For cars that old Missouri does not require a notary.

Now this is the important part. Look at the back of the title to see if the top block has been filled out with the buyer/seller information and if the date of the transaction has been filled in. If only the seller has signed and dated it without any buyer information written in leaving the buyer information blank, the only real problem is the penalty for the title not being transferred in the 30 day window. I believe that penalty maxes out at 250 dollars. If the purchaser information has been filled out, North Carolina will send the title to that person. Then that person would have to transfer it to you.

If you try to treat it as a lost title, All Missouri will do is mail a replacement title to who ever the Missouri resident is listed on the original title.