As mentioned previously, get your title squared away before sinking money into the car.
In New Jersey, you need to run a newspaper ad 3 times to give anyone 'with an interest' the chance to speak out. If nobody pipes up, the State issues a title in your name, after sufficient paperwork is completed. I've never done this in New Jersey but did a few paperless cars when I lived in New York. It's very straightforward in NY, unlike many other states.