Hot Rods Texas VIN Saga

I had my Oklahoma 32 Ford Title cancelled after 15 years, by someone in Texas who used the same VIN number: 18-129997 Which originated in New York, and was a salvage Title.

Anyway, Oklahoma gave me a new VIN...

The secret sauce is to call the Cleveland County courthouse, where they can email you a simple PDF form to fill out and gets you an affidavit signed by the Judge. You don't even have to appear. Cost is about $150.

Then the Tax Commission issues a new VIN.

 

Wow, two cars with the same vin ????, that could have gotten really messy.

 

That New York title business scares me and I'm fearless. I've heard of this happening before.

 

Another OK title/VIN story. 11 years ago I bought a 56 Dodge pickup in KS. I went to the Cherokee Tribal tag office and registered it. But, since it wasn't safely driveable, I never presented it for the mandatory VIN inspection required to get the title. Finally last year, I decided to start work on it and the first step was to verify the VIN. It didn't match the title! The last digit was wrong, 7 not 8. The tag is on the firewall, engine side and partially obscured by the horn. I tried calling the previous owner, voice mail over and over with no return call. Checked with the KS title folks, they researched years of history, including old microfilm. It has always been known by the wrong number. Then I went to the Tribal headquarters, presented all the history info, and they agreed to verify the actual number, issue a title with the right one, problem fixed. I don't think it would have been that easy with the OK state folks.
Working on the thing finally. Maybe one day I'll have a pic to show.

 

Good policy corncobcoupe It's too bad you can't lock a Title like you can a credit card. The paper in the safe deposit box is a false security. Anyway, there was no other option for me. Texas wasn't giving it back. I'm sure the new owner has some sort of worthless paper trail like I did.

 

KenC I had a 54 Dodge Town Panel and the Title number was on the engine. I tried to change it to the body number on the cab, because I wanted to put a Dodge 270 hemi in it, thus there goes the only number that works. Finally gave up and stuck with the flathead 6.

 

I think it is more about the law of averages. So many "32s" have been built that some folks are just ending up with the same random numbers. Quite a few States only need a Bill of Sale. Buy er picks a SERIAL number out of the range and goes for it. Sometimes lightning will strike twice and the poor guy that has the actual number gets bit.

 

well, can I play too ? I bought a 1952 willys jeep this spring, same owner since 1982, then in 2012 dad was getting ill, and the title was transferred to the son, who I bought it from. When I went to get the title transferred to me it showed up on the computer as being " flagged", which means its on hold for some reason. It turns out that in 2013 some one in washington state titled a 1952 willys jeep with the same number. That cant be we all know, the original number plate is on my jeep, clearly stamped 56500. I looked closely to see if perhaps one of the zero's could be an 8, etc, but no, its all correct. The jeep in WA can not have the same number, but perhaps he made a mistake on the number, or made one up to apply for a title, who knows. WA should have used the national database like my state (minnesota) did, and therefor should not have issued the title, since mine was done one year earlier. Now, the smart computer will not allow the same number to be entered. "dont worry, you will get a title" they tell me, but for now they have issued a temporary permit, free, and renewable forever it sounds like. I hope they do not want me to take a new state issued 17 digit modern thing they have you rivet to the frame, when my original brass tag on the dash is beautiful and correct

 

This is a scenario when anyone buys a registration from non title states, you don't know how many of those registrations have been sold and used,so there can be more than one car with same numbers.

 

Unless it is something new, there is no "national databse"

 

The national database is why the number can not be entered into the system, the states words, not mine.I assume its been around for a long time, at least since the computer took over the system. If not, why cant we just steal a car from another state and get a new title?

 

The Stolen car database is something totally different.

 

I'm going to say that the issue on Rusty Valley's Jeep was that it had not been registered recently or the guy here in Washington would have had issues when he tried to register his. I'm going to say that is probably a typo by some clerk in a license office in Wa rather than someone with fake numbers as The Washington state patrol vehicle inspectors can usually spot something bogus real quick.
Unless Lolife has the original frame with the block it hard to tell who has the bogus papers there.

Years ago when my aunt gave me my uncle's 71 GMC it came with a duplicate title because they had filed lost title. When she was cleaning out drawers before she moved a couple of years later she found the old title which I also now have as a historical but no value document. You wonder how many found in the drawer titles may have had lost title papers filed on them in the past.

 

There was a guy who sold titles through Hemings and other publications in the 70’s and 80’s. Basically he’d sell you an old New York registration which was proof of ownership. The issue was you would get a new registration yearly in New York, so the guy could sell multiples of that same registration just from different years. When the states started to computerize titles in the 90’s, it started to show up with multiples of the same VIN in different states. I’d be wary of anything with New York paperwork.

 

Here's how those duplicate NY registration numbers happen.
All pre 1975 vehicles are non-title and are just issued a registration card. Every 2 years when you re-new your registration, you are sent a new window sticker AND a new TRANSFERABLE registration.
I had my '32 Ford on the road for 12 years and I recieved 6 transferable registrations over that time...One of them went with the car when I sold it...but I still have 5 left!
If I was unscrupulous (and some folks are), those 5 remaining transferable registrations could be sold to out-of-state guys to register other '32 Fords...and probably get away with it. And THAT'S how 2 cars could end up being registered with the same serial numbers.

 

You beat me to it by 6 minutes

 

I bought a 40 Chev drag race car here in California in 1974 using the pink slip from 58 when he bought it. I had no engine but what I thought was the vin number still on the passenger floor board. I transferred it in 1974 no questions asked. I quit registering it in 1981, there was no “ no op” at that time.
Bringing it back in 2020 I found the pink I now had used the engine # and not the body number and sequence on the tag attached to the floorboard. We found a contract DMV Officer to come to our garage and used some forms she had, photographs, and Chevrolets body # books and changed the vin to the body designation and sequence. $300 well spent.. In California in the 30-40’s they could use either the body or engine #’s. I now wonder how many needed to change or-are wrong..

 

Thought it was a little funny that back in 1949 my uncle in Cali had the DMV provide him a new plate for his constructed roadster after the CHP inspection. Hope it's still around....

 

The story given me, was the person selling it had a father who ran a wrecking yard. He put the registrations in photo albums, and had 100's of pre-war cars. Originally Oklahoma didn't like it. They told me it was defaced. But out of the blue I got a title in the mail. I guess they just punted. It was in pretty rough shape. I'm happy to get a real original title. The new guy in Texas will get his day too, I'm sure. I could have bought a lot of Taco's for $150 though.

 

That would have been before my time. I think I started on the 32 in 2004. Haven't driven it in 3 years, as I've had health problems. I keep hoping a tornado comes, and I can go buy an RV and drive to France (St Pierre and Miquelon), ha!

 

My uncle has a vanity plate for his 1969 Z/28, had it since around 1980 or so. When the Maine DMV computerized their system in the late 1980's, it was found that they issued the same plate to someone else in the 1970's. My uncle ended up buying the plate number from the other guy.

Had an OT beater that had a wrong digit on the registration (2 looked like a Z) that didn't get picked up on for several years. But the DMV was pretty good about it and just fixed the digit on the paperwork after verifying it.