasing rules to live by:

1-Get ALL of the required paperwork at the time of purchase or do not buy the vehicle.

2-Transfer ownership BEFORE spending any time or money on your new acquisition.

Not preaching, just hope to help others to avoid problems.

Of course some states require less hoop jumping than others so transferring ownership on a vehicle without a paper trail isn't a big deal in those states. But when in doubt stick with the 2 rules above.

Have you checked the passenger side frame rail in front of the cab for the VIN (serial no.)?

Again hope it works out for you.

 

Take a grinder and grind the top of the cross member under the radiator. That is one place to find it, or on the pass side of the frame on top around the shock bracket. Then file a title 42 and get your title. I got no help from the DMV in OK. So when I found the vin # I wrote a bill for the work I had done on it and filed a title 42 and that is how I got mine. Gook luck. RUSTY

 

And thats the way it is - some times you're the Bear - sometimes you're the Bunny

 

All states are different. In Missouri it is unlawful to buy a vehicle without a title and unlawful to sell one without a title. Also unlawful to purchase or process a motor vehicle with the serial number altered or removed. That being said I would try to get the PO to apply for a lost title and get a good title in his name and hope he would transfer it to you . Without a serial number you would have zero way to prove it was your vehicle if it was stolen and recovered and zero chance of getting it back. If the prior owner will get a title in his name and transfer to you, if I was in your position I would contact my state highway patrol office and see if they have a inspection officer. In Missouri the Highway patrol can inspect a vehicle and verify, that for whatever reason, the serial number is missing or unreadable and they will issue a serial number plate and affix it to the truck and all is well and legal.
Most states have really cracked down on titles some more so than others. In Missouri mechanics liens etc to get a title will not work, without going to court and getting a declaratory judgment by a judge first, not a simple filling out of a form.
Good luck but you may well be in for a lot of time and work to get it right.

 

This place can make the tags you need if you can find the numbers on the frame
Tags Backeast, Trim Tags Backeast, Data Plates, A.G.Backeast. We make tags for AMC, Buick, Cadillac, Camaro, Chevelle, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Corvette, Dodge, DeSoto, Edsel, Ford, Frazer, La Salle, Henry J, Kaiser, Lincoln, Mercury, Mustang, Oldsmobile

 

I have a friend who may have an extra title and vin tag, cant remember if he said it was for a 53 f250 or the 55 f100 ?? I'll ask him. Wrong year for you though! hmmm better get one from the prior owner I guess..

I just had 2 trucks inspected here, Officer just verified the vin on the glovebox data plate and ran the vin # to check it and a couple forms and a few dollars later at the DMV and it's done, titles in the mail.

good luck

Josh

 

I like door # 5...
Since the previous owner is a friendly person,..I think I would try larryb's method first,see if he can get a duplicate thru the DMV,..then carry on as though it's a recent sale.Done Deal.
These Gov't orgs "can" fill you life with red tape and hoops so they can justify all the extra desks ,pencils and more bodies it takes to do something they can't do from their desk..that usually doesn't take someone with a little to common sense 2 minutes to fiqure out...
Cool down,..Think things thru..buy the PO a nice lunch after the two of you get out of the DMV...and have a few laughs over the exercise while enjoying a couple of cold frosties...in short "beat the machine!" but don't break any laws along the way......

Good Luck!

 

Some states (Alabama, for instance) don't have titles for vehicles that are over a certain age. I think Nevada is another. A bill of sale is the only proof of ownership necessary. Call your local BMV (a different one that doesn't already know what you're up to) and ask what the exact procedure in your state is for titling a vehicle that was purchased from a no title state. You'll probably need a police inspection of the VIN# and a new bill of sale reflecting the owner's address in that state. The VIN tag/ratings plate will probably be a necessity no matter what you do, so get one made and forget it. As for the bill of sale from a no title state, "fabricate" it and make up an address. They don't check and don't care. Illegal? Technically, but it's a victimless crime. Sometimes you've just gotta tiptoe through the gray areas like that or those bureaucratic slime ***** will have you chasing your tail forever. You pay taxes just like I do and just like the guys do that are contemplating firebombing me for even suggesting this. They shouldn't make it so ridiculously difficult to obtain a title when the original has been lost.

Incidentally, those "title companies" that you see advertised in old car magazines do this exact same thing. You essentially sell them your car with a bill of sale, they apply for a title in their state, and then sign it back over to you after you fork out a couple hundred bucks. Cut out the middle man and do it yourself!

Edit for one last anecdote: My old man bought a car a few years ago from a lady whose husband had passed away. Both of their names were on the title. She signed it and left his blank. I smelled a storm brewing and told him to let me sign the guy's name on it so the handwriting would be different and then he could just take it in and get it transfered no questions asked. The guy's dead, right?!? He doesn't care! Dad wouldn't have any part of that because "it just wasn't right". He took it in as it was, explained that the guy was dead, and the old bat at the counter told him he had to have a copy of the death certificate, a power-of-attorney form signed by the widow, and some sort of paperwork from the disposition of his estate and some other forms filled out. He surrendered and brought me the title to sign the guys name to. I signed the name and dad took it back to a different branch the next day. Lo and behold, the same government servant from hail that "helped" him the day before at the other branch walked up to the window! After she ripped him a new one, she made him have the widow apply for a duplicate title that didn't have a signature on it and then jump through the hoops that she'd spelled out before. She also threatened to turn him in to the police if he didn't. By the time he got it straightened out two months later, that poor widow had been in tears two or three different times! If he'd just let me sign it and kept his mouth shut in the first place, nobody would have known the difference. What they don't know won't hurt them!

 

Well I found my Vin Number! So that much is solved at least. My PO is in California and I am in Arizona so I cant buy him lunch unfortunately but he might just do it on his own. I dont mind giving 25 dollars to file for lost title if it saves me this headache!

I work for the government so I understand that a lot of the red tape is just bluster and extra steps. However, most of it has a legitimate reason behind it. Almost all of it is there to protect the public health. My brother and father are police officers so I asked them to run my vin number through the system. We will see what we get today. Fingers crossed for no record on file. I have two other frames so if this one turns out to be too much of a hassle I will just use the other frame and vin.

Thanks for the link to the people who make new tags/plates. I will definitely be using them in the near future!

Thanks guys/gals!

 

Once you get a title/registration Mid Fifty also offers replacement vin plates, but you need proof you "own" the vehicle with that vin #.