This is from another web site, but it has me worried in that I didn't get the little metal tag when I got my chassis and VW title.
Any further info or help?
One problem with dune buggies is the legal difficulties in titling and licensing homebrew vehicles. Obtaining a legal title for my Mini-T took more time and money
than I could have imagined, even though I thought I had a legal title when I purchased it.
On March 28, 2003 I purchased my Mini-T from a neighbor. This vehicle consists of a 1967 Volkswagen chassis (or "body pan") with a fiberglass replacement body
on it. With it I received a Missouri title for a 1967 Volkswagen. The vehicle ID number on the titled matches the serial number stamped into the chassis on top of the
transmission tunnel. (This number was stamped into the body pan by the Volkswagen factory when manufactured.)
On April 1, I took the vehicle to my local mechanic to be inspected. The inspector was unsure of where to look for an ID number, so he placed a call to the Missouri
state troopers. While waiting for a call back with instructions, another employee pointed out to the inspector that the serial number was stamped in the aforementioned
location. The inspector compared the chassis serial number to the title, and then gave me the paperwork showing that the vehicle did pass inspection.
On April 2, I went to the License bureau at the State office building in downtown Kansas City and submitted my paperwork for the transfer of title and registration. I
was given license plates and a copy of the title application.
When I arrived home from work that evening, I had a phone message from my mechanic stating that my dune buggy should not have passed inspection. I immediately
returned the call and he told me that the Chief Inspector of the Missouri State Troopers' Motor Vehicle Inspection Department had responded to their query. The
trooper said that my vehicle was illegally titled and I was potentially guilty of a felony for possessing it, as was my neighbor for selling it to me. The mechanic gave me
the officer's phone number and suggested I get further clarification on the matter directly from him.
On April 3, the Chief Inspector returned my call. He was impressively knowledgeable about the particulars of my car's construction and answered my many questions
in great detail. My best attempt to summarize his explanation follows:
The serial number on the transmission tunnel of my dune buggy is a "private number" (or "police number,") not a "public number," and not the legally
acceptable VIN for the vehicle. He explained that the proper VIN on a 1967 Volkswagen was affixed to the body under the front hood, near the spare
tire. At whatever time in the past the original Volkswagen body was removed from the chassis and replaced with the fiberglass dune buggy body, the
vehicle was no longer a 1967 Volkswagen, but rather a new homebuilt dune buggy which lacked the proper legal paperwork or VIN. The vehicle that I
have the title to ceased to exist. The unknown constructor of this dune buggy unlawfully failed to apply for a new title as a "special construction"
vehicle in order to have a new, valid ID number assigned and affixed to the car. It is not possible for me to submit a DOR-551 application to apply for
this new ID number because 1) I am not the actual constructor of this vehicle, and 2) applying for this new ID number requires a receipt for all
materials purchased in the construction of the vehicle. I have two possible ways to legalize this car: 1) to track down the original builder and have him
submit the proper paperwork, along with all receipts, or 2) go to court and get a judge to award me legal ownership by court order.
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