The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1946 Title advice

I have a 46 Chevy 1/2 project that I'd like to sell. I'm having a problem because I swapped the motor years ago, not realizing the title matched the motor and not the chassis. I spoke with a notary who said I'd have to do a reconstructed title, but to do that I have to get an enhanced inspection, but the truck is in pieces in my garage. Any advice on the best way to sell this truck legally?

Although it’s easier to sell with a title, since you say it’s a project, just sell it with a notarized bill of sale. The expense of getting a title will not be recovered in the sale. 🛠

This is a fairly common issue and likely why states stopped using the engine number as the VIN after '55. The best advise I can give is to contact your state licensing authority if you wish to provide a title. All states have a way to fix the issue but each state can be a bit different. Some don't even require a title on a vehicle that old. You can also follow Martin's advise and sell it with a bill of sale but you'll get less for the truck (sometimes a lot less) without a title.

The reason I kept the old engine block and stored it under the work bench.

Alas, when I bought my 1954 Suburban in 1971 it had a 1954 235 engine, but the Engine Serial Number had been crudely ground away.

Rookie mistake, I guess! I planned on keeping this truck, but I have too many projects and not enough time or space for them.

Even if you planned on keeping it you would have the same problems when it came time to register it.

Good selling point is clean title and current registration

Check your DMV

Not all states.
In the mid 60's California was still using engine numbers, and required filing an engine change certificate within 10 days after the swap. When I was building my Model A pickup, I filled out the paperwork truthfully as to the date I put the engine in, and they were going to charge me a fine because it was over 10 days prior, even though there was no current registration. They even wanted a "certificate of non-operation" for the years that it wasn't registered, which required statements from neighbors that it hadn't been driven on the street. They insisted that I was not in compliance even though the truck hadn't been operational till way past the date the engine went in. What a PITA. I went away and filled out a new engine change certificate, fudging the date a bit, and got it licensed. Not sure but California has lightened up a bit, although I haven't tried doing the same thing there since that one time.

spike, do I understand that you have a title in your name for the truck but it has an engine number for the VIN?... There's got to be a legal solution. If I understand correctly you "own" the truck. No real question about that... right?

I know MO and KY are not PA but this is what I did in 1999. I lived in Western Kentucky and bought a 50 3600 in Southeast Missouri. The seller had owned the truck for 12 years and had a title in his name. Only when he was selling it to me was it discovered the title had an engine number for the VIN. It had a V8 swap years before he bought it. Well, Missouri had a form, an affidavit the seller could use to explain why the title do not have a "valid" VIN. The truck did have a serial number plate on the A-pillar. He completed the form, had it notarized and gave it to me with the title. KY had a required inspection of the VIN plate by a LEO. I had a friend who was a county deputy sheriff... Finally I took all that to the license office and walked out with a copy of the title application, registration and plates.

I know it's different in every state, but there's got to be a way to do it legally. Good Luck!

Do they require an inspection when vehicles get sold in your state? If you have the title and no inspections required then it sounds like you have the title..

Pennsylvania wants me to do a reconstructed title, which involves an enhanced inspection, which means I'd have to make the truck roadworthy. I don't have the time or place to finish building it right now, so I was hoping to sell it as is, just seems a shame to junk a good title

That's the point. At this point it's not a good title. There are a lot of lawyers making a good living off of people using titles on vehicles that the title wasn't originally issued to. I understand you're saying it's the original title for that vehicle BUT that's your word against someone buying the truck then finding out there's no number on the truck matching the title. He said, she said. There are sites that will let you sell orphan titles. Stovebolt.com is not one of them because it's fraud. You might try getting a bonded title.

You basically have a parts truck with a bill of sale...nothing more. The additional cost for getting a clear title will never be recouped.

Mike B

As was suggested early on by several others in this thread, contact the licensing authority in your state. To that I would add ask to speak to a supervisor and/or someone that has been with the outfit long enough to truly know the facts about how the process works and alternative legal options. And, be calm, courteous and respectful all along the way, despite how PO’d you might get. You might just get lucky and find a legal way to accomplish this goal.

A search on the web for PA Vin verification yields Pub 645 Enhanced Vehicle Safety Inspection. In that document it addresses VIN verification on page 15 where it mentions Forms MV-426B and MV-41. MV-41 Application for correction of Vehicle Record or Verification of VIN. Form MV-41 Section C Application for State Replacement VIN Plate, put your VIN from the Title here, and check box Other, directly below that is “Verification by Police Officer (Local or State Police)”. You don’t need the enhanced inspection since it’s not going on the road IMHO, but you do need a new VIN tag. At some point this truck will need a VIN tag, the question is, can it be issued before the project is complete? You might get this Form MV-41 from the DOT and then locate a Police officer that will come have a look at your truck. Good luck.

1. A notary gave you advice not the state?
2. Did you get a title when you bought it? What did you get? What paper? From what state?
3. Put it in Craigslist and take your losses. I don't think any DMV in the US would title a pile of parts. As you know, they can't inspect a heap of metal.
4. You have only one other post in 2013. Is this the truck from that post?
5. So after all these posts, including mine, we must always just try to answer your ONLY question and not pontificate. So assuming this is all you want to know:

"Any advice on the best way to sell this truck legally?"

The answer is: If when selling, you tell the truth, give the buyer whatever paper you have and you bought it legally, then just sell it. What are you worried about? Did you do some kind of sketchy purchase? Do you suspect something is wrong about the previous seller? Was there a previous seller? Is it a field truck off of someone else's field that you pretended was abandon. You are very short on the story. We can not give you the total answer to your one question if we don't know the trucks legal status at the present time.

I think it sounds a little odd you would ask about selling "legally" if you bought it "legally". I don't think you have any worries except recouping your investment. Any pictures you have of it all together would bring you way more money. A 46 is a really neat truck.

This topic has reached its logical ending point.