Thread: New member...Title Question

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Hi, all. new member here. excited to join the community and learn as much as I can, and share what I know too. I am in the middle of trying to buy a rat rod. I have a question about the title I was hoping to get some help on. The car is in IL and I live in CO. The car is a 34' Ford pickup rat rod. however, the car is titled as a 54 Olds 88. I like that the car does have a title, but I don't like that the title is for a totally different year and make. The car is a custom frame with the 34' Ford cab. engine is a mid 80's Olds, so the engine is not even the same as the title shows. My question is what hassles might I expect to encounter when trying to register that car in CO? Would I better off getting a new Title issued in CO for a 34' Ford and go through the steps the DMV required? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Looking forward to contributing to this forum in the future. Thanks,
Jon

Welcome to the site. No disrespect and I do like some ratrods, but what does it matter.

It's going to vary some state by state. But here in Mass. that would be considered an assembled vehicle and have to be titled as such.

Try the D.o.T. for your state and see what it is that they will require. Department of Revenue - Division of Motor Vehicles:Registering a Vehicle

I know it isn't much help but it's all I got since I'm so far away... Oh, & welcome to the club!

Welcome to the forum! On your question, I don't see how the current owner can say that a '54 Olds car title is actually for the '34 pickup. That simply does not make sense - it's like taking the VIN plate off of a junkyard car that has a title and putting it on some entirely different vehicle, which is a Federal crime, I'm pretty sure. I'd stay away from that deal, or at the very least would visit your Colorado DMV and see what they say about the problems you'll face. You might be better off with a bill of sale and no title? Here's a link to the SEMA Action Network's Title Page for Colorado - http://www.bipac.net/semaga/TagTitleToolbox_CO.pdf Good luck on sorting out the details. Hope you find a way to make it work, but Caveat Emptor!!

RSPEARS... Thanks for the response. The title issues really worries me. It does not make sense. I'm not sure what the laws in IL are, but I can only imagine the issues I would have trying to title the car as a 34' Ford with an Olds title in CO. Might be wise to back off. Thanks for all the responses guys.
JMK

perhaps it was a 54 olds to begin with ..and all that is olds is the frame and later motor ....

I was raised in Colorado, and about a hunnerd Years ago I "restored" (if you can call it that) a '64 SS Impala that had a screwed up Title-they made me purchase a bonded Title, and I had no further trouble-hope this helps-

Sounds to me like someone built a rat and that was the only title they had laying around! Might as well find out the worst BEFORE you buy it, and talk to your state DMV about it. Also might want to find out from the seller if the VIN number on the title appears as a stamped number or tag anywhere on the car, then find out who put it there and why!!!!

Here is my opinion....worth what you paid me....
1. IGNORE any advice specific to titles regarding other states. All states are different.
2. IF you really want to buy the car from out of state, ask the owner for a picture of the title (he can cover up title number, etc) showing the VIN on the title. Ask for a picture of the identifier number on the car. They should match.
3. Go to the inspection station in Colorado. Take a picture of the car and the pictures of the VIN and the title. Ask the guy that inspects cars his advice. DO NOT ask the person at any desk inside. DO NOT CALL on the phone. You will only speak with clerks on the phone or at a desk....always ask the person who does the real work. Pose your questions as needing their help. Dont argue, you will lose.
4. Colorado has typically been fairly lax in my dealings. If you can find a car guy at the DMV inspection location, you are miles ahead. Again, you need his advice/help...be humble and kiss butt if needed....it tastes bad but does good.
5. Cheating is an alternative but not advised unless you can afford to lose the car.

I was recently stationed at ft Carson CO. They are ridiculous on auto legislation.

I bought a 73 charger, no title, was told i'd sooner part the red sea than register it.

What I did was to take the bill of sale to my home of record state of GA, and register the car there. Then, I used the GA registration to title the car in CO.

However, I was required to get a vin verification

Moral of the story: you might slide on that deal in Alabama, but in CO you are asking for huge trouble.

Colorado has enacted their version (emphasis on "their version")of the SEMA model law for street rods, etc. I scanned through the SEMA "toolkit," and my take is that Colorado took a relatively simple situation and made it about 100x as complicated. It impresses me as a bunch of rules made for cars by people who know nothing about cars. Think long and hard about whether or not you want to pursue that particular car.

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

Colorado has enacted their version (emphasis on "their version")of the SEMA model law for street rods, etc. I scanned through the SEMA "toolkit," and my take is that Colorado took a relatively simple situation and made it about 100x as complicated. It impresses me as a bunch of rules made for cars by people who know nothing about cars. Think long and hard about whether or not you want to pursue that particular car.

That's the attachment I gave you back in post #4 above, taken from the SEMA SAN site. I agree 100% with what Jack says, and also with Robot's five points, especially #1. Too often someone starts with "Well in Kansas (or Georgia, or Tennessee, or Florida, or Washington...)" and it's of zero help to you in your home state. Firebird77clone could go back to GA because he was military, but that's not an option for anyone else. And the process of going to another state, registering only for the purpose of bypassing laws in another state is known as "washing a title" and can get you in a world of hurt. That process, publicized by Boyd Coddington (RIP) on his TV show, is one of the big things that got California to come down hard on street rods a few years back. Do you homework BEFORE you buy that title nightmare.

Not that my Arizona experience is applicable to Colorado, but when we titled my rock crawler, we had pictures and took them to the inspection station. The nimrod clerk was a poster child for dumb so we "had a technical question" and needed to speak to the inspection technician. They were super nice guys, we showed pictures of the vehicle and one of them was a hot rodder.....he asked several hot rod type questions (out of interest) and then told us how to legally get the title and registration. Asking for help really worked. Finding the right person to ask was the key. From all the forums, it apears that the lazy car owner guy simply calls the DMV and gets an equally lazy clerk on the line. The clerk has zero interest in helping (if they had the ability, which they dont). They spout some stuff and the caller is lost. Driving around with a questionable registration might work for years, but when you get stopped, your car will probably go bye-bye on a hook to an impound lot. Then, the cost and effort will make you wish you had done it right in the beginning.

I would walk away. No reason what so ever for that title to say 54 olds on it !

Good advice, probably the best headache remedy.