[opelspyder]

I was at a salvage yard looking through titles trying to find ones for Opels. We were looking for a 78-9 Buick Opel and I came across one that said{ 70 Opel 929(Model) 2dr} This 929 model confused me. Is this to a kadett? Maybe a station wagon or something. Just curious. Could the Make got mixed up with the mazda 929???? Did they have those in 1970?? Just curious. Also if anyone needs titles for a GT let me know, I have 2 for 70 models and one for a 73 that has a VIN tag. $75.00 each.
Keith

 

[husker]

Isn't rebadging a car illegal? If the title and vin didn't leave the factory on that car I have a problem with that.

That is a problem in the mucsle car world where a 318 Challenger would fetch $2,000 but a Hemi would go for $50,000... so someone gets a Hemi title and swaps over the vin plate and makes a whole lot more money. They even go so far as to cast (bondo) new engine numbers on the block so everything matches.

I realize that an Opel is not a Hemi Challenger but still...

 

[opelspyder]

Titles for opels

Opels and american cars are two totally different things when it comes to identification. Yes, a mopar it is very important to have all documented information and correct vin to match numbers. Opels as far as I know are none numbers matching. In fact there is no difference or persay a better version of GT than another for a particular year. Like one came with a special rare engine or something. With Opels I feel it doesn't really matter, cause there is no "hemi" or limited. So why not save the hassels with the DMV and just take a title from a junk car that would never be retitled and use it for a car that has a lost title. In fact anymore you cannot go by just the VIN if you want to get technical. People are reproducing Mopar tags with whatever options you want or don't want on a car. Maybe what you have isn't really what you got. Again, most Opels I have come across have pieces from many other cars, even Mantas. I could take a vin tag and title from say a later year gt "73" which the number doesn't match the plate on the cowl, and put it on another car of say the same year, and it would same. Correct me if I am wrong, but that really is the only way I know of matching a car up with the title.

 

[oldopelguy]

other vins

Actually there are 4 places on the 70's Opel where there is a vin #. They were mandated that way by federal law.

It is actually illegal to even posses a vin plate not attached to a vehicle. Last I checked $3500 fine. Sometimes you can pass it off as memorabilia, and the state won't press charges, but it's completely up to the DA.

The correct course of action is to file "rebuilder" paperwork which will result in them writing-down all the various #'s on the car, performing a basic inspection, and either issuing you a new VIN and label plate or using one of the ones you have and referencing the rest in their files.

If your car only has one set of #'s, and you simply don't have a title, there are companies that can get them for you. It runs $100-$250, and I can give you the name and # of one in particular that has worked for me on request. Alternatly, most states have some sort of "abandoned vehicle" title process, ie. the one a tow company would use to get a title if you didn't pay the tow fee. These usually involve having the state trying to contact the former owner and then issuing a replacement title to someone who can prove possession of the car for a period of time.

After 55 or so old cars, I've played around with this several times. All I can say is don't ever throw away paperwork.

I had one title that called the car model a "Mantral." What a pain a stupid typo was to fix!

 

[husker]

I hear what you are saying... If there is no benefit other than saved hassle when registering I suppose my previous rebuke of the rebadging should be taken back.

I think that I am leery because I was raised in a Mopar family where numbers DO MATTER! and the difference between a numbers matching 69 1/2 440 6 pack SuperBee and a SuperBee with a 440 6 pack (non original) is $30,000+.

My apologies.

 

[houserc]

I went through this whole process last October. The car I purchased had the dash redone, so the VIN plate was not attached. And for some reason, the VIN plate was removed off the cowl (My guess is for the repaint job.)

I went to the DMV for the inspection and they threw a fit with the VIN plates removed. I did turn up the dash plate in the glove box and that was quickly confiscated. I later found out that it is illegal to possess a VIN plate that is NOT attached to a car. I also found out that it is punishable up to prison time. (DMV has no sense of humor either.)

I had all the paperwork from the PO for everything he had ever done to the vehicle. I had a notarized affidavit as to why the VIN plate was removed and in the glove box. I even had another affidavit for the fact that the car had not been titled in the PO's new state for 4 years (PO was a college student during restore, and took a job out of state.)

I found a lawyer from a local classic car shop. (If you need a name, let me know.) The lawyer filed the petition to have the original VIN put back on the car, since I had all the supporting documents and the original title. The DMV wanted it to have new numbers. Cost was $500.00 for a quiet title. There were two weeks for the newspaper ad, then the time for the court systems. All together, the time was approximately 2 months.

During that time, I was able to get some repairs done on the car to make it more road worthy.

I really had fun going back to the DMV with the court order stating the original VIN was to be applied to the car. It even said, "Make it so." (sounded like Star Trek.) DMV squrimed all the while they installed the plate.

There are only three VIN locations on Opels that amount to much; the door, the dash, and the engine cowling. The number next to the radiator is the chassis part number and does not relate to the VIN, neither does the engine number. The door may have been replaced at some time, so it may be gone.

All that said, I'd be careful. I had thought of going the route of even buying a junk GT to swap the plates.

Good Luck.

(B.T.W. I found the cowling plate under the gas tank when I removed it for rust treatment. I'll be darned if I go back to the DMV with that one.)

 

[Gary]

I purchased and titled my '69 GT in 1977. Drove it for 3 years and then began its 17 year "restoration". Over that time period, the title was lost. I applied for a replacement when I tried to register it in '97 and they had no record of it.

After 2 months of contacting old insurance companies for a title number with no luck, I finally went to my Town Hall where they went into the "archives" and pulled old tax records for me to search. I finally found a record that I paid a tax on a '69 GT with my license plate number. That and the 1980 inspection sticker that I pulled off the winshield (nothing had a VIN on it) was enough to convince them that I did own the car all along. I was able to register it without a title. Guess I ran into a friendly RMV official.

 

[opelspyder]

Opel title problems

Now from what I know, the 70 had a little more identification as far as on the dash, and the number matched on the cowl, and possibly a door sticker. Now most cases a repaint caused the door sticker to be replaced. The cowl tag on the 73 models I don't believe they match the vin tag. TN doesn't require me to have my car inspected, but that is a good point about having the dash recovered. The vin would either be covered or it would have to be re-attached. I don't think my local DMV is going to know that much about factory locations of VIN info on a 25+ old car. I see no problem with reattaching a dash tag from a matching title to a car that had a lost title or maybe even due to fire or storm damage to records. I have always heard of putting a title from a wrecked GT to one with a lost title. It was common up in the north east, They were being sold for $100 a title. If you can do it where the tag doesn't look wire tied on, then it will pass. Hey if you still have problems or unsure. Have someone title it in a different state and then retitle to your state. They do that with those FL wrecks all the time in KY, then they title them in TN. I saw somewhere on the list that a place over seas was remaking the VIN tags for the GTs, may also make the cowl tags.

 

[houserc]

Where I ran into problems with my inspection was; Kansas requires all cars being titled in Kansas from out of state to be inspected for the proper VIN plates. They could give a hoot that the car doesn't run or has no back end or whatever. They just want the plates on the car to match the title.

The DMV in Kansas had a book that gives all location for all makes (I suppose only those in the book.) and VIN locations. What drove them nuts about my car was it had F.I from a 75 Manta and that threw off their cross referencing.

Again, All this said; make sure the car has VIN plates attached before any DMV person gets around it. I didn't, I paid! If I would have thought about it, I have a pop rivet gun that would have made short work of my plates.

Also, Like Gary wrote, some DMV people are easier to deal with then the ones that want to correct the world's auto problems.

 

[bionic_chronik]

title needed

i need one for a 73 gt, with dash id number if you have , please post back, thanx

 

[baz]

i need one for a 73 gt, with dash id number if you have , please post back, thanx

time for a little lesson :veryhappy

if you look in the top left of every post you will find a date stamp this is when the post was made it runs minutes , hours ,days , 1 week and on back to 2003 when this thread was made

i dont know about US law but here it is illegal to buy, sell or have in ones possession a vin plate that is not on a car , here it is not the $3500 fine mentioned above but jail time (normally 18 months to 5 years )

 

[bionic_chronik]

title

wow did not realize that, guess ill have to get the owner to file for lost title, thankyou for the info

 

[Mike Preble]

For my 67 Mini I can buy a blank vin/chassis number plate from the factory and stamp it myself. Just thought I'd through that out there.

Mike

 

[2 Fast 4 U]

Here in Holland we can petition for self dismantling of the car, the car is then noted as dismantled in the records but still under your name, so we can have all the vin/ID plates in our possession, legally, and even sell them, the person that buys the vin/ID can stick it to a same type of car and apply for a renewal of the car ID papers.

 

[baz]

mike there are company's here that will make a new Vin plate and send it to you for when you do a restoration project but i believe you have to have the car inspected by the police before you can fit it and i believe in California as i understand if you change the vin plate the car will be crushed
as with ericks post that follows yours it just depends on where i the world or in americas case in the country you live

 

[Mike Preble]

Bas, You are right and I did oversimplify the matter. When I first restored the Mini, which is RHD by the way, DMV didn't think the car even existed even though it had been registered in Virginia. I was in North Carolina. They had to inspect the car and I had to provide them with a rubbing of the plate before they would register the car. As an interesting side note for those that don't know it, I have the origonal british plate issued when the car was first bought. The plate always goes with the car. Also the car was built to be sold in 1967 but not sold until 1968. Thus, it was first registered as a 1968. 1968 British cars don't meet USA safety standards and thus can't be imported into USA. It took some work to get it reregistered as a 1967. But I still have and use the "F" plate.
Our British friends would understand.

Mike

 

[opelspyder]

titles

Actually Bionic, I have a title still, but it is for a 70 model. Yes that post was old, but sometimes we still have some stuff left over.
Keith
If interested in the title you will need to email me at keithlundholm(at)yahoo.com this web site will not send through the emails.

 

[bionic_chronik]

title info

keith please e-mail me
[email protected]

 

[duaneb]

Vin # ?

Just recieved a letter from my insurance company that says the state does not reconize the vin # they recieved from the Insurance co. The vin # on the insurance policy and the vin # on the title are the same. The only thing I can see is the fact that 0 (zero ) and o ( oh )look so much alike in some fonts that me or the state or the insurance company cant tell them apart. :banghead:
Now the question, What are the first 3 letters or digits on the vin of a 73 GT
Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Rallye]

Vin #

Just recieved a letter from my insurance company that says the state does not reconize the vin # they recieved from the Insurance co. The vin # on the insurance policy and the vin # on the title are the same. The only thing I can see is the fact that 0 (zero ) and o ( oh )look so much alike in some fonts that me or the state or the insurance company cant tell them apart. :banghead:
Now the question, What are the first 3 letters or digits on the vin of a 73 GT
Thanks for any help you can give.

I just went through this with my MG Midget. It has been sitting for about 14 years and I lost the title. I KNEW I owned it since I used to drive it and had tags and insurance on it. I wrote down the VIN # and they had no record it. The VIN had been painted over and even though it is raised, I still could not quite make out the numbers so I took a hi-def digital pic of it and blew it up and took it with me. Still we could not find it. I finally went back to the car and used a flashlight at night to light it from the side and was able to read what it actually was and DMV was happy with the correct number. They made me start wondering if I had bought a car with the wrong title back in 87...

Elwood