Projects NYS Title & Registration Process

I just started the Registration process with the NYSDMV for my 1937 Chevrolet Truck. The only ID that I had came from VIN tag on the side of the cowl, nothing more. I searched H.A.M.B for others that have traveled this path and found little detail and experience. I then searched http://www.nysdmv.com/ and found the Vehicle Registration - Homemade or Unique Vehicles page www.nydmv.state.ny.us/homemade.htm .

I called the Technical Services Bureau and spoke with one of the techs and explained my story. He said that he will be sending a "Application Package" and I need to follow it. I asked about my VIN and he said since this is all I have and the body is the only thing being reused, I would be issued a new VIN. And that my Truck would be a Custom, which I would argue with. He said that I would have to follow the MV529 guidelines.

Has any recently went through this process? What should I expect? Or is there another legit way?

Thanks

 

Eh, just trace the vin and register the car that way. If you get a new vin, and the car is registered as "custom" it's gonna say 2011 on the registration instead of 1937 Chevy.

 

Boy did you ever just stick something up your backside, your gonna regret that move. You will be issued a new title for a 2011 vehicle and may be subject to all 2011 safety and emissions laws.

 

All you needed to do was make a tracing of your VIN tag, that in addition to a bill of sale would be sufficient to get a title. Basically you will be filing for a lost title, you just have to ask a little nicer and get the right person behind the counter.

 

Wait...It's that simple? Just trace the VIN tag and Register. I dont want 2011 vehicle or the emissions!

 

Pretty sure tall you need is tracing or photo of VIN tag , bill of sale and forms MV-51 and MV-82.

Check with rustynewyorker, he probably has the most experience with this since he pulls cars out of yard, fields, jukyards and sells them

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5191727&postcount=17

 

What jrblack30 has said is correct. I had the same problem a few years ago with the Willys in my avatar. I surely did not want a generic custom 20?? title and registration. NYS-DMV told me to do a pencil rubbing of the vin # and I needed a bill of sale from the person I bought the vehicle from. I carried it one step futher and took a digital picture as well. I then went back to the NYS-DMV with my (pencil rubbing, bill of sale, and vin plate picture). I then filed for a lost title. I recieved a clear title with the correct vin, make and year within about 6-8 weeks. I actually had just sold another truck and had not turned in the plates yet. So, I registered my willys with these plate which then gave me a NYS registration in my name as well. The Willys was under construction so after a few weeks I cancelled the plates and I ended up with all the paperwork in my name and with all the correct documentation. Hope this helps.

 

I do this all the time. It helps if you flirt with the older ladies behind the counter. A sure fire way to get this done with no problems is take a tracing of the VIN (they also accept a good photo) take a bill of sale(so they can collect the tax) and another thing you should bring is a VIN verification from your local law enforcement. With all that info they really can't ask for more.

To get the VIN verification just call your local PD, tell them that your are restoring an old car and the DMV wants to see proof of the VIN. They'll come over at their convenience and fill out a report and give you a copy, and its free. Lets face it, most cops have no clue what the codes are for vintage vehicles. You can get away with alot of crap.

Its not to late to go this route. I've recieved that packet in the mail, read through it, and threw it out. You cant have a traditional hot rod, and have it meet those standards. Stuff like 3rd brake lights, bright turn signals, ride height restrictions, emmissions have to be exactly what came with the motor when it was new(really only matters if your running a late model engine)

Note, this is to get a registration. Not a title

 

I sure do appreciate it! Normally the DMV & I don’t always get along and its usually due to a lack of information. Normally on my part!
You guys have been very helpful
And Thanks Again

 

I just went through this... In the BIG APPLE


New York didn't have titles until 1973 or 4. They had transferrable registrations.

You will have to do like was said above, trace the vin, and back it up with photos, they will look for the numbers in their system, then they will then issue you a non-transferrable registration, you will buy a tag, hand it right back (or keep it) and then they will send you a transferrable registration in 3-4 weeks..

Make sure you are using the right numbers for the vin.. I know nothing about old chevys, but the old fords used the numbers on the frame.

do not let it be titled as a later vehicle...

 

Also do your self a huge favor, do some checking before you go into the DMV. I suggest going to a DMV that is smaller, the smaller the better, When you get there ask to speak with the supervisor. Or find the oldest Bitty behind the counter and talk nicely and ask for her help. Be POLITE, BE POLITE, BE POLITE, it will get you farther.

DO NOT go to the big DMV locations for this kind of stuff, they will basically tell you, "They don't have the time to do it"

 

The tag on the body is old tin., it stamped with 8-12 digits. Im assuming this is the tag. I can see very very faint markings of Chevrolet. Is this going to make any diference when showing them the picture?

 

Put up a picture of the tag, hide out numbers, pretty sure that tag is the Chevrolet patent tag you are referring to.

 

32Gnu, I stand corrected. I recieved a non-tranferable registration. I then registered it (with my old tags) and as you said, "returned the tags and got a transferable registration".....jack pot!

-Shifter

 

If you need help with the VIN location, you might want to try the (this is gonna hurt..) chevybarn.com

 

I have two tags located on the passenger side, near the firewall. The one on top, I believe is the VIN. The Picture doesnt evern show the faint Chevrolet symbol. Its 10 digits long 21TD06__XXXX

 

Older then (can;t remember for sure) 72 model year NY did not have a title just a transferable registration. For cars over 25 years old all you need is your serial number tracing and an affidavit of ownership. Its a down loadable form from the DMV website.

Print it fill it out and take it with you. Basically you are swearing you aquired the car by means other than stealing it and to the best of your knowledge, no one else can make a claim of ownership. If you can get a reciept or bill of sale from the previous owner get it. If not its no big deal.

Do not go to the DMV office in Downtown rochester or any of the suburbs. Even go to one of the surrounding counties. get all the forms filled out before you get to the desk and have your insurance card. If you are applying for year of manufacture plates or Historic plates MAKE SURE YOUR INSURANCE CARD IS PRINTED WITH HISTORIC VEHICLE on it.

You need forms MV 51 and MV 51B as well as the MV 82.

If you have reciepts for parts used to reconstruct the car keep them as they might have you subject to the stolen vehicle field inspection ( which is a pain in the ass) but it pretty unusual for 25 + and older.

 

Go to the DMV with:

- Pencil etch or photo of serial tag
- Completed MV51 and MV51-B (one's only needed if either you or the previous owner had it less than a year, I forget which)
- sale reciept for vehicle
- MV 82 form
- Insurance cards
- Proof of wieght

The last one you can fudge a little - they may be able to use the beginning sequence of the serial to look up others and go by those. I would also consider bringing in a copy of say Krause's Standard Catalog of Chevy trucks, with a photocopy of the appropriate page with your truck highlighted where it shows weight - it should be good enough.

But if you have to get it weighed it has to be a certified scale - lots of those around - I did a little trailer toward the end of 2009 and it cost me all of nine bucks.

For that matter, it's been done with the reciept and some of the signatures and info on the MV-51/b forms fudged too. Basically it asks for the last owner's info and signature and the second one wants to know who owned it before that and why there's no registration - you can say it's lost, they died, they moved away, whatever. The kicker is you do NOT need to get any of the signatures notarized, so as long as it's not signed "Joe Blow From Idaho" it's not going to make much differennce - I think they pretty much only care that it's not stolen and the number isn't already in the system.

You should then get plates and a non-transferrable reg on the spot and can drive the vehicle. Albany checks the serial in some database - I assume either hard copy or a closed computer system - and in my case about 4 weeks later the transferrable came in the mail. Don't know what they do if the number comes up flagged.

I was even able to transfer plates I already had, to the car I had no paperwork for.

It's so insanely easy you'd have to be on crack to buy an old title/registration and use that.

The key though is don't lie, but don't offer them any more information than is necessary. And yes, your service may vary with the DMV - when I did mine originally I went to one and got a runaround, I went right over to the other Syracuse office and got what I needed no problem. A while later I stopped by Utica on my way elsewhere and asked for the forms and the lady kept going on something about I couldn't just fill them out there, I finally had to say I've used them before and I know how they work, please just give me one. But you can beat that by going to their website and printing them up if you like.

1973-up cars have title, I had '72 and '73 Pontiacs on the road at the same time and still have all the paperwork. What I wish NY would do is be like Vermont and let that year roll ahead so you only need them for like 15 years old and newer, but I doubt that will happen.

 

The folks at the Wampsville office (Madison county seat) have always been helpful and never in the least antagonistic regarding this type of procedure. But they are a small office where taking anumber is nearly unheard of.

 

I did mine at the old Erie Blvd. office, before it moved, and had no issues - I've had the most trouble with things at North Syracuse, both with the MV-51 forms and then later when I sold an O/T car to a guy from Baltimore even the clerk that gives you a number ended up telling us that "common sense wasn't going to prevail today" when the counter clerk was being anal.

Most DMVs have a time that it's never that busy, though, which is when I try to go.

 

This process worked for me also on two vehicals. I went to a sand and gravel business to get a weight slip, tracing of numbers forms out of dmv in 15mins

 

I've had better luck at the one in Western Lights, where the Erie Blvd office moved to. It helps if you dress just a little nicer and behave better then their usual clientele... which isn't too hard... Smile a lot.

My '53 Chrysler had pages and pages of owner transfers from Connecticutt. There was an audible gasp when I handed it over... but with a VIN tracing, all the right NYS paperwork filled out neatly and a smile, they came through nicely with even a "have fun with your car" as I left.

 

First year for NYS title is 1973 ... all before that are transferable registration ... I had to do the tracing bit with a trailer that I bought ... turned out easier then I thought once I found a person with a brain at DMV (4th trip there) ... JD

 

Seneca Falls is the same way...they knock each other out of the way to wait on you...

 

This is all good information! I still have alot of work to do, but I believe in a couple months She will be ready to test drive. And knowing that its easier then what I first thought Helps. Thanks All

 

I hope to be ready by mid-summer to register a truck I bought years ago and built a custom body and modified frame for. My plan is to follow rustynewyorker's steps to the letter and let it be registered as what it started out to be, keeping the customizations to myself.

Thanks fellow NY-ers!

 

Dang but you folks make it hard for yourselves in NY!!!!

My car, everything is a full repro or purpose built - Brookville, TCI, crate motor, 9" etc. I had a bill of sale from a '31 that I purchased to build, but sold it out of state. I used that BOS, applied for a registration, got a temp registration then the permanent one 30 days to the day later. It cost me a whopping $173 which includes unpaid taxes on the original car plus 2 years of TRANSFERABLE registration. I used the original '31 VIN for my car plus my insurance card from Grundy. Total time in the DMV - less then 30 minutes, mostly spent in line. Yes, my car has been modified, but you don't tell them that. Did the ladies look at me funny, sure, but I just gave them my normal wide eyed, dumb/innocent look.

What I'm saying - you need some sort of bill of sale(have your significant other write it, if necessary), a photo or rubbing of a VIN, your insurance card, a blank check and the "look" of being innocent. It doesn't help if you look like you are the inside man on an engine overhaul. Wear decent clothes, shave, etc and you will get by with no problems. Also, use a rural DMV office, if possible.

Whatever you do - don't register it as a homebuilt or specialty car or a trip to Albany or other main office will be necessary - and WILL be costly

 

just did this on a 61 porsche I had to have paper work for to go to france, The one thing I did not see mentioned, Don't make a bill of sale in the same yr. you plan on reg. the car like I did, Has to be at least one yr., changed the 2010 to a 2008 and went to another dmv, it worked, but I would be Lie'n if I told you I didn't flirt w/her...