Editing How to title a hot rod (section)
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===California=== I have an old Chevy and couldn't find the numbers anywhere. To avoid all the problems that come with registration, I simply stamped the number off of my engine on the frame.... Called a policeman I knew and had him verify the number. Took it to DMV and the registration went right through. You have to be very careful with the titling of an unregistered car in California. If you make the mistake of putting a late model engine in an older car and make the mistake of telling the DMV that you have a '85 engine in your '37 Chevy/Ford, etc, they will make you put all of the smog equipment for a '85 model car on your old car. I have had two friends get caught in this trap, one guy told the examiner that the engine was a '95 Chevy...OOP's, he had to put everything that was required for a '95 Chevy on his '37 Ford. The best thing to do is get the legal paper work straightened out before you ever do any work on the car, then file a non-op on the car, when you get it running you send in proof of insurance and the renewal fees. No questions, no inspections, no hassle. Also you can find a "vehicle verifier", usually at a dealership. Ask for the title/licensing desk, or talk to the used car manager. He will usually help if you grease the skids ($100 bill). All he needs is the paperwork. Ask the title desk what they need. Or if you wish to get technical get a copy of the California vehicle code. I did, read it and was ARMED. It should be noted however that submitting a fraudulent document such as a false verification in California is a FELONY and prosecutions do occur when the DMV Investigations branch discovers these. It happens more often than you might think - just because it did not happen to someones 'buddy' does not mean it will not happen to you. This is especially true in the case of kit Shelbys and similar vehicles - They have caught on to that. Also if DMV decides it wants to it can ask that the owner obtain a CHP verification and be issued a 'blue tag' verification number - and those guys are not easily fooled - and for goodness sake do not try and slip them a $100, it will certainly end you in jail - I am one of them and people have tried and they have ended up on the wrong side of the bars!! I would suggest going to AAA to handle your paperwork, as they're on your side and want to make this process as easy as possible. Should there be any snags, as there were in my case, you're hopefully not in the state system enough to have to go to the CHP to verify things. I'd avoid them like the plague. At the very least its going to be a hassle. There are many title registration services in the Los Angeles area, I'd strongly suggest using one of them. It may be the best $150 or so that you spend, as in my case I never had to set foot in the dmv office and got everything taken care of within 2 weeks. ====Another perspective==== First of all you need a bill of sale or receipts for all of the major components, body, frame, motor, transmission and or rear ends. They will accept an eBay page showing you bought the things you say you did. If not a receipt, you have a statement of facts that you can fill out telling where you acquired the part, and how much you spent for it. The DMV has an application for registration and title of a newly constructed vehicle. You fill out all the paperwork, attach your bills of sale, and go to DMV. They will charge you the sales tax, and issue you a temporary registration for whatever you wrote down on the application. If you do not have a serial number on the body or frame, then this will have to be verified by the CHP. Call the CHP with your paperwork, and they will assign you to a vehicle verification officer, somewhere in the county that you reside. Normally, it takes about 6 weeks to get an appointment, depending on where you are in california. You take all the papers to the CHP, and they simply check that all the motor numbers, frame numbers and so forth match the paperwork that you provided. If the "street rod" does not have any numbers, then they will issue you a CA identification number, which is a blue metal sticker they will affix to the door jamb, firewall, or frame of the car you are registering. They sign off on the correct forms, you take this back to the DMV, and they will then issue you your plates, and a few weeks later, your title. It is important that you use a pre 75 motor, if you want to avoid smog. If you use a later motor, the "new construction" car will have to go by the smog rules for the year of the motor. IE, you put in a 1995 motor, you will have to have all of the smog equipment for that year of motor. If you do not agree, then you can go to the BAR refereee people, and get a judgment about what year your car is, and what smog you have to have done. If you use a pre smog motor, you will avoid all of that. I stress here that if all of your paperwork is complete, you have the correct bills of sale, and you do it right, it is no more than an hour in DMV, and about the same at the CHP. A tip when going to the CHP, make sure all of the numbers that you have are visible and readable, BEFORE you go there. Otherwise, you may have to come back again, when you have removed the fender, cleaned the rust, or whatever else is going on where they can not read the numbers. And waiting another 6 to 12 weeks for an appointment is a pain. What you will have titled (for example) is a "1924 Dodge Brothers 5 Window Coupe, 2008 New Construction". Make sure you put in the year and what you want it to be called, as what you submit on the paperwork will be the title of your documents for ownership. If you have an original title for the car, you may not have to do any of this. However, it is important that you have all of the correct paperwork completed. Also that you are prepared to answer any questions by the DMV correctly. All you have to do is irritate a clerk, have a title for a 3 window, and an application for a 5 window, and you will not get an original title, but will have to jump through the hoops above, and have a title for a "new construction" car. This is an easy and straightforward procedure if you get all your ducks in a row. Approach it with incomplete paperwork, bad choices of motor or illegible numbers, and you could be in for a nighmare. The above post suggests using AAA club for it, that is a good choice, and if you are unsure, you are far better having an agency do the legwork for you.
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