Very old musclecar title question.
 

Hi all,
I recently bought a 3,600 mile Black '67 RS/SS 396 ( 4N ) 4 speed Camaro. I've known this car since 1970. I knew all of the owners prior to me. Several are deceased, but the O.O. and 1 of the trio of 2nd owners are still with us and are filling in the blanks from before I met it. Owner #3 was my neighbor. I have assembled the cars history from day 1 and it has always been a SS/E car and has never been licensed or legally street driven. It has not raced since the 1970 season and for the most part hasn't been started or run since. It spent 42 years on jackstands and the last 7 in the family garage. The drivetrain is not original to the car and I know the disposition of the broken original parts. The condition of the car / chassis is exceptional. It's had 1 partial respray after the lettering was removed ('72ish) and has never had a ding or a dent. It's rust free, extremely unaltered or screwed with. The interior is as mint as one could expect. It has been preserved, has not been restored and it shows the wear that a very low mile drag car should. Fortunately it was saved from being cut. B.T.W. most of the miles were from the O.O. flat towing it to the track for part of the 1st year before he got a trailer. ( 210 miles every weekend )


Here is my question. The title is last dated December of 1971. Before I run to the courthouse and throw away that 50 years and end the never licensed streak I need to seek the opinion of others that deal with this sort of thing. Naturally the title and info have been scanned, so that wouldn't be lost. Is there a benefit to avoiding retitling and losing the paper title? I'm not interested in turning this into a driver. I am concerned about leaving this open if I don't change it. With the original drivetrain gone I understand this isn't the holy grail, but it's still fairly special. If it was still on the MSO or even from the O.O. there would not be a question. I want to be sure I mess this up. I'd appreciate some opinions.
Thanks, Dave

I had a similar situation when I bought my Cutlass from the OO.


The title/ownership was from 1976 and MTO wanted the actual paper copy of the ownership for their records..... but I wanted it for my records...….. Al (OO) told them he wasn't giving it to them because it was a special car and that should get to keep the document, and we would figure some other way out. Eventually I registered the car with Al at a different MTO and gave them an appraisal document as they accepted that document.


Similar situation but slightly different.


I think you want it registered in your name so you legally own it, or I sure would, and you want the original document/owner ship.


Ryan W31.

Agreed. The local DMV says they will return it after 5 if you ask at the time of transfer. In 25 years and 200 cars I've gotten 1 back. Not very good odds.

Well that sucks! I have always requested to get original titles back and they have always arrived in the mail in a day or two.

Maybe ask for it to be set aside for you to pick up at a later date??

They hold them for 5 years. You get them back, if requested when they purge the old files. I wish it were a few days.

I bought a 70 Z28 from the OO and received the original title. When I went to the Maryland MVA to title the car in my name, I asked if I could keep the original title. they photocopied the original and handed the original back to me. Likely different state-to-state, but doesn't hurt to ask.

I transferred the title from an original owner that was from 1956 a couple years ago. I asked DMV to keep it at time of transfer and they made a copy and let me keep the original. Likely different states have different rules, so it’s probably best to ask.

I’m in Michigan and they would not let me keep the original title from a 1973 javelin!

Another part of my question is there any reason to NOT transfer the title into my name due to the age and low mileage / special nature of the car. From the standpoint of the collectors world.

Just say the original title is gone, lost. Then get a duplicate title and keep the old one. I just did it a while back and it worked fine. Not sure how it would go state to state. Good Luck... Danny