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I finally got the pink from my Grandfather in law for my '56 4400 "water truck". The truck hasnt been registered since the early 80's. Does anyone know how long it takes for the vehicle to go "out of the system" at the DMV? I sure dont want to pay 23 years of back registration!

I don't suppose he did a non-op on it when it was retired? California DMV has a good web site that may answer your questions.

In my past experiences,,its usually abt. 4- 5 years,,especially on the old stuff.
What the d.m.v. lady told me at Concord d.m.v. office is that they usually have new employees go thru the computer and "purge" the system of all stuff with zero activity for the last 4-5 years,,especially older vehicles.
Thats why its so important to at least do a non-op on your old truck or car. Once its been deleted,as far as d.m.v. is concerned,,the vehicle never existed and you have to go thru a verification,trim their toe nails for them,give them a ride to work,lick their a$$,and pretty much just bend over and ask them,"please dont stick it in too far"(along with giving them a blank check and letting them fill in the amount)
Marty

Hey Glamis,

It will be out of the system, but you won't have back penalties either. That is the pro side of CA's 'out of system' vehicles. The down side is that you will have to have it inspected by the chp prior to registration, one thing of which whey will want to see is a BODY vin number. You are borderline. In my case (41), they have to place a new vin tag on the body somewhere as they will no longer rely on the engine block for that number, which is how they did it up to the mid 50's.

Thanks guys. I'm going to DMV monday, hoping for the best. Since the truck is still 100 miles away from me, I dont know what I am going to do if it needs to be inspected. I guess I will find out!

Another option with DMV is to find the person or service in town that handles DMV footwork for local car lots, most places have such a person.
I found a lady that walked my 53 truck paperwork through the back door of DMV for a small fee.

Also if you have AAA in town and are a member they may be able to transfer the title for you. I signed up for the minimal AAA membership/towing just so I'll never have to set foot in the DMV again. As with my 3600, I had to have it weighed, I had a local pd officer fill out and sign a form that verified that the vin of the truck matched the title. My experience with DMV is that the first trip; stand in line for 2 hours and they hand you a stack of paper work. On return, stand in line, they say you have all the wrong paper work, give you more to fill out, this can go on for an eternity.

At least with AAA, the people are professional and treat you like a human vs the LIVING HELL at DMV.

Ahhh, California DMV, how I miss it so,...

But my aim is improving! :p