YOUR TITLE! Is it in your Motor or Chassis No.?

[Wm Lozada]

...

[Jim Breazeale]

William

Cars were registered by the engine number until 1957. There are still cars regisered by the engine number that has, long since, been changed. It is a realtively simple process to get the car registered by the chassis number, at least, in California. Check with your local Department of Motor Vehicles. If you get an answer that you don't like, go to the next window or call back and speak to another person.

Regards

Jim (Licensed Auto Dismantler, State of California)

[Larry Wilson]

Not so fast Mr. SF Giants Fan, Jim.

Been there, done that. You might have a problem, however, if the present engine in the car does not match the engine-based VIN in the current registration (which is not an uncommon situation). Then the DMV or CHP inspector will want to see evidence that proves the car at hand is the same car referenced in the registration document you want changed. Think about that for a minute.

I am the 4th owner of my car, a 1955 Speedster. The original owner suffered a literal engine-melt down, had a 36hp VW engine installed as a replacement, and changed the registration VIN to #11006477, the engine number. Big help he was! The 2nd owner deep-sixed the 36-horse and replaced it with a no-number 356C replacement case. The car became an E Production race car for him, for the 3rd owner, and for me, the 4th owner. And, all of us continued the #11006477 registration because we flat-towed the car to races which required a current license plate on the car. Who cared about the VIN -- until I decided to restore the car back to street form and wanted to see the chassis number as the VIN on the pink slip.

In this situation, the line of least resistance (a principle followed by most bureaucracies) is called "Assigned VIN." In California, it's an ugly blue tag that is permanently affixed to your car in a prominent location, like pop-riveted directly below the factory VIN tag on the driver's-side hinge post. The DMV will be happy to use the chassis number on their plate for the VIN provided it's not already in use. That should really impress prospective buyers looking for originality.

In my case, I had a good paper trail over a 40-year period with statements from prior owners showing that the car at hand -- that I wanted the chassis number used for the VIN -- was indeed the same car previously registered as #11006477. I was justly rewarded with a new pink slip and license registration with the factory chassis number as the VIN. And, NO "Assigned VIN" plate!

Regards, and thanks for your help in my Speedster restoration project.

Larry Wilson

[Mike Zois]

I dragged my 58 down to CA DMV and told the guy that the NJ title was wrong....he said OK, where's the engine, in the back of the Yukon.....OK....so your 59....nope, that's wrong too. Here's my COA and 356 Registry that shows it's REALLY a 58.

It was a left over and was sold and registered in 59.....OK.....oh yeah, I wanna put these YOM Yellow background plates on it too.....

DMV guy was pretty cool with it, he later said it was a record for fixing screwups in one transaction....

[Jim Breazeale]

Not so fast Mr. SF Giants Fan, Jim.

Larry

I seems that you and Mike followed my advice to the letter, before I even gave it! Registering you car with the VIN instead of the engine nymber ain't too hard to do, at least, in California. God forbid, you are an Angels fan or , worse yet, a Dodger fan.

Regards

[Mark Cohn]

When I purchased my non-running '54 coupe without the original engine, the main hurdle was to simply get a title in my name. The tax office insisted on inspecting the car and seeing the stamped VIN before issueing a new title. In my third trip to the office I was greeted by a clerk who did not make the demand and went ahead and issued a title. Now, with a title showing a number appearing nowhere on the car, I rely on the Porsche COA to tie the whole package together.