[TR] VIN vs Commission number vs Engine number

[Chris Simo]

Update - This morning, I took my documentation with me to the NC vehicle
inspector and they are very professional to work with.  We went over my
paperwork and he said he'd come over to my house to give the vehicle
it's inspection this afternoon.  Yikes - if it wasn't put back together it
I would likely get a "not roadworthy" title.   I went home and feverishly
reassembled the front end as I was in the middle of the rebush and disc
brake conversion.

Things went smoothly and as long as there are not any other hang ups I
should have my title soon.

Thanks to everyone who replied and especially to Bill Lynn and Tom
Householder.

All the best,

Chris

On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 7:03 AM, Chris Simo <ccsimonsen at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have good news I think.
>
> I finally got the TR2 to the point where I felt I could drive it by DMV
> for it's inspection that NC requires for older cars prior to giving you the
> title.  Thought this was just a no-brainer.
>
> So in final preparation, I decided to make an attempt to clean the 5 or 6
> layers of paint and gunk and grime from the Commision number plate that was
> totally not legible - and  it did not match the registration and expected
> Title number.
>
> I had a suggestion to simply make a new commission plate with the number I
> had - but others said absolutely not - NC is not sympathetic at all to
> tampering with a Commission plate - big trouble like 20 years trouble
> according to one inspector.
>
> So - I was going to have to go down the lost title route - until another
> friend said - just try to find the number anywhere on the car - inside or
> out it may lead to a simpler updating of the VIN number -  I scraped off
> some of the gunk from the engine block and found my number on the engine.
>
> After some googling it seems that it was common practice in some states in
> the 50's and earlier  to use the engine number vs body number for title
> assignment purposes.   I think I'm going to be ok. It would be difficult to
> prove without a bunch of title searches but the car has been in the family
> since it was purchased - so that helps my blood pressure as well.
>
> Anyone have any additional advice here in terms of preparation for my trip
> to DMV for inspection?
>
> Thanks  Chris