In the wake of the resignation of NC's Commissioner of the DMV, partially due to securing an "antique" title for a replica 1937 Ford pickup for a friend, the NC DMV has started investigating the validity of titles they issued to older vehicles, especially those brought in from other states. A close friend had his 67 year old all-Henry steel coupe inspected today after the DMV notified him that they had "questions" regarding whether the car was actually an original or a recreation. What tipped them to this car, I believe, was that the vehicle ID number that was provided when it was titled in NC was generated by another, previous state when it was registered in Tenn. a few owners ago; i.e., it didn't have the typical Ford #, as it had been re-numbered by Tenn. (probably because the # was cut off when the OG Mustang II front was welded in). The inspector "confided" to my friend that there is now pressure (and a procedure) to validate the titles issued to older cars, ESPECIALLY those brought in from other states. I am not trying to be an alarmist; I just want NC HAMBers to be aware of this and be prepared should they need to be. vic
something tells me thats gonna make getting the truck on it's way to me from georgia titled is gonna be even more fun now. i was already dreading it since it's coming from a non titled state. it may now come to blows...ken....
Last week the Virginia DMV told by daughter-in-law, just moving here from NC, that the 94 Camry needed to be inspected before being titled! That's new.
Yeah I did Randy, Luke should be OK (until I slide the new chassis under him). Looks like I'll need to borrow one of them high$ "looks just like early Ford" number sets this year... vic
From what I've read in the newspapers, it seems like the DMV uses "replica" 'cause they really don't know exactly what to call many modified cars. My guess is that this truck was built with parts that could not be traced back to an original '37 Ford , i.e., a frame with a Ford # in it. Hopefully, HAMBers closer to the state gvt in the Raleigh area have better details on what this vehicle is and will post. vic
I went thru the same thing in PA when I purchased my streetrod in Ohio. PennDot did not like the serial number on the Ohio title, told me to get Ohio to change it. Ohio said no because the car was no longer in Ohio. Thought I was going to be screwed, but after further diliberations PennDot issued a new VIN for the car. Turned out that the car which was built in Louisiana was titled there using the motor number as the car serial number. Louisiana never bothered to validate the serial number and neither did Ohio. So I would suspect alot of this has occured with old cars where the serial numbers were removed during the build. In my case I did find my original serial number later but the car still has the PA issued VIN and will continue that way. No use muddying the water now.
Having gotten titles for custom built bikes in NC, it's not that hard, the inspection process is easy to deal with. It seems to be the same for cars, my understanding is if your car is pretty close to what the title says it won't be a hassle, and the troopers here in Raleigh that do the inspections are pretty cool. They don't want to deny you a title, but don't try to scam them either.
you'll find many headaches in that town. don't get me wrong i loved and hated it equally. actually i'll be down there this weekend for some r&r. be sure to eat at Flaming Amy's as soon as you get there. probably the thing i miss the most hahahaha. but i did work there a coupla days a week for "car money" and the extra bonus was that kick ass food was FREE...ken....
Zman - I don't think this is going to be a problem with getting a title in NC (I've always found it pretty easy and have never had a problem). I think it is more about getting a title that says that the car is actually a (insert year) (insert manufacturer) rather than a "replica" or "home built". Seems like many people want their "recreations" (a la Boyd) to be accepted and titled as originals. vic
I don't think it will be if you have the paperwork and it is that car. I've had no problem with "bill of sale" state cars. They just want to verify that it is indeed what you are trying to say it is. I'll make some calls today or tomorrow and see if I can find out anymore.
I bought my car in Connecticut (no title for old cars) and titled it in NC. In order to get a clear title issued I had to present DMV with a bill of sale for my purchase and a bill of sale for the previous purchase by the guy I bought it from. Then the title was rejected because the VIN number was only 5 digits so I had to have a DMV inspector examine the original engine (not installed) to confirm the VIN. NC used engine numbers up through the 50's I'm told. This was a good thing because my car had no VIN plate nor serial numbers anywhere on the frame.
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