Hot Rod Title and Registration Question - Georgia

Does the car have a real, road worth, allowed to be on the road, Indiana Title?   

Has the car ever had Indiana plates?

Does Georgia offer advantages to old cars?  In Ohio, cars older than 25 model years can get Historic Plates that are only good for parades and car shows, but...  The cost is $30, once, and the plates NEVER have to be renewed.  

In reply to John Welsh :

Yes the title was 100% ready for registration, but I never did register it in that state. Theoretically if I still lived in IN, I could walk in with that title and walk out with a tag. I'm not sure of advantages for old cars other than not needing a title.

This is a different case, but when I registered my pinto in MA I had to turn over the original 1973 title (which came with the car) in order to register. I was surprised and not stoked as you might imagine. The reason I bring it up is you might not want to show any paperwork at the dmv that you're not ready to part with (if you want to keep the IN title).

Hypothetically, if this was just a 1931 Ford what would you need to register it?  Ignoring the assembled whatevers and title from somewhere else.  A VIN plate?  Nothing?

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

A 31 Ford Model A motor.  The serial from that was the VIN back then.

EDIT - "They" say that some Model As had the motor serial stamped in the frame drivers side right where the corner of the firewall and body meet.  I've never seen that in person.

Stampie (FS) said:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

A 31 Ford Model A motor.  The serial from that was the VIN back then.

EDIT - "They" say that some Model As had the motor serial stamped in the frame drivers side right where the corner of the firewall and body meet.  I've never seen that in person.

I've seen it on a frame I had a long time ago.  I think it is under the cowl.  Funny thing is I dug up information that said the owner was supposed to restamp the frame if they swapped a replacement engine in. 
 

Sorry, no useful information to add to the main topic of the thread.

In reply to Shavarsh :

That's exactly what I'm worried about. I don't want to end up without a title.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Technically I could register it with nothing but a VIN and a bill of sale that matches the VIN. 

In reply to maschinenbau (I live here) :

States are funky. To some extent, they do respect what other states have done.. This is kind of the opposite of what you're talking about here, but with my Courier I bought without a title and used previous owner registration/bill of sale to get registration. When I moved to Michigan, I provided my current registration and Michigan issued me a title. I would think you could call either your local tax office or one in a neighboring county and get them to weigh in ahead of time.

Try with a few different people/days to see the different responses you'll get, and record who you who you spoke with and what they suggested. Take your favorite response/employee name in and push for that outcome.

A good reference page is the SEMA Action Network tag and title toolbox, it lists the requirements for every state: https://www.semasan.com/resources/everything-you-need-register-and-title-your-hobby-car-all-50-states

maschinenbau (I live here) said:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Technically I could register it with nothing but a VIN and a bill of sale that matches the VIN. 

I'd be tempted to just do that, and "forget" the constructed vehicle title entirely- but keep it just in case you need to use it later, like if you move again.

My #1 concern is that the FULL requirements of Indiana were never met.  My guess from salvage experience (IN OHIO which may not be relevant) is that they gave you a vin and a title but that is not the end of it.  The Vin was for the vehicle you were building and the title proves you own an asset.  But, I'm not sure that asset is legal to drive on the road until you return for a final inspection, in Indiana.  Upon passing that inspection they will convert your VIN and Title to being road worthy.  The inspection process probably involves proving that you did not steal major parts like running gear.  

I think the easiest answer is to try to take a swipe at visiting Georgia office and trying to get it titled as a 1931 w/ only a bill of sale.  

If you own a 1931 car it will be easy for future owners to keep it on the road.  No state will require smog testing, etc.  You will be open to "historic" privileges, etc.  
If it were titled as 2018, some states might require it to pass 2018 smog, etc.  

The worst thing Georgia can tell you is no.  They will not seize the car.  

Another long term option might be to complete the Indiana process.  If you are right, and all you need is to walk into an Indiana office to get plates, then see if you can do those Indiana plates through the mail.  You might need to have a "Indiana address" to send the plates but use Gumby's address or similar.  Gumby then sends you the plates when they arrive.  

Another option might be that you need to trailer the car to Indiana and finalize the process and get it titled to Gumby's address.  

Having a title with plates assigned in Indiana should make your "move to Georgia" very easy and you could complete that 30 days after the Indiana plates arrive.   
 

In reply to John Welsh :

I am pretty sure the Indiana process is complete. The final part of the process was a cop coming over to sign a form that I had the correct VIN affixed. There are no other vehicle inspections in Indiana, including emissions. Only after I submitted that bundle of paperwork did I get a title. The title looks no different than my "normal" Indiana titles did. 

I am mostly worried about the "Vehicle Year" being 2018. That might mess things up if I try to use my title. 

Oh, if you have a legal car in Indiana then it is a legal car in Georgia.  Should be an easy process then.  

Georgia should issue you the same as Indiana just now it will be on Georgia paper.  If Indiana calls it a 2018 then so will Georgia.  

I live in GA and have titled/tagged a number of vehicles including a historic (25+ years) car and a homemade trailer.  I agree with those who said that because it doesn't have an existing title or registration it may be tougher.  For my homemade trailer (which also had no paperwork) I had to bring it to the title office on a particular day of the month so a police officer could do a serial # inspection to make sure it wasn't stolen.  He completed a form and gave it to me, then I took it inside and they gave me a registration with no issues.  Regardless, your situation isn't going to be written out in black and white and I think the only way to get a definitive answer is to go to the title office and ask.  All the people I've gone to at my local office have been very helpful for whatever that's worth.

If you have a valid Indiana Assembled From Parts title and was issued a permanent VIN, I would think Georgia will issue the exact same type title. I don't know about emissions testing.  I have a Alabama Assembled From Parts title with permanently attached VIN plate and was told the title will be treated the same as any other titled car.

I have a 1930 Model A with a Florida title registered in Georgia. I walked in with my FL title, paid the taxes and fees, walked out with a tag and my FL title. I don't know if the 2018 will be an issue, but they let you keep the title from the previous state, at least of it is already in your name.

What part of GA are you in? My county is outside Atlanta but not particularly rural. I've always had really good luck just calling the tag office and explaining my situation, then simply asking what I need to do. Both of the local offices have been really helpful. YMMV especially in the counties around Atlanta though. 

Since Georgia does not issue titles for cars over a certain age, I would not walk in with a 2018 title, I would walk in with a bill of sale for the year appropriate to the Model A parts and register it without a title. That way you are emissions compliant too. If you register it as a 2018 some counties will require it to pass 2018 emissions. PM me with some number that is present on your car, and I will mail you a bill of sale saying that I sold you a derilect Ford Model A for $400.00 with the number you provide. Find a possible Model A number, or use the assigned number from Indiana.

John Welsh said:

Oh, if you have a legal car in Indiana then it is a legal car in Georgia.  Should be an easy process then.  

Georgia should issue you the same as Indiana just now it will be on Georgia paper.  If Indiana calls it a 2018 then so will Georgia.  

This here. Don't be surprised if they require an inspection, especially if it wasn't tagged in Indiana. Maybe a couple minor hoops to jump through, but nothing too bad. Trying to claim it is an original '31, they still may want to inspect it, that could cause problems, so be upfront and honest about it.

Transferring my 1963 car into Georgia registration required a cop to visit my house.  It was hysterically easy, as he showed up like five minutes after I called the local PD (Woodstock).  He said "hey, that's cool," checked the vin number, then signed a form (edit:  he also did a background check via phone to see if it was stolen).  I did have an actual title from my old state, though . . .

Some states don't title old cars after a certain amount of oldness, but Georgia did send me a normal title for my ancient pile of non-rusty metal.

Most states have a process for lost titles.  My 1985 Beemer was out of registration for so long in CA that it was actually purged from the system, even though it came with a title when I bought it (they treated it as though the title was lost).  I had to bring the car to the DMV to register it, and the process mainly consisted of some clerk coming out to just verify that it was the actual car, the VIN, and that there was an actual engine under the hood . . .

Closure: 

I walked in this morning with my Indiana assembled vehicle title and insurance info. This one definitely stumped them for about 10 minutes. Eventually everyone behind the counter agreed to just register it as a "non-title", but I would need the police VIN inspection form T-22B. So I went home, called a cop, and they came over to sign the form verifying my VIN, which by the way is the fresh new VIN assigned to me by Indiana through their assembled vehicle process. It's not 17 characters, so it didn't come back as anything when they ran a check. The cop thought my car was awesome.

With my completed T-22B form, I went back to the DMV but the original worker had left for the day, so I got someone new, who I had to explain the whole thing to again. She said "I might be able to do something" to get me a new Georgia title. Another 10 minutes of deliberation, and they arrived at the same conclusion. So they registered it without a title, as a 1931 Ford with my correct VIN. They only needed the T-22B, insurance, and a copy of the Indiana title as proof of ownership. I walked out with a fresh Georgia license plate and registration.

So now I am legally allowed to drive the car on the street, once I get it mechanically to that point! Hope this info helps someone else in the future.

Very cool that it is a 1931 model according to Georgia now. My guess is that opens up the "sell-ability" if you ever consider 

Congrats and hopefully it being a 31 now it'll be easier to insure.