so I found a pre 72 C10 tow truck on an adventure yesterday, in the woods, sans engine, but with a straight, non damaged, rust free body and frame. If I take out a few trees (2-3) I can recover the truck, which has amazing patina and beautiful lines.
So if I were to attempt to claim it, what headaches can I expect.
It all depends on what state or country you live in, the rules are different for every state. Tell us where you are, and ignore anyone who tells you how they do it where they live.
In general terms, assuming the truck is sitting on someone's property other than your own you can't just claim it - you'll have to find out who the owner is and talk to them. If they are willing to sell, they may or may not have clear title to the truck, and that's where it gets tricky.
You can look up titling requirements for each state on the SEMA website here: http://www.semasan.com/page.asp?content=titling&g=semaga
Maryland. the process looks to be obtain salvage certificate, then after restoration, have a safety inspection completed and a title will be issued.
Whose property is it on? If public land, I think the first thing to do is call the police or DMV and have them run the VIN. Hopefully it's clean.
it's public land in PA. No blood or bones in the interior, just a distributor cap and rotor for engine that had been removed.
There won't be a Bill Of Sale required? If so, that could be impossible.
I wonder if you volunteered to do a "clean up" as if the truck were part of a larger junk pile. And instead of paying, you might get PAID to take it away. And instead of recycling it, you title it.
...and we so want pictures
tow truck might have some sort of commercial lettering on the door or back? Could be a place to start
In reply to Gearheadotaku:
I didn't have the camera with me, and didn't grab the phone as it was discovered by my co worker upon getting out of the car to recover and have a laugh at how far and high I had just jumped the lead car as we were scouting locations for a potential stage rally.
It honestly looks like a non cartoon version of "Mater" from cars though. Apparently there's a tow truck in GTA4 that looks almost identical.
I'll be getting back up there the first weekend in November and will be sure to take pictures. I'll likely be seeing about a way to tow it out without tree removal due to the location being on public property.
Mater was a 1951 International Harvester. 
I've seen similar cars in GA sitting in state or federal park lands.
It was long ago determined that the effort to remove them would cause too much environmental impact, habitat destruction, and risk to the historical nature of the area. There is no chance they will EVER move, no way, no how. Not even by helicopter. I've asked.
Hopefully that is not your scenario.
I bought a running 72 c30 tow truck with a garwood winch for 1200 and use it regularly on our property, so if it's too much trouble you might just want to start hitting CL. They're out there and usually cheap since, for the most part, the old stuff isn't used commercially anymore.
I also bought a 78 k20 4x4 wrecker for under 1k, but the engine was locked up.
That being said, I'd love to have a free one, so good luck.
Contact the local DMV / Secretary of State's office and see what the protocol is for P.A. I recently went through this nightmare in MI and the steps were:
Have state run a VIN check to see if it comes up stolen
Contact state investigators office and tell them the story of the machine, and how you obtained it
Have a cop come by in person to do a VIN verification
Get a "surety bond" from an insurance company
Get Michigan insurance for said car. (strange MI law-- probably doesn't apply in PA)
Pay to transfer title--- pay taxes on value
Wait 90 days or more for the state to process new title request and send you a PA title---- crossing your fingers the whole time that something doesn't go wrong.
I've heard of "title guys" who can magically conjure up clean titles......but I know very little about how legal they are, or what this entails.
The DMV will have your answers.......
Thanks Joe. I kinda figured it will be a long drawn out process. Next time I get up there I'll get the VIN to get the ball rolling. I'm sure the added fun will be that the vehicle is in PA and I'll be titling it in MD. I do have a friend in PA to title it in PA and then "sell" it to me if that potential issue arises.
I went through half of this process with my Miata in Maryland (long story). Joe's response outlines the process pretty well. First step for sure is to contact the PA DMV and have them run the VIN to check its status.
I believe in Maryland in order to have a new title created it has to be a salvage title, in this case I believe a "rebuilt salvage."
Also, Once you have the title, you actually do not need a safety inspection if you register as historic in MD. No emissions either. That is, unless something changed in the past few years.
They actually outlined what needs to happen pretty well on the Maryland MVA website when I did it. I found that surprising.
Joe Gearin wrote: I've heard of "title guys" who can magically conjure up clean titles......but I know very little about how legal they are, or what this entails.
Didn't most of them go out of business (or got gone out of business)?
The critical thing is a clear VIN. If someone hauled that out in the woods and stripped it, even years ago, then you have a big problem.
SVreX wrote: I've seen similar cars in GA sitting in state or federal park lands. It was long ago determined that the effort to remove them would cause too much environmental impact, habitat destruction, and risk to the historical nature of the area. There is no chance they will EVER move, no way, no how. Not even by helicopter. I've asked. Hopefully that is not your scenario.
Not even taken apart piece by piece to be reassembled elsewhere?
Nope.
Parks service considers them part of the historical landscape.
That would be theft. Federal crime.
I think it would be easier just to buy a rusted-out version of the same thing and simply swap all the (ahem) body parts around. On a 1970 there is probably just a VIN tag held on with rivets and maybe one on the dash. They sell rivets at the Tru Value.
VIN is on the left hand frame rail also.
In reply to ddavidv:
Tampering with VIN tags is a felony in most states, just sayin.
BoxheadTim wrote:Joe Gearin wrote: I've heard of "title guys" who can magically conjure up clean titles......but I know very little about how legal they are, or what this entails.Didn't most of them go out of business (or got gone out of business)?
A lot did, but others just pop back up.
Maryland also has this interesting process known as a Writ of Mandamus. I've looked into this process by calling my local courthouse and here's how it goes: You obtain vehicle, with some bill of sale or whatever paperwork you can scrounge up. You then go to the local courthouse and ask for a sample Writ of Mandamus. The clerk will be happy to provide you with one. You re-write it for your situation and file it, paying a (IIRC) $130 filing fee. You are assigned a day in court.
At court, you present your case to the Judge who then (and, as near as I can tell, this is a critical part of the judicial process) laughs, issues the Mandamus (Latin for "Do this, you stupid MVA clerk") and you take it down to the MVA and get a title for the vehicle.
Volvo: Nice explanation. My BIL went thru this with a 1948 Ford Panel rolling shell he bought in PA. He had a bill of sale and nothing else. DMV wanted a VIN/serial number but couldn't even tell us where to look. We did find some numbers on the frame but they didn't like those so he went thru the court process.
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