The hypothetical car is not something that would get the feds as upset as a golf country, and is old enough to be here and already been looked at by the people who would care and they seem to have thought it was ok.
The hypothetical car is not something that would get the feds as upset as a golf country, and is old enough to be here and already been looked at by the people who would care and they seem to have thought it was ok.
Some cars lend themselves readily to having small riveted pieces of metal exchanged between themselves. Especially those cars that only have one little piece of metal, and no stickers elsewhere. One buys a second car, and uses it to provide this small riveted bit of metal.
I've long noticed that certain tag and title places seem to be able to work magic, getting tags for vehicles that absolutely cannot be tagged. Talking with those people can sometimes make magic happen in your own life.
Working with a friend from another state, particularly another state that plays the no-titles-for-old-cars game, can fix things. They take the car and sell it back to you. This can often times make your state peaceful. No friend? There are those creative titling companies.
foxtrapper wrote: Some cars lend themselves readily to having small riveted pieces of metal exchanged between themselves. Especially those cars that only have one little piece of metal, and no stickers elsewhere. One buys a second car, and uses it to provide this small riveted bit of metal.
Even that can be tricky, as the poor fellow in MD who bought my truck found out. My truck was essentially a "re-VIN" ('95 dash & engine in a '96 body/chassis - something I made very clear in the for sale ad) and the MD DMV gave the buyer a hard time with the fact the VIN exists only on the dash and nowhere else. In the end, he ended up having it registered in his mother's name in PA.
curtis73 wrote: I have a similar situation with a 65 Scout in PA. What I have to do in that case is pay a $25 fee for a court hearing, they make a legal notice, and if no one shows up at the hearing to contest my ownership they'll give me a title.
Tell me a bit more about this part. I just picked up a Bradley GT out of Jersey. Car was sitting in a field for years before I plucked it. No title, no paperwork. I hadn't planned on ever using it for anything more than yard art. But if I can get a title for it for $25, it's worth it. It's built on the old Beetle pan, so I just have to dig to find a VIN on it somewhere.
Was there a form you filled out? Where did you get it?
Klayfish wrote: It's built on the old Beetle pan, so I just have to dig to find a VIN on it somewhere.
First the easy part. VIN on a beetle pan can be found on the center tunnel right in front of the access plate to the shifter to trans linkage (under where the back seat used to be)
Now the not so easy part. NJ and/or PA consider that a reconstructed vehicle. You would need to go through a whole different process to have a reconstructed VIN assigned, part of that process would be to have a title for the donor chassis but that is only the beginning of the hell that is titling a kit car.
Of course you can do what a lot of guys do and cheat, register it as a VW bug and take your chances, but it is illegal and can prevent you from passing inspection or be grounds to deny an insurance claim should you ever be in that situation.
Ian F wrote: ... the MD DMV gave the buyer a hard time...
That's all they ever do. Which is why I always recommend using a tag and title service instead. They make magic happen.
According to the great state of Maryland, Triumph only made the TR3, and is still in business.
In order to tag my Triumph Spitfire some years ago, the MVA insisted I produce two letters from Triumph, on official company letter head, addressed to me. One stating that they did in fact make my Spitfire, and that it complied with all federal regulations. The second letter stating that they were in fact out of business and that my car would therefore be eligible for historic tags.
Seriously.
Travis_K wrote: The hypothetical car is not something that would get the feds as upset as a golf country, and is old enough to be here and already been looked at by the people who would care and they seem to have thought it was ok.
Fair enough. Now I'm curious what the hell it is, if it's not a Golf Country. I don't know what other common European '87 hatchback there might be around these parts.
is there anyone from the NE that wants to be my friend with benefits and help me get paperwork for one of my un-papered vehicles? they are well over 30 years old.
Be very careful about buying any car that the seller has no title for.
The basic English legal principal is 'Nemo dat quod non habet' which means you can't give what you haven't got - i.e. good title. Unless your state has statute law that over-rides that principal, you could be in the position of the guys that buy a car, spend a mint restoring it and then the real owner comes along and says 'Thanks for spiffing up my car" and at best you might be able to claim the restoration costs on a quantum meruit basis.
There is also this story about the guy who finds his stolen Austin Healey after 42 years. He gets it back and the dealer who had it was out $$$.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/15/12751989-man-finds-his-prized-austin-healey-on-ebay-42-years-after-it-was-stolen-from-his-home?lite
Good catch - I was trying to find that exact article when I posted, but couldn't.
foxtrapper wrote: Some cars lend themselves readily to having small riveted pieces of metal exchanged between themselves. Especially those cars that only have one little piece of metal, and no stickers elsewhere. One buys a second car, and uses it to provide this small riveted bit of metal. I've long noticed that certain tag and title places seem to be able to work magic, getting tags for vehicles that absolutely cannot be tagged. Talking with those people can sometimes make magic happen in your own life. Working with a friend from another state, particularly another state that plays the no-titles-for-old-cars game, can fix things. They take the car and sell it back to you. This can often times make your state peaceful. No friend? There are those creative titling companies.
I know a guy that can't return here because he was doing that with wrecked legal cars and intact JDM cars. Got out about 1 1/2 steps ahead of the fed
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