Do you guys register your "race" only cars? Should I?

Does that apply to my grandma when she drives her car to Bingo??? I mean she can win money there too??? What about when I drive up to buy a lottery ticket - am I ok in my car but not in my truck???? I don't see the difference. Sounds like they we fed a load of **** and could have fought it in court and "won" if you call losing a days pay in the persuit of justice actually winning.

 

I wondered about this same thing. In my case when pulling my digger. No bill of sale, no ***le - obviously NOT a street machine, but in reality I don't have a s**** of paper proving it's mine. Although I could produce a couple receipts for 4130 tubing! ;-)

I always ***umed nobody would even ask about stuff like dragsters and funny cars because they were purpose built race cars never intended for street use. But what I wondered about was drag cars like 60's doorslammers without ***les. Looking at some of the doorslammer drag cars i've seen for sale (Not on the HAMB.) some without ***les and some without even a vin, how does somebody explain that in the event of getting stopped? I've p***ed up a couple good deals over the years on cars because the history just seemed a bit dicey without good paperwork.

Edit: As to the original posters question, I don't think I'd register it but I would sure want it ***led in my name.

 

Some proof of ownership of race car and trailer should be all that is required. I loaned a friend my open trailer a few years ago so he could go to a NHRA Division 6 race in Mission BC. At the Washington/Canadian border, he showed them my registration and a letter I wrote to him with permission to use the trailer and all was OK. On the return trip, he was h***led a bit by US Customs about his 63 Super Pro Dodge on the trailer. It was his race car, with his name painted on the side and he had a ***le at home, but no registration. They made him post a bond, just in case he was "importing" the Dodge, until he could prove ownership.

 

I'd register it for off road purposes.I carry a seperate policy on my trailer.Your insurance goes THROUGH your trailer hitch.When your hitch and trailer aren't attached,it is seperate en***y.
Years ago I was stopped for a headlight out on my van (probable cause), then he wanted to know all about the motorcycles in my van,paper work etc. 1.5 hours by the road.If your car gets off of the traile rand say hits a kid,who's liable???

 

Could that be why NHRA pulled the Molson Grandnational race out of Canada?

 

Hey HemiRambler, Sell me your racecar/trailer for a buck, I'll sell it back to you for a buck, and give you a bona fide reciept for the whole works! Then you will have proof you own it.


Sure I will. I promise. Cross my heart.

Pretty please?

 

Interesting topic. There was a race track around here that required all race cars to be insured. This came about because a race car, pulling off of a trailer, backed into a Mercedes. The owner of the Mercedes sued the track, so after that, the track required all cars to have insurance.

Back in the late '70's, some guys were going around trying to sell a stolen '56 Nomad. There were no takers as far as I knew. Then one day at the track, I saw the Nomad had been turned into a race car. Soon after that, the local police started checking vin numbers on race cars.

 

no we lost the Grandnational because of unleaded gas.
my trailer is insured for liability on the same policy as my cars and truck doesn't cost a cent just states that the is covered if it unhooks and causes damage,I got it covered because i use to tow all over Quebec, Ontario,New York, Vermont,New Hampshire,Pa every week to races, nothing ever happened it was just in case.

 

I need to go over to the Highway Patrol, see what info they can supply me with. Building something from nothing, and what to do with it once it's done! I will probably have to spend a little bit of money, in order to keep what's already mine, with the least amount of trouble. That seems to be how things work in general, around here.

 

My bro. in law and I were stopped one nite by the Carthage police coming back from MoKan. He was asked to prove ownership of his Nova. We had copy of ***le with us. Police said a Nova like it had been stolen out of Joplin. Guess there are a lot of 2 post Novas with 14'' slicks running around.

 

"It's mine"

 

Far as proving ownership goes, I've never had a problem with any car or truck I've had on my trailer, race car or not. The car that I raced for a short time; all I had on that was a Bill of Sale from the previous owner, plus it was a roller-only when I got it. It was a race car from when it was just two years old, and never was a street car.

You might check with putting the race car as a rider on your homeowner's insurance. It's not registered or ***led; but then, neither is a lawn tractor or most ATVs, or other non-street-legal motorized equipment, yet they all can be added to a homeowner's policy. Ask your insurance guy. Obviously, you can't get insurance for it when it's being raced, but you should be able to get some type of liability so when you are loading or unloading it, or it rolls off the hauler while you are on the road, you are covered with liability.

I know my car hauler is covered on my auto policy as a separate rider, and so is any vehicle I carry on it, but what is being hauled is just liability only.

 

The purpose of proof of ownership is theft. How about it was YOUR race car on some thief's trailer and he simply said "it's mine" like someone suggested was the proper response????

***le is best but bill of sale would probably suffice. As would prior registration or insurance in your name.

For flat towing some race cars have been registered as camp trailers using towing hubs or no driveshaft (no power to drivetrain) you could in a pinch sleep in it.

Owner applied numbers in hidden spots with photos of same would definitely help prove it's your if it gets stolen and you put this information into the police report.

 

OK , then what would I do in my case ?
I have a 1937 Plymouth p/u that I am going to build for the street BUT I might just use as a race car . Now since I don't have a ***le what would I do ? Would a notarized bill of sale between 2 people work ? What about at the race track ?
When I did some racing back in the 70's , the cops would pull us over sometimes when we were going home at 2am in the morning but all the did was ask about the car and how we did that night at the races . Of co**** back then most people would never steal a mans race car !
I just never had that problem before but now that I am getting back into racing , I am wondering what the race tracks in Md & Pa need to race as in ownership of the vehicle . I have checked on their web pages but nothing was said about if you really own the car or not !

Are there any local racer in Md & Pa that could let me know before I make that trip ?

RetroJim

 

Ks will not ***le a race car. Lippy

 

I'd just run from the cops...They'll never take me alive !!!

 

Greg, that's ridiculous - they'll never believe a dollar for BOTH... we'd better make it a dollar EACH !!!!

 

In TX, you can get a non-registered ***le. Just carry a copy around wtih you.

 

Ive been told your supose to register anything that goes on the street if its on a trailer or not. I asked a CHP freind about this because ive had drag cars before and he said as long as the truck and trailer are registered your normally ok. But he recomended getting an off road vehicle registration that way i had a ***le to prove it was mine.

 

Usually can't register without a ***le.

I ***le all my vehicles, race or otherwise. Wether it gets registered or not is a different story.

 

I guess it depends on what you mean by "racecar" The last one I owned was a former Busch North circle track car. NASCAR spec Laughlin ch***is with a fibergl*** 98 Monte Carlo body. Register it as what ? Using what numbers ? If a cop can't tell it's always been a racecar and that there are NO regular production parts on it anywhere with the exception of maybe the engine block then he's been living in a cave.

 

In Oklahoma you can black sticker a car without insurance. It simply means you can keep the tag current without insurance on the vehicle. You do have to sign saying it will not be used on public roads without coverage being obtained.

Also, as far as liability for a trailer and contents, the towing vehicles liability insurance should take care of that. Like has been stated, insurance laws vary from state to state.

 

It's not a suggestion, it's a fact of Common Law; Having posession and claimaing ownership establishes ownership unless someone else can prove otherwise. The person in posession don't have to prove anything. If you care to take the time to read all of those cases at the law library, it is virtuallly impossible for someone that challenges that claim to do that unless in fact they have absolute proof that they are the rightful owner. Should someone challenge that claim, the burden would be on them to prove that the person having both posession and claiming ownership DID NOT in fact own it.

Off topic, I don't haul cars on my trailer. Once, I was stopped and asked about the fact that I didn't have a current license plate on my trailer. The one I have is from 1956. My answer was that it isn't a registered vehicle. The conversation turned to questions about my truck, the trailer was not brought up again.

 

I ran into another deal in the early 90's in Colorado. I was hauling a street car without current plates for a friend that had sold it.I was stopped at the port of entry, and they wanted me to prove I owned the car. I couldn't do that ,I was declared a Commercial vehicle, (hauling for hire) and I ended up buying a fuel tax permit and buying a log book. Setting here now it seems easy to tie them up in questions and legalities but when your setting in their parking lot in the middle of the night and you have a job that wants you tomorrow it doesn't make any sense to try and outsmart them. I have since made sure I have a notorized bill of sale anytime I have anyone elses car on my trailer. It only happened once but that was enough.

 

What were you hauling with. I pull my car through Nevada and across the Utah border at least twice a year as do plenty of Bonneville racers. Right past Port of Entry scales. Because I have a pickup truck and there is a sign that says No Pickups. On a trailer in California where this thread started, I have never been asked about the race car. And I have spoken to CHP a few times over the years.

 

My chevelle is always registered. With collector plates it is a one time deal. Insurance is something I also don't go without.. Seems to me like most accidents happen on the trailer!!

 

Same in M***achusetts... Usually when you buy a car you apply for a ***le and registration at the same time on form RMV-1
But you can apply for a ***le without registering.
I have bought just a frame and ***led it (that is, the car it represents) ....

 

Old notary stamps can be found at flea markets.
I'm not suggesting anything.....

 

do an off road tag like on a dune buggy or dirt bike its like ten bucks a year. If you do it tho i dont think you can go back.

 

Now theres talk that the cops will be at the track waiting for someone to splash a little race gas in their CA registered car... Busted! Just like getting caught with offroad (red) diesel in an over the road truck. Theres talk of impounding the car on the spot!
I wonder if this will just apply to currently registered cars driven to and from the track, or if they will try to go after trailered cars with current registration also?
Back in the day, they wouldnt pump race gas into a car with current plates, so it was either get a fuel jug, or pull your plates off. Now it isnt going to be as simple. Just another reason to not keep current registration on a full time race car.
Back in the '70's you had to register anything offroad from Dirt Bikes to Dune Buggies. Ive even seen Drag Cars with one of those green and white offroad stickers. Is it still done? Does anyone know if you can go from offroad registration back to onroad in CA? Maybe you will have to wait until the car drops out of the system?