Stuck in titling catch 22
 

I have been away for a while, but glad to be back....
my 52 F-3 project has been raised to DEFCON 1 as I am unable to obtain a title here in the great state of VA. I bought the truck years ago from a Kansas farmer and his wife (who have since passed). At the time they provided a bill of sale and promised to give the title to my Grandfather (who was their neighbor) once they found it, but it never happened. I have been working with VA.and KS. DMV to resolve this issue.
VA. will only recognize a "VIN" and the KS folks are telling me that they title by engine number....VA. apparently does not agree with this, SOOOOO I am appealing to all of the FTE'rs for assistance in locating a very reasonable parts truck with title that they might point me to. I have been searching CL and fleabay, but not much luck. Any assistance would be much appreciated!
Thanks guys,:-drink
Wade

The VIN is stamped on the frame. Will VA not look at the VIN and recognize it?

Back in the day, many states did register vehicles by engine number. But since Ford didn't use a separate engine number on our trucks, the VIN and engine number would have been the same. The glove box tag on the 48-51 trucks had the words 'engine number' printed next to a box where the VIN was stamped. On your 52, the tag should say serial number with the VIN stamped above it. Hopefully, it's the same number as the one stamped on your frame. If you have all that, that should suffice. You should be able to at least get a bonded title or something.

did you try tracing the vin off of frame? most dmv's will accept this. (they run the #'s and if no hits, it's yours.) clean #'s on frame real good, do a pencil tracing. try to make it as crisp as possible.

When I got my truck last July, it had not been registered since 1979. The CA DMV required a signed certification of the VIN, which I was able to get from a friend who's a county Sheriff's deputy. Your DMV results may vary.

The quickest path, IF the farmer was clever enough to have a Will, and named an executor, would be for that person to apply for a KS duplicate title. If you have the old registration, it should be simple and cheap.

Check your PM inbox - could be a solution for you

DW

I am working on finding the executor, but have not had much luck so far. I have obtained a registration through the KS DMV showing the original owner information, but the VA. DMV will not recognize it due to the fact that I do not have the title...the woman at the KS DMV was very nice, but could not help much outside of the requested registration. one of the problems is that I cannot work through my local DMV office, but rather have to mail into the main HQ in Richmond a request, then wait 4 weeks for a response....can't even talk with anyone regarding MY paperwork!!?? Very frustrating....

Hmmm.. Title stuff is always frustrating as you get to meet your state bureaucracy face to face. A lot of it is getting into the right frame of mind - We are just trying to make it happen. You aren't trying to do battle with the bureaucracy or prove who is right or wrong - just trying to get a title for the truck.

- You aren't here to do "the right thing" or be "Honest Abe". All you want is a title to your truck so you can get plates.

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Ok - Now with that out of the way - What exactly is the person at the
Virginia DMV telling you is required to get your truck titled & registered?

Every state I've been in has a "Lost Title Process" - it generally requires
some sort of Bonding Process. You put up 10% of the value of the truck at a Bonding company & they issue you some piece of paper & you go to the state to get your title. They issue you a Title "In Bond" & in 3 years you get the full title. If someone shows up within 3 years & contests your title - the bonding company pays off the value of the truck if their claim is valid, etc.

Don't tell them you never had a title - You "Lost it".
If they ask for a Vin Verification (which Texas requires) - then let's get them one. Find the # on your truck somewhere & get a big nice tag made with the right # on it from the Kansas registration & attach it to your glove box. We aren't cheating here - just giving them what they want to get the title done.

Good luck over there. We had some issues getting our title due to some problems with the Previous Owner buying the truck out of state & not proving the Vin# on the vehicle. So we got a tag in the glove box that matched the out of state paperwork & we got our title. The "Vin #" that I matched was KS107200 which isn't any Vin format I'm familiar with but that's what they wanted to see.

Rather than Defcon 1 I'd call it "Get it Done" mode.

Ben in Austin

Check if KS will honor the Bill of Sale, and issue you a new title.

In my best "honest abe" moment, I applied for a missing title/unable to obtain title through a form for just such a think...4 weeks and $75.00 dollars later, I get all of my paperwork back (less the check) with a hand written note that says they need proof that the person I bought it from did indeed own it i.e. registration etc. I worked with the KS DMV and obtained the registration that showed the owner did indeed own it, Put it back in the mail to VA. DMV (another 75 bucks) only to get the paperwork returned (less my check) by a different "agent" stating that I would need to work through the owners estate...even though the VA. form states clearly that it is intended for titles that cannot be found do to such circumstances! I thought I would try going the "parts truck" route and see where that might go. I intend to restore/lightly darkside the girl so I will be going to the frame anyway, meaning I could use the titled frame and the best of both to get her done. Kind of lost the wind in the sails at this point....
w

I would think if you have the previous KS registration showing the PO owned it, and you have a bill of sale he signed, KS could issue a new title in your name, which could be used to get your VA title. I can understand VA's reluctance to do anything except exchange a valid out of state title for a new VA title.

I feel your pain.....I was about ready to go postal on my state DMV trying to get a couple titles.....it finally worked out though.
Maybe this will help? > SEMA Action Network (SAN) TAG_TITLE_TOOLBOX

I also understand where VA. is coming from, it just baffles me that they have a form for this type of thing, but can't seem to execute their own process. I will prevail....somehow.
w

Don't lose your momentum - keep tossing the ball back in their court.
This is a marathon - just need to keep moving. It is frustrating - I worked on the truck & the title "stuff" at the same time knowing that eventually it has to come together. Hang in there.

(My honest Abe comment wasn't meant as criticism - I have strong tendencies that direction - tends to get in the way at times).

Ben in Austin

What about engaging a state senator or representative?