Projects Kansas title question

So, here's the short story. 9 yrs ago, I purchased a 55 Cadillac Coupe, and have almost got it road ready. Went to get tags, as I had a title, and guess what- the title doesn't match the car! I know getting a title is no problem, I'm just not comfortable having KHP come do the VIN research only to find out it's listed as stolen. Does ANYONE know a way to run an antique VIN prior to inspection to verify I won't get 8 years of hard work taken to impound?

 

Don't know Kansas procedure, but some states require vehicle serial number verification, even if there is a title in hand.
As an example, in Ohio, it was required to inspect AND verify the serial number was on the car.
Step two was to compare the actual vehicle serial number to the title.
Best to contact your title bureau, to verify what they do.

 

Tried that, but the only way I can get title history from the state is if I have the proper "authority". Assuming I was just planning to buy the vehicle on a Bill of Sale, how would I insure that it's not stolen before purchase?

 

what are you going to do if you find out on your own it's stolen and you have a bad title? if you want a tag KHP is going to have to see it, if you have a title problem. is it a kansas title?

 

My only recourse would be to recover as many of my new parts as possible before handing it over, or maybe trying to work a deal with the original owner. I don't anticipate there will be a problem, I'd just like to KNOW before I call them out to look at it.

 

'Don't anticipate a problem'?
Any bureaucrat that was headed my way to inspect ('verify') property hereabouts I didn't have title on would be in my sights...
Unless, of course, he had a badge and credentials proving he was an archangel...
I'd be lawyerin' up...

 

Yeah, well, it's my own fault. Should have checked everything before I started, but I had a title and never imagined there would be any problem. We live and learn, I guess.

 

Why don't you go to KHP with "your" VIN and tell them that you found the car and wanted to check to see if it was stolen.

 

I suggested that you contact your Kansas title bureau to determine HOW and IF they inspect or verify the serial number on the car.
What is the NORMAL title processing procedure in Kansas ?
I told you about the procedure in Ohio, but when I lived in Georgia, I purchased a '51 Chevy.
Georgia had ZERO interest in looking at my car, they did not, they would not.
They ASSUMED the title I was given from the seller was valid, with no inspection of the car and / or its serial number.
If Kansas follows the same procedure as Georgia, then you would be home free.

 

Are they transposed numbers or are they way off? That makes a difference in most states.
Did the guy you bought it from have a bunch of the same car and make an honest mistake?

 

No body has brought up the problem of insurance. Your insurance company will probably want a copy of the registration, so far so good. If the car is in an accident the insurance adjuster will check the VIN number and say "this isn't the car we insured, good luck". At least that is what I would expect living in California.

Charlie Stephens

 

To obtain insurance, you need a valid registration.
To get a valid registration, you need a valid title.
Which takes us back to this thread ...... trying to get a new, valid title.

 

Curious, when you said "the title doesn't match the car", did you mean that just the VIN doesn't match or the title says it's a Pinto and not a 55 Cadillac? Reason I ask is with mine (titled in Kansas) the title says it is what it is, but for the VIN it is the motor number and not the actual VIN/serial tag on the door jamb. All was well with getting it titled and insurance coverage with the number difference and a bill of sale. Nobody, KHP or others, had to look at the car for anything.

 

I wonder if the OP knows about the engine number being utilized, instead of the serial number ?
The poster is home free, if there is no need to physically inspect the vehicle.
On the other side of the coin, all numbers "should" match, for the sake of validity and peace of mind.

 

Assuming the current title is a Kansas title already, then correct, no inspection by KHP/others needed. If bought out of State and needing transferred to a Kansas title, then you have no choice but to take it to KHP for inspection first before you can title/register. So I guess along with my previous question, is the current title a Kansas title? Makes no difference obviously if it says Pinto

As for places to search classic VIN numbers, I've not come across a site I could recommend that actually helped for mine. Google "VIN Search" and there's a ton-o-options, just may not be too helpful unfortunately.

 

Find someone that is friendly with a dispatcher at the cop shop to run the vin of the car for you. If the vin is clean, you will need a bill of sale showing you bought the car from someone besides a family member. The patrolman will do a vin inspection and issue the yellow form that goes with your title application at the court house. This works on vehicles older than 35 years in kansas. No bill of sale, then it will be titled as a assembled 2016 model. This is a beginning of the info you need to read: http://www.dmv.org/ks-kansas/title-transfers.php

 

I believe it is standard procedure to pay ten bucks to the KHP and they run the vin to make sure it's not stolen. This is for antiques. They didn't look at my title, just the car vin. BUT, when you get to the courthouse the title better match. If the car vin comes back clean, then get a bill of sale (somehow) lol, and go to the courthouse. Don't go up there and try to fool them.

 

Someone told me that in KS you can get a title if you have a clean Vin if it is older then '49. I don't know how true that is.

Oh I meant to say that if you google it there are places on line that can give you history on any vehicle from the vin number. Not history like Car Fax history but ownership and theft history.

 

The title process is very simple, and I have no issues there, I would simply like to verify the VIN is clean before I proceed. The title I received with the car is for a '55 Cad, just not mine, and it does not have a valid '55 Cad VIN# on it- it's two characters short. A BOS is no problem, I just don't want to get the car confiscated before I can get my new stuff out of it. I have been online and just can't find any source to check history on anything older than 1981.

 

Kansas is bad to use goofy numbers. I had a car a while back with a Kansas title that had a zero in the middle of the number who knows why?

Try these guys 10 bucks may save you thousands.

https://www.dmv.com/vehicle-reports/classic-cars

 

Yeah, great thought, but Kansas is one of the states they don't get info from, so no joy there. Anyone have any other ideas?

 

Where are you at in Kansas? Got a friend in a small town that is a county seat?

Have you changed the motor in the car? Chances are that the number is a motor number and not a numer off the body tag.

 

You may have missed the post above that suggested the paper title might match a number stamped on the engine or the frame, rather than the one on the door. Look on the engine and the frame, and you may find the number that matches your title. My Studebaker is done that way. It creates a new problem, of course, if you ever need to swap engines. In my case, I threw a rod through the side of the block with the number stamped on it that matches my title, so I swapped in a new engine, then took a sledge hammer to the old block, saved the stamping, and the local VIN inspector in Colorado accepted that matching chunk of cast iron (along with my story and photos of the carnage) for the VIN inspection. I carry that piece of cast iron around in the glove box, in case there is ever a need for it.

 

Tried that. The engine is out of a '58, and the vin stamped on it verifies that. Probably was a rebuilt at some time, as when I overhauled it, the crosshatching was still in the cylinders. I actually have a couple of friends that are KHP officers, but they have expressed concern at having to be the one to impound if things don't go my way, and they could lose their job for running a VIN without a reason. Looks like I may be stuck.

 

I've read this first post several times and something keeps sticking in my head. You say you can get a title with no problem. But wouldn't the title being for another car be THE problem? The other problem is that you own a car with no legal paper work. If it were me, I'd be getting in touch with the seller and trying to find out what the deal is. He sold you a car with bad paper? Seems like he has a lot of explaining to do. Or did you know it and bought the car anyway?

Not to get into your business, but there are a few holes in your story. The main one would be, how or why did you buy a car without checking the VIN first? Did the seller tell you the paper was no good? Did you buy it thinking getting good paper was going to be easy?

If I had friends, who were cops and THEY didn't want to mess with it, I wouldn't walk, I'd RUN away from that car. Get my shit off of it and take it back to the seller. Or turn your cop friends on him and get your money back. I hope it all works out for you.

 

You can run the VIN for free through the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Designed to protect people from buying stolen cars.

https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck

 

How do you know the title you have is not for your car if you do not have the original engine. Most cars from the 50's were titled by the engine number, vin numbers didn't come on the seen until the 70's in most states. You may have the correct title for your car, but since the engine is gone you have no numbers that match anything on the car. Try asking the DMV what to do and explain that you have the title but the motor has been changed and can they re-title it to the number on the door piller insted.

 

I have run the VIN thru the NICB website, and it comes back clean. Does anyone know if that is because it actually is, or just because it doesn't identify anything less than 17 digits? As for an actual VIN, I do have the original number, stamped in the RH frame rail.

 

Seems like the solution, if the serial number search goes back into the 50's

 

If the site didn't recognize the shorter serial number, I would think the site would state that clearly, rather than say it's "clean".
Contact the NICB at the number below, to verify your shorter serial number is being properly accepted.

NICB Office Locations
Headquarters Office:
1111 E. Touhy Ave., Ste. 400
Des Plaines, IL 60018
p: 800.447.6282 or 847.544.7000
f: 847.544.7100