Thread: Register That Hot Rod in NC ??????

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Well, it seems that as of Jan 1st '08 there is a new law in effect in NC. Speaking to a friend in DMV tag office,,, now, you build a rod and need to register it,,,or buy any PRE '73 vehicle,,,,it must be first seen by a DMV state inspector (not to be confused with a NC state inspection),,before it can be titled and tagged... So,, it all seems that although there are people out there who are out to mess up our sport and this would normally be a good thing, I can only think this,,,,, Seen by a state employee of any sort,, unless that person "gets it" can be a major problem.. As it seems to be an open ended law,, scenerio ::: you build a rod with a body that you bought even with a title,,,now the rod has a different chassis, engine trans,,and even suspension..You changed the firewall, so you buy a new tag plate, stamp the numbers on it, and rivet it onto the ,,um,,,door post,,, take this really well engineered mess to the Highway dept. . The guy comes out,,who likes,,say Mopars,,,you built a model A rod,, and this guy just looks at it, and says, NO WAY,,,,Hmmm,,,,what to do now? Hotrodworld

I dunno but California still has obvious ways to get through things. I took My Z-28 to DMV after it had a non-operation status lifted when I restored it.

A girl about 18 comes over and starts looking for numbers. Not body VIN#s, not engines #s. What ever she was looking for she found on the glove compartment door and excluded all else! The state people zero in on one thing blocking out all else.

When I brought my Packard from outta state they didn't even look at it well. Since there was no VIN exactly people that lost ID plates had enginr #s put on their titles. Change an engine an it's a problem. Well there's a different body number on the firewall too and they didn't know what they were looking at. Thay saw a number that was on the title and that was that. They didn't care where the number was. It's not specified like a modern VIN.

It doesn't matter if it's a pure street rod or something else cause no body at DMV knows all the different ways and places numbers appeared on all cars of the past.

In your case they're going to look see on pre '73 cars if the smog stuff is still there- even if it is exempt now due to age, it's still supposed to be there. But nobody checked that when I took my '73 Z-28 to DMV for re-registering after non-operation status.

If you built a kit car you'd have a # tag somewhere that the manufacturer provided. Don't they state where and what specific #s have to be in NC? If it is on the firewall and there's some tag there that should be all they care about. If as you say it is a state inspector and not and inspection(for safety) it's just a guy looking for a number plate to create a title.

In virginia to keep our antique tags we have to pay $50.00 and get the car looked at by a notary. Then get all the paperwork filled out and sent in. If we do not then we lose the registration for that car or any other antique car for 5 years.

Here's the skinny in NC on Street Rods and antiques.

Custom-Built Vehicle- defined as a motor vehicle completely reconstructed or assembled from new or used parts. The vehicle will be registered showing the make as "custom-built" and the year the vehicle was built will be the model year. All custom-built vehicles will be branded as "Reconstructed Vehicle."

Unfortunately, a street rod that you build in 2007 is going to be titled as a 2007 vehicle.

The good news: NC came up with a special law to accommodate street rodders. The bad news: it's a crappy law. At least, you can get one registered.

Virginia just enacted a very friendly "Replica Vehicle" law last year. My 'glass '34 is titled as a 1934 Ford, and is only subject to the emissions and safety requirements that were in effect in 1934. A DMV enforcement officer has to personally install a VIN plate if none exists, but that's rather painless. Too bad NC didn't at least partially follow the SEMA model law.

Thanks for the replys,, but most of the rods I have ever built were based on a stock chassis,,,many being model As.. This particular rod, my daughter built for her senior project. It is a '34 Ford truck cab (with a title) using a model A chassis,,aftermarket axle/suspension,, and a driveline from a '76 Chevy pickup bought from my brother in law,,now scrapped the rest. There werent any numbers on the cab,,, there are on model A chassis but since I have had many lying around for years to use,, I never had titles, or regis for them. The cab has a title,, but since it was a bad body, and many pieces were refabbed, and a new firewall was made,,,, we need to get a number plate from a company, stamp in the numbers, and rivet it onto the door post. Then see what happens.... In all my 36 straight years of every day, building rods (pre-'48) I never saw something like this... What bothers me the most is the possibility of an open ended law stating that it now must be a 08 model... BUT ,, to be technical,, nothing newer than '76 was used except for the few aftermarket suspension pieces needed to complete the project. This also,, is not a fiberglass vehicle,, not a kit car,,, certainly not an '08 car,,so,, it should be honnored with the cab's title,,,But,,,I wonder...... Sean

More info:

You would need to supply several forms:

- A title or manufacturer's certificate of origin (MCO) for the body and chassis.

A builder's affidavit (MVR-55) Read the instructions on this one. Nasty.

A title application (MVR-1)

A damage disclosure (MVR-181)

One thing for sure - most of the DMV personnel won't have a clue. If the law just went into effect, they won't be trained. I had to read the laws in Virginia and lead some of the DMV folks through it by their noses.

When things got a little tied up, a letter to the governor got me some action. After I wrote the letter to Gov. Kaine, everytime I left an inquiry on the VA DMV site, I got a personal phone call explaining the resolution.

I suspect you won't get away with a new number plate. They're pretty wise to that trick. Good luck, though.

They seem to want a title for the frame and/or body, but bills of sale for the trans and engine should be enough. I had an MCO for my body/frame combo, then just gave them copies of the bills of sale for the engine and trans. I did not have to account for the rear axle, or any of the other parts/labor going into the car.

I had a problem getting a NC title for a '50 Ford I purchased in Georgia. The car came with a 'Bill of Sale." I wish I had talked with someone at the DMV before the $ exchanged hands. Ater talking with the DMV, I was told it could be several months before an inspector could even be available to even look at the car, and inspection did not guarantee a title. Of course, with no title, that means no insurance, so the car sat in the garage. Within 2 weeks I sold the Ford to a local fellow who's buddy was a retired NC State Trooper. The trooper assured the new owner it would not be a problem to get a title. I saw the new owner at a local Cruise-In, and asked about the title, he said, no, he didn't have one yet, but thought a friend was going to order one from a company out of state. I am assuming these types of titles are from cars that were crushed in the green machine.

Here's a Texas twist. The outfit (Lone Star Customs) I bought my body from is a licensed custom car dealer. When I finish ( ) they will inspect it and Title it for me. Although it will be titled a 200? car the inspection sticker will say 1932. That is, in Texas a custom assembled car is to be inspected as the year it represents.

Otherwise a lot of the above seems similar. As long as there is no paper trail you can hit or miss with different people within DMV. If you have problems try to be patient as some solution will certainly surface; the system is after all porous.

Kitz