The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Truck title

Hi I need help please .i halve a 1951 Chevrolet 5 window pickup I bought long time ago for parts .i did not use it . Now I halve decided to build it .the problem is . It does not halve a title and no vin plate .has any one got any ideals on what to do .i am in Missouri they are strict . One person suggested buying a title and vin plate to match ? Please reply to [email protected] thank you .

We have discussed this many times on Stovebolt. Dozens of suggestions and opinions. Over and over. The only thing legal, moral, honest and correct is whatever the Missouri DMV says to do. Period. NOT what anyone here says or a friend or the mailman. You got yourself in this pinch and you have to now do what they say and spend the money and time to correct it.
Like I always say, NEVER buy a vehicle without a title.
We are not here to advise someone how to cheat, lie, trick or circumvent the law with donor plates and titles and we don't know the present, exact, acceptable method in Missouri.
People who steal vehicles, like some that have been stolen from members, get new VIN tags and titles and such to fake out the DMV. If you do any of that, you are in their category.

What Bartamos posted is correct, there is a proper procedure in Missouri to obtain a title. You need to bite the bullet and do your research with the DMV. Follow the steps they give you. Yes, it will cost you a few bucks and a bunch of your time but it is part of the process of restoring an old truck.

FYI, posting your email address to the thread is not a good idea. Put your email in your profile and ask for PMs if you don't want replies on the board.

May I add a comment...we understand you originally purchased it as a parts truck so no title was needed. However, until you actually have a title in hand I wouldn't spend ANY money on it. I know you probably already know this but it is worth repeating over and over. Many of us have been through the pain....and in the end it is worth it.
Let us know how things go so we can learn along with you as well as perhaps other Mo. resident/bolters. Good luck.

With no title nor a VIN plate, all you have is a pile of parts. You will need to buy another truck which has a title and a VIN plate. There are plenty of rust buckets for sale which are not worth restoring which you can buy, register with the DMV, and put your parts on.
I do not see any reasons why this approach would not be ethical. Although you will be taking the VIN plate off of one cab and putting it on another, it doesn't really matter since many of the titles were originally based on the engine serial number and not the VIN plate.
Just doing a paper shuffle and VIN plate swap obtained from someone who lacks scruples is not the way to go. What if the law cracks down on the guy who sold you the illicit title/VIN plate and comes down on you after you spent a fortune building your truck? By-by truck!

cuz,

What is your Engine Serial Number?

Well, I'm going to add my two cents worth. I live in Missouri and purchased a Truck with a Missouri Title. It had not been registered in 20 years and the Title Vin number was incorrect by one alpha character to the tag on the inside of the door opening, so the title didn't "match". Although I could have gotten away with registering that way, I worked with the DMV (recommend you go to a small town license office in a rural community, they usually know what they are doing) The Missouri Highway Patrol came out, documented the engine serial number, ran a stolen vehicle check and signed off on the vin tag issue and I got a new correct title in just a few days. It may take a bit of effort but you should be able to get this problem handled, legally. Best of luck.

Thanks Tiny, this issue comes up at least every 3 months. We've beat it to death every time. We should not condone breaking or circumventing the law out of respect for the site and its owners. The Moderators will have to be vigilant because some posters here will continue to try the easy way out.

Thanks Martin. It seems (or maybe it will be) that more states are coming around to making it possible to tag a truck that does not have the title. Like Dusty said, "handle it legally" and you won't have a problem down the road.

We had two titles here that vehicle-less. One was a friend's Sebring, same year as mine, that was crushed by a tree during Hurrican Sandy. We pulled parts off it that we wanted and then sold it for scrap. (Dang I could have used his rag top, but it was in worse condition than mine ... sigh.)

The other is a tile from a truck we had here that the gang took apart and pulled parts from during a Homecoming clinic.

The titles went into the trash last cleaning round.

Peg

Here up here Connecticut, we have a dmv that is dysfunctional. After 20 yrs there is no titles issued, just use a bill of sale and the registration form and proof of insurance. Now if the vin plate is missing or a composite vehical is being done., the truck gets a inspection and all the receipt for the parts are looked at for validity. A new vin plate is issued. So in short check your state dmv for composite vehicle title procedures and the truck will get a title, like a kit car built from donor cars and a kit

I live in Indiana and have a 53 3100. I bought the truck in California when I got out of the Navy in 1980. Regestered it and drove it there until 1989 when I drove it to Indiana and parked it. About May I decided to restore it. I no longer had the Cal. title. Cal said they had no records back that far anymore. I still had the expired plate on the truck. After many vehicle inspections and many mailings to Indy including a court order from a judge I got a clean title yesterday. I already owned the truck. My point being that there is always a proper way to do things. Now when it's done I know I did it right. You should do the right thing just because it's the right thing to do. That's my two cents worth.

For some reason, some DMV offices are a bit wacky. We have the big one about an hour up the road and we avoid it. We were so happy when they opened a branch down here. You can talk to these people and get answers.

You may get a kick out of this saga from our Two Guys series.

It was a title issue that was resolved legally.

Cuz, Google Missouri bonded titles. You will find the requirements and process to legally obtain a clean MO title. It does require some effort and money but in the end you can still be able to receive a good title not just a salvage title. I have to go through the process too for my 48 chevy 1 ton p/u. Hope this helps.