hi im currently building a hotrod for myself and this question comes up:how do i title it?can i get a vin/title out of a late model car and just rivet it to my cowl?or do i just go through hoopsand get it registered,inspected,and wait?are there any easier ways?im sure this question has come up many times but i cant find out how to do it in ohio.thanks for looking,Troy
Well Troy, the obvious answer to your first question is no. Its illegal to swap vin plates. Trust me ive been through this several times and ive also been audited by the title mafia ! If you can find a title that... you know what, pm me and ill fill you in.
This may or may not help... Salvage & Self-Assembled Vehicle Inspections - Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles title information - Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Take a look at this link... This might help a little http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2814565#post2814565
should just have to take it to the dmv, and apply for 'hobbiest' plates as in home built hot rod/ motor cycle, car/truck, they will issue a tag and title for it, i know jhere in wi you have to have it inspected by the state patrol to make sure its road worthy
In Ohio to get a title on an assembled car, you have to have a Notarised receipt, or title, for all major components identified by serial number if they have one. this includes engine, trans, rear end, body or parts of the body, frame, if not home built. Then you need a dated receipt for virually every thing else. It then has to be inspected by one of 4 OHP inspection stations after paying a fee. They seldom pass the first time, unless it's just a rebody of an existing car. It may pass the second time, but not always, paticularly if you get a different inspector.
I know this is an old thread, but I'm curious if you got anywhere with this. I've been reading the DMV (and Ohio EPA) sites. The DMV part is pretty straightforward - they want to make sure you haven't stolen any of the parts. Yeah, it's a PITA, but I can sorta understand the reasoning. However, emissions seem to be kind of a problem. The default is that you have to meet emissions for the year the vehicle is titled under the assigned VIN. The exception is if you can prove the engine is an earlier model. And there's the catch. According to the Ohio EPA site "proof" is "a letter from the dealer or manufacturer of the engine. Other forms of proof will be considered on a case by case basis". Does that strike anyone else as being way too vague? I doubt Ford or GM is going to issue me a letter saying the engine I pulled out of a barn was built in 19xx. Do they even keep records of engine serial numbers past a few decades ago, if that? OTOH, what's a "dealer"? Is it just the guy you bought the engine from? If my buddy sells me an engine that he pulled out of a barn and he says it is from a '40 Ford is that enough? And then, what's the deal with the "other forms of proof"? You gotta wait until the whole thing's done, only to find that you can't prove that the thing is pre-emissions and have to make it 2010 clean? What if you get some cool guy at EPA to say sure - Flatties are exempt cause they were all made before emissions standards when you call them for questions. Then three years later when you finish, some Prius-driving granola-eating eco-nazi fresh out of college decides the letter of the law is the letter of the law and you need a letter from Ford or you pass that year's emissions. So, anyone been through this successfully? Is it as big a deal as it sounds, or are the EPA people pretty easy to work with?
after building this last one, (i only had a bill of sale from prev. owner) i made an appointment at the o.h.p. near cleveland. i thru it on the trailer, took all the reciepts i had including the cab,(doors came with cab) motor, trans, rear end, ect. ect.( they seem to be curious about "if" the doors came with the cab?) anyway, after a 1/2 hour wait, the guy in front of me pissed em off and drove off so i thought great..been here before, but.... the inspector came out and asked me for my paper work and payment reciept, i handed him a folder with about 60 pages in it. he looked at it flipped a couple pages, had me unload it and they spent about 30 minutes checking to make sure all the numbers were there (block, cab, ect...). then he asked me if it drove and if all the lights worked i says yessir! and it drives great. i started it and hit the horn, and lights. pulled it forward and back like they instructed, and was told to put it back on the trailer. at that point i thought there might be a problem cause i couldnt tell by his tone... 10 minutes later i was on my way with paper work in hand heading to the dmv. they even took a couple pics for their "collection". all in all it was ok, and only took a total of 4 hours(including drive) and done all legally! so i would keep all reciepts and just be honest right from the start. goodluck. george
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