...at least I think that's the case. I searched, but didn't find anything close to my particular case. I have a 1920-1921 Studebaker that was cut down to a water pump truck and I would like to get it registered. I pulled it out of an old farmers yard with no paperwork at all. In fact, the farmer said he was sure it has never been registered since it had been on the ranch as a water pump truck for as long as anyone could remember. Any one know what I need to do to get this thing registered? Thanks a ton! I am in CA if that matters....
Find the frame number (what you will use as a VIN), get a Bill Of Sale, and depending on where you are in California, you should be able to go to AAA and file for a Lost Title. They will have you fill out a few papers, do a VIN inspection, you pay all your registration through them, and out you go. You will walk out with all the paperwork you need and plates. Title will show up in the mail shortly after. There are a TON of threads on here! A TON! All your doing is filing for a lost title so you can register it. All you should need is a bill of sale and a VIN number.
Well, with no photos it's a bit hard to tell. If it is still somewhat close to original and you can make it run and drive I'd try to run it through as a somewhat stock vehicle that you intended to "restore". Then when you have title in hand you can do what ever you want with it. First thing is to study the California rules and regs on getting a vehicle titled that doesn't have one. Looks like Scootermcrad gave you the simple method to doing it.
Glad to help! Been researching this a lot. Going through the process very soon. Have more than a handful of friends that simply go to AAA. Not all AAA offices will do it though. If it's not stock, or at least resembles something that's stock, it may be more difficult. Usually the inspectors don't know what they are looking at. Should be easier with something like your Stude, that isn't as common. Especially a water truck. Is it mostly as you found it in the field or has it since been modified to resemble a hot rod of some kind?
Do not tell them what you told us, do exactly what mcrad said, no chit chat about never being registered, big worm can. SShhhh, be vewy vewy quiet.
Here is the "as found" photo. I have since blown it apart, but it will not be that hard to mock it up back to it's "original" form. The next obstacle is to get it registered as a Horseless Carriage since its pre-1922. Should be interesting....
find some numbers on the frame, i know my studebaker had none, they were issued body tags with the engien number. not the vin. soon as that is figured out. go to dmv or AAA. youve had this car for a long time, at least 10 years. youve lost the title and are looking to get 'another' one. done.
Sounds like it should not be too hard. I do have the "VIN" from the frame plate. So, all I need to do is go to the AAA or DMV and tell them the VIN and the story and that's it?
First off, don't go to DMV unless you know someone there. The last thing you need is to get "flagged" by some dumbass that doesn't know their ass from a hole in the ground. Start with AAA. If that doesn't work out, there are independent people/places out there that will do the leg work for you. It will be more than AAA, but it will all be legit and painless. All AAA has to have is a BOS and eyeballs on your VIN plate clearly showing that it matches the BOS. You can go to CADMV's website and download a generic one and fill it out. In terms of a story, the only thing they might ask you is WHY it has been dropped out of the system (after 7-years, I think). Keep it simple. Just tell them you bought it from this person and it was used on his farm in his field and just hadn't been used in years. Done. That information will go on a form called "statement of fact" that the DMV uses to create the paper trail. Don't make anything up. You have a simple case of something that has just fallen out of the system. No need to complicate it. Where are you located? Again, I wouldn't recommend going to the DMV for any reason. And check various AAA's for the one's that do VIN inspections. The other thing that may be asked of you in a VIN inspection is to PROVE that it is a Studebaker. If it says somewhere on the frame plate or maybe you simply have a panel that says "Studebaker" on it, that will do. Example. AAA by me will say during their VIN inspection "Well how do I know it's a Ford??". Showing them the headlight that says "Ford Duolamp" is enough. Dig?? Some people have good luck with the DMV, but I've heard more horror stories about people getting flagged at a CA DMV, I wouldn't even drive within' a block of that place. Good luck! Don't over-think it! Call your local AAA and tell them you have an old car that you're restoring and you need to get it registered and the title has been lost, but you have a signed Bill of Sale. Some will tell you it will COST you. Don't be alarmed. Most just don't know exactly what to tell you. One thing for sure, they're not going to worry about it being some kind of illegal hot rod! HAHA!
Oh... And I would probably wait to get the Horseless Carriage plates until after you've got a title in hand and your newly acquired registration. Seriously... these DMV people can be a pain if it's not a 1996 Honda Civic that's been registered with a pink slip.
Awesome, awesome info. My problem is that I don't have a great BOS. Basically, the old rancher I bought it from scribbled on a piece of paper that he was selling it to me, but there is nothing indicating year or VIN on the "BOS". Any chance of getting this thing registered with no BOS? What if it had just been given to me? The frame plate does say Studebaker on it, which is good. Also, I am in the Bay Area. BTW - Nothing gets me in the Christmas mood more than Cousin Eddie.......
Be sure to get the paper work done first since a lot of the fees are based on value (and I assume it will go up in value as you work on it). Charlie Stephens
scooter is telling the straight up truth.its what I did.If you go to dmv and talk to five people you'll get five different answers.none of them helpful.
Here is what works. I have done it a number of times. Tell them that you have owned the vehicle for years and years. You had a title, but you put it in an envelope with the old plates for safekeeping, but you lost it during a move or an earthquake or whatever. You will be given a few forms to fill out, they or some LEO will need to verify the numbers and that's it. They will issue a new pair of plates and a temporary registration. The title and reg will arrive in the mail in 14 days or so. Do not volunteer any other info. Dummy up if they ask any questions that make you nervous.
If your BOS has his name and something that resembles a signature of some kind and says something to the effect of giving or selling it to you, then you will be fine. And that's SUPER good that the plate says Studebaker on it! That will save you grief right there!! As for the value... Your are taxed on what you payed for it. The state wants their cut. My guess is you didn't pay much for it, RIGHT!? RIGHT?! And it certainly doesn't appear to be WORTH much... RIGHT??!! (see where I'm going with this) Bottom line. Wherever you go to get the paperwork done, it's doubtful anyone will know that is what you say it is until they see your paperwork. Nobody is going to debate what you say it's worth or what you paid for it. Just be reasonable. If you say you got it for free, they're going to tell you "we need a value". If you say you got it for $5, then they're probably going to give you a hard time. And I seriously doubt you're going to say it's worth $5000, or something (rather it is or isn't), so just put a good reasonable amount for the vehicle. Oh, and I agree. If you can get it filled out first, it's best and will make things faster. Just call AAA or whatever you're going to use and ask what you need. They use DMV's forms, not their own. They're basically just certified to be DMV people and take the load off the DMV... sort of. Anyway, same forms right off the DMV's site. Now what you need is to get that BOS straightened out and hopefully someone from the SF area will see this and mention a AAA service close by you or even a titling service in your area. Sometimes titling services will come right to you and do the VIN inspection and you just give them the bucks and the paperwork filled out and a week or so later you have your plates and registration. Also, sometimes the title services have ways around the BOS if you really can't use the one you have or acquire a usable one. I would maybe check around with some of the local hot rod shops on who they use. A lot of them have one they use just to make life easier and keep good business going and legitimate. Another thing to note here... You have a truck. You're going to title it and register it as a truck. Because it's a truck, the State of California is probably going to make you weigh it for commercial purposes. Just a heads up. Not sure if there is a year cutoff on that or not, but I know two other HAMBers that had to have it done for their T and A roadster pickups. So just be aware. OH! and.... "Shitter was full!"
That was my first thought also, but I had it identified via the frame plate number by a guy on the AACA Studebaker forum. Here's a what it started life as. http://www.flickr.com/photos/49324777@N00/2581103720 Thanks for all the info ScooterMcrad. I appreciate it all.
Every state has a process and sometimes more than one way to approach the issue. I find it's usually best to go ask them how the process works BEFORE you bail into something. Recently I did just that because I am dealing on an old pickup with no title. I just told them I was dragging an old body in from a ranch and wondered how to go about getting a title. I think they are much less suspicious if they know you thought about that end of it first.
I found my BOS, but the problem is that the seller wrote "1932 Studebaker" and no VIN, but I now know it is a 1920-1921 and have the VIN. I verified the year from a member of the Antique Automobile Club of America and his "book". Does the AAA inspector have a book that indicated year and such?
Avoid a lot of unnecessary crap and just do what I told you. It is proven, it works and it will work again. You have nothing to loose. You will not tell the DMV ANYTHING about the vehicle that will screw the process up. You don't even have to go to the office. All the forms are online. You will need this one http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg227.pdf You will probably need a Statement of Fact to explain how you "lost" the original documents, and a Non-Op You don't need a BOS from anyone. It is your truck. It has been your truck for 30 years. You simply lost the paperwork and plates. Don't muddy things up with a bunch of papers from a bunch of people
I can tell you from experience. In California. If the car is non-operational and you have NO paper trail, get the paperwork from DMV to take it to the CHP for the VIN inspection. Use the frame # as your VIN. Then you have to go to an INSURANCE company to get a BOND. Once you get the BOND and the CHP paperwork completed........you take it back to DMV and get it registered. AAA does NOT get involved with this type of transaction. Hope this helps............GOOD LUCK!
I love Arizona, apply for an abandoned vehicle title, have a third party verify vin. If not reported stolen or titled they give you a clean title within a month. Done it twice with no problems. Avoid DMV. I bought a 69 Camaro that was abandoned in the desert 17 years ago, I took the shell and boxes of parts on a trailer to the DMV. One guy was great, going to issue title. His supervisor blew a gasket, said it was not a car and wanted to flag it as parts only car. Barely got out of there. Little did he know it is one of less than 500 hard top Z10 "pace cars" built and is now nearing mint condition. Jerks.
I speak from experience. I am 2 years into trying to get pink slip in humboldt county (Calif) on 1937 ford flatbed truck. I started with a signed pink (oregon last registerd in 1987. And a bill of sale. I was required to. 1. Certified weight. Not allowed to weigh until truck was complete. 2. CHP (no one else) vin verification (they have an specific officer due this. They would not inspect (verify) until truck was complete. (my frame has original vin stamp that matched pink) Took 18 months to build truck Started again at DMV Long story short I added an application for YOM. Dmv messed up the process done by special unit in Sacramento. Re submitted. Finally got it registerd (6 1/2 months) When pink got here there was typo mistake on pink. They are sending it back to special processing in Sac, and say it might take up to 3-4 moths to correct. (is registed and legal to drive while I wait) It will turn out ok but Ca. DMV is not easy or quick in my experience. A truck that has to be weight adds a layer of difficulty.
The Jalopy Journal
