46 woodie

Roj, I can see your point. My 1960 Corvette, that I purchased from the original owner and I know is legit, is registered in the State of New York as a 1960 Chevrolet, not Corvette. I have never had any issues with my insurance, they know it is a Corvette or the DMV.

I just read the PA Form and I can see the confusion. The first part states that a "specially constructed vehicle" is one that is "not originally constructed under a distinctive name, make, model etc". Well, aren't we trying to register Ford's Chevy's etc? It then goes on to require proof of ownership such as a "PA Certificate of Title or salvage, Certificate of Title from another State, Manufacturers Statement of Origin and Bill of Sale. If you have a PA Certificate of Title why do I need this form? I decided to give my friend Dave a call. David has restored several cars and lives just outside Harrisburg, PA. He told me " I don't care what the state of PA tells people, it is just about impossible to Title a car in PA that does not already have a Title of some sort". Dave went on to say "believe me, I have tried it and even with reams of paperwork and $2000 attorneys fees it was denied", "don't waste your time with the paperwork"! I fully understand why people purchase Titles at flea markets.

Mark, I can only tell you that in all the books I have, Ford called them "Conduits". As for other makes I don't know.

If the State of New York (or any other state for that matter) this is what I would suggest. Have a division, with people that are familiar with antique vehicles. You could send them all the information that you have and let them review it. Any questions could be then E-Mailed to you directly and you could establish a connection with this person. They could even have connections with various national car clubs, for a verification of some items. I would not mind paying an additional fee for this service. As it is now, in New York, the people behind the counter at the DMV just do not care. One mistake on any piece of paper and you are out of luck! "You can't correct that here, go to the end of the line"! As John348 said, NEXT IN LINE!!

emjay, I guess you have never dealt with The New York DMV. Dealing with them for a modern car with all the required paperwork is a nightmare, they could care less. One gentleman I know purchased a body and chassis from someone. It had been in a field for many years and of course no paperwork. He purchased dozens of NOS parts over the years. When it came down to getting a registration for this car it was hell. He literally spent days' at the DMV. He even scheduled and had a meeting with a manager (I can't tell you how hard that was) and got nowhere. This was all because he was an honest guy and went to the DMV with a loose lief book filled with bills of parts that he purchased. The DMV told him they had no merit unless they were all notarized. Can you imagine trying to figure where all the parts came from and then go back and get the bill notarized! After about two months, he gave up and purchased a title and restamped everything. Now don't get me wrong, I know the DMV is trying to protect us from vehicle theft, but there should be some "give and take".

1912Staver, many cars have hidden numbers. My Model A ford's have a chassis number stamped under the body, under the driver side cowl. You have to lift the body to see it. I am sure that Ford can't be the only company that concealed numbers.

To sell and buy titles is not illegal, there are people that collect them. To purchase one to "defraud" your local DMV is. I have read several articles on this subject and it seems that many people purchase titles because they have run out of options how to register their vehicle. Some stated have very strict laws on how to register a vehicle. One I read about was when this gentleman purchased a "basket case" and had to add many parts that he purchased over the years. His local DMV required so much paperwork and bills of sale on many of the parts, that he could never produce. Every bill of sale had to be notarized and he had no idea where he even purchased some of the parts. He purchased a title at a swop meet and had the car registered the following week. So I can understand the frustration some people have to endure at their local DMV and take the easy way out. These cases are a "grey" area, to title or register an antique car, is that fraud?. To steal a car and change the numbers, yes!

Thanks to all that offered suggestions, but after yesterday, I think I'm not going to get involved at all. I happened to go to a New Year's party yesterday and ran into the nephew of the lady that asked me to do an evaluation. I have known Tom for over 40 years, we both own Model A's and see each other at car shows and cruise nights. After small talk about wives, kid's and cars I asked Tom if he knew that his aunt asked me to look at his uncle's '57 T-Bird sometime after the holidays. Tom said "after the holidays?, do you know that after my uncle died she spends the winter with her sister in Clearwater, Florida and depending on the weather won't be back until March or April". I told Tom that I had no idea. He said "that makes two of us", so I asked him what he meant. He said "My aunt spent the entire Thanksgiving Day with me and my family and said nothing about selling my uncles T-Bird". "I even took her to the airport last week and she said nothing, I would buy it from her". Now I don't know if she doesn't want to sell the car to Tom or want's me to give her an estimate on what to ask Tom for the car. The last thing I want is any of this to effect my friendship with Tom. When and if she calls me, I think I will tell her to ask Tom for an estimate. Thanks again and Happy New Years!

The best thing that can happen to that little Ghia is to remove any salvageable parts and let it die a natural death. There are thousands of cars, in that same condition, across the country that have been parked for different reasons.

Mike, I may be wrong but I think that the Visor it self was a generic piece but the brackets were brand specific. All makes had different angles and contours so that may be the reason they don't fit.

Mr. Riebman, I wish I lived closer to you, because I would love to drive your parents around for the entire day in my '46 Ford Woodie. Forget all the nonsense about insurance etc. If I want to drive someone around in my car I can. Hope you find someone, what a great thought to give something like this for your parents! Come on guy's in the area, step up to the plate and make two people happy!

Thats one way to get my Hershey fix in December. Merry Hershey to all!

When I am able to get to see the car I plan to take a couple friends with me. The car is located on Long Island but other than that I don't know what town or the type of storage facility. I never go into something like this alone, in fact one of the guy's is a policeman, if you know what I mean. I don't even know what she means by "totally taken apart".

Thanks for all your comments. The last time I talked to her she told me that she was going to arrange to get me into the storage area and let me look at the car. If it was an early Ford, I would know what I need to look at, but T-Birds are new to me. Once I gain entry, I will take as many pictures as I can. It's an odd situation, as she knows nothing about her husbands cars.

I have been asked to help with the sale of a 1957 Ford Thunderbird for a widow. This is what I know about the car. The car was drivable in the early '70s and ran great. Sometime in the mid '70s the car was totally disassembled for restoration. The restoration never happened. I know that the car was moved once from one storage facility to where it sit's today. I am concerned that some parts may have been lost, but I don't know. This is what I do not know about the car. I don't know what engine is in the car and what engine options were available for it. I don't know if the transmission is manual or automatic. I do not know if the car has two tops or if the hard top has portholes. I also do not know much about the storage facility and if I can see the car. I know the usual issues to look for such as floor pan rust etc. but is there an area on T-Birds that I need to check. What else should I look for? I guess she had little interest in the car or her husband was very secretive because she knows nothing else about it. I want the widow to get what is a fair price for the car. Any ideas?

Thanks, 46 Woodie and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family. Thankfully we don't have to be politically correct on this site.

Man you are lucky. I have been looking for my 1960 Corvette for years. I am a retired firefighter in my town and because of that I know several police officers and every once in a while they "run" the VIN for me and nothing ever comes up. This does not mean the car has been crushed but could be sitting in someone's garage for the last 40 years. I'll keep searching.

Restorer32 is correct, Standard later became American Standard, a big name in plumbing fixtures. The sink had tabs that locked into the two "bulges" on the ends and then usually had two adjustable legs on the front. Are you putting a sink in your car?

Biggest mistake I ever made was to let someone talk me into replacing the FI unit on my 1960 Corvette with dual carbs. Man I wish I could go back! I don't remember how much I sold the unit for but it was nowhere what it is worth now. Oh well, that's the price you pay for being stupid!

Really hard to say. Many early cars did not have horns when they were built, but horns were available as an aftermarket piece. In one of the early catalogs I have, there were several to choose from. Some were very plain and some were very ornate. Can you find any pictures of the Stutz Bearcat that you can compare your horn to?

Rare to say the least. Of course condition will be the major factor but I see FI units for '58 to '62 Corvettes at Hershey for $10 to $12K, they aren't cheep. Are you trying to purchase the car?

Most paint companies will not guarantee their paint if soda blasting is used. And yes, clean up is a bear.

I hope they give honest appraisals. After shows like Barrett Jackson some people think their car is a goldmine. Last year I was checking out a '59 T-Bird that was in a backyard since 1968. The entire interior was trashed because of mice, moisture and mildew. The car was sitting on the floor pans because the wheels had sunk in the mud and serious rust was everywhere. This car was a parts car at the most. When I asked the owner what he wanted for the car he said $25,000," I saw one just like it at an auction on TV". I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I just said thanks any way.

Anybody out there collect PA Tpk literature, I have a few pieces from the opening.

I think your chances of selling it would be better if you install the stock wheels and tires and remove those hideous chrome reversed wheels and thin whitewalls. Unfortunately you can't do much about the paint. Looks like a solid entry level car. Start where you think is a fair price and you can always come down.