T confiscated because of engine number?

Um...ok, so if the cops locate YOUR stolen car you want them to leave your car with the person that has it (thief) and then investigate the case and then wait for the court date and the entire time YOUR car stays with the dirtbag? Really? Are you sure? I truly doubt it. I'm sure you would love to get ur ride back as soon as you could. I'm sure you would want the person in YOUR stolen car arrested and prosecuted. I'm SURE you would want your ride confiscated by the so called "pigs" and returned to you. Or maybe not? Maybe you sympathize with people who steal other people's expensive things they work long and hard for. Maybe it's ok to just take whatever you want from others without any consequence like half the whiners here about the bad police. Most people trust police. The majority of those that don't are criminals.

 

No, that's not the right way...it's a state jail felony in Texas. Besides, many states are getting wise to that and DMVs are requiring VIN certification, especially for out of state title transfers or vehicles 'off the books'. Forge a title and you'd lose the entire car and spend a few months being Bubba's girlfriend.

The bonded process works - but not for assembled vehicles. We have another process for that; it's called the "Street Rod" title.

 

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! I like your car, but think it would look better with a nailhead, hemi, or even maybe flathead. Maybe someone is trying to tell you something!

 

Wow...that means a lot of machine shops in Texas have broken the law when they surface the deck and machine off the serial numbers...

 

This should be a H.A.M.B. get-together.

 

It really does open up a whole lot of questions, like what about engine rebuilders who take in a core motor and rebuild it ? How do they know if the engine was ever stolen ? What about the person who buys one of those motors, are they somehow liable ?

I have a 350 sitting in my shop that came out of a drag car, it was evidently done by some engine shop because the numbers on the front pad are ground smooth and in their place are things like 5.7.... .010......and other information pertinent to what they did to that motor. How would the authorities view that "alteration" to the block's numbers ?

I realize the cops were just doing their job, glad to see them doing that, but it does open up a lot of questions.

Don

 

I don't think the decking off of numbers would raise an eyebrow nearly as much as the obvious attempt to disfigure the block as pictured here.

It is quite possible that under the same scenario of titling inspection the decked block would prompt some questions, but I still think the obvious disfigurement just screams out for scrutiny, regardless of the intent of the person that did it.

 

Anyone interpret this without brain failure?



".....
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
section that the person was:
(1) the owner or acting with the effective consent of
the owner of the property involved;................."


So would this clear machine shop work?

 

Unless life gives you sugar and water your lemonade's gonna suck!

 

But is it an Identification number or simply a production number? I think all OP has to do is show that Chevy never put I.D. numbers there UNLESS it was a number assigned when the previous vehicle was re registered at some point as a reconstructed vehicle. Staying tuned for this one.

 

My Chevy is made up from several vehicles and was retagged by PA SP years ago. They incorrectly guessed the year and model so they tagged it as such. I found the old serial number plate and took it out when rebuilding to avoid problems down the line. Its legally registered, were not a title state.

I'm confused as to how he figured the engine was stolen considering it wouldn't be in a database he could actually access. Someone should call the NCIB National Crime Insurance Bureau to see if they have a file, if not its BS.

 

Yup^^^

 

Cool car, hope everything turns out OK.

 

Ughhh! I was just about to go down the bonded title route here in good ol' Collin County, Tx until I read this thread. I'm in the same boat, bought my 31 shell as just a shell, built the frame from scratch, had my 283 rebuilt and decked, no paper. I want to be as legal as possible but I be damned if someone comes and takes my stuff.

Looks like there needs to be a petition put together to rewrite or at least clarify this law.

gwhite, I'm going to PM you and maybe you can help me out and walk me through the steps to get a street rod title. Also, I will post how things turn out through this process.

 

Talk to gwhite, he knows the ins and outs, real nice guy

 

I don't think the cops actually said it was "stolen". They said the numbers were altered or defaced somehow. Apparently that's illegal in Texas and probably in most states. It looks very suspicious in the pic that was posted. It at the very least warrants an investigation and that's what it sounds like is going on so far. If they said its stolen then I'm sure whoever possessed it at the time of the discovery (the OP) would have been arrested for possession of stolen property. These guys are not dummies. They're professionals that find this stuff and return it to people that purchased it either now or long ago if they can find the victim. That's what they do. Sometimes there's confusion and many times investigations show that there was no foul play and no one get's into trouble or loses their stuff. Yes, they have some work to do to find out exactly what those numbers are and in fact if they were ever used as an I.D. Until then it's confiscated and that's the law. Hope that clears up a few things for you. I hope Noah gets it ALL back and that'll be the end of it. A good lesson learned here including myself is don't put anything on ur ride that looks like that. To me, it looks like someone tried to alter or damage those numbers, why would someone do something like that?

 

I think the stamp is a rebuilders number that was done in 1982 in Colorado. The damage done to the engine doesn't look like an attempt to conceal or hide something; they would have ground the surface smooth, not leave a series of obvious hammer marks. I left a message for the Colorado State Patrol Friday to see if they had ever encountered this, hopefully they will call back tomorrow.

 

I think the numbers were stamped after the punch marks, otherwise the numbers would be marred. I would also guess the punch marks were done with the engine assembled, in a car, making filing or grinding all but impossible.

 

Depends on what year the damage was done, people seem to take for granted that years ago 4 1/2" grinders were not in everyones tool boxes, Not to mention grinding numbers off the front of a engine block with it under the hood of a 57 chevy. hell the Guy that stole the car prolly had to borrow the punch and hammer that was used to do this in the first place. Thiefs are not smart, Or they would not have to steal to begin with. Just my 2 cents anyhow.

 

Noah,

I feel for you man, I have been caught in bureaucracy before, it involved the interpretation of a "build-able lot"(real estate).

I remember sitting in front of some lady from the city planning office while she made a determination which would cost me tens of thousands. I lost 25k from her decision, it could have been worse, it could have cost me over a 100k. She had no degree, wasn't an expert, just a HS degree and a position in the city planning office. My wife is a lawyer, and we had no legal recourse, her decision was final.

If they let you get your car minus the engine, consider yourself lucky.

If they won't let you get your car, take lots of pictures of your car at the lot. I would think the state would be liable for damages your car incurs while on their property. I wouldn't totally rule out a lawyer, but they do cost money -mine costs me money every day PM me, if you can't get your car, and I'll get my wife to find someone that can help.

Kelvin

 

Thiefs are not smart, Or they would not have to steal to begin with. Just my 2 cents anyhow.[/QUOTE]

This motor isn't stolen. The guy would have to be the stupidest thief ever, to leave the marks plus stamp the numbers the wrong direction.

 

All you have to do is go to the Texas DMV website. It gives step by step instructions on the various ways to get a title.

 

You gave the thief too much credit, he probably stole the punch and the hammer too.

 

Ask the Police Dept. for a copy of the thieft report, date stolen, where stolen, value when stolen, and the Officers name who took the origanal report of thieft.
Then get your car back, motors are cheap. Make sure and get a receipt when the PD log the "Stolen Motor" into evedence, signed by the officers, and dated.

 

Bonded title link.

http://txdmv.gov/motorists/buying-or-selling-a-vehicle/bought-a-vehicle-with-no-title

 

I have a Colorado bonded title on my roadster and after reading about half the posts (ignoring the anti-cop jerk offs), it appears that the problem is lack of documentaion for the original engine purchase by the Colorado builder. When I had the banger in the roadster built, it was returned with the serial number ground off. The CHP inspector made note of that fact on my paperwork and issued a new VIN.

As a point of reference, I was using a New York title for a '27 T open car. The CHP inspector said that was a $125 lesson on how not to register a hot rod in Colorado!

 

I agree with you and think the thief is stupid.

So that I am not confused Let me see if I understand you correctly......
(1) law enforcment told you the motor is stolen,
(2) They took your car because of this
(3) motor Numbers have been tampered with (Piss poorly I might add)

And you don't think the motor is stolen??....Wow! all I can say is Oh boy! best of luck to you with this.

 

Just curious... What if you had rebuilt that motor and had it decked. Messed up numbers or not, they would be gone. I had both of the small blocks in my two cars decked when I rebuilt them. Hope the cops don't check em and see that they are both STOLEN!

 

Would still like to talk with someone that has already gone through the process under this new law. I have no VIN number and from where I sit it sounds like it will be a month or couple of months long ordeal if i have to go before the JP.

 

It's going to be a few months regardless of how you do it. I'm just putting info out.