I agree with Gus, first thing I would do before I even turned a screw on any old vehicle is
get the title in my name and get it registered. That way you know you’re not in for any
surprises when you finally get all the work done and get it on the road. If it has to be
inspected for some reason it would be a lot easier to convince them that it was all correct
and original in the condition it is now rather than after its been all stripped down and
reworked.
I had clear title to my ‘50 when I bought it, got it registered and was driving it. But I
noticed the second year that the VIN was one number off. Somewhere very early on one
number on the title had been incorrectly recorded. It had been registered for 50 years one
number off. I filled out the form I got from the DMV and had a state police officer come
out to check out the vehicle. Luckily since I had gotten it from the original purchaser I
still had many of the registration stubs going all the way back to when it was bought new.
The officer said it all looked original and unmolested and it was obvious that it was a
clerical error and signed off the corrected title form. Now the VIN number on the truck,
title and registration all match.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
