How screwed am I?

[zackmd1]

Anyone from Maryland recently gone through the inspection process? I realized today that I have no documentation for my transmission…. It was purchased at Carlisle Ford Nationals so no receipt or bill of sale (I have pictures with location and date info)… The trans is a 3650 so it has the tag on the rear housing but this could be easily changed out and I see no other identifying numbers on the trans… I would hate to complete my build with this trans only to be told I have to replace it to get a title… How strict is the state inspection with a situation like this?

[RoadRacer]

I'm in TX, but had a similar situation. I couldn't prove my engine wasn't stolen.. crate motor with no serial number and no manufacturer receipt. So I had to do a bonded title.. that's probably your worst case. Cost me $1,500 or so IIRC.

[ggunter]

I did mine last January and they did not look for anything on the trans, only the engine number which was stamped on the back top of the block from Blueprint which matched my invoice from them. I got my car all ready with the lights wipers and everything working and they could care less about that and only looked for engine number and the car COO. They are only looking for stolen parts. They only have one guy that does this there and his name is John and he only does it on Tuesdays. I made a dry run and talked to him and asked what he needs so I'd have my paper work ready. Those were the only two items he was concerned with. He is very familiar with Factory Five cars and it was a piece of cake to get through. When he was done with me I went to the main building and I asked for Historic tags and a title. (This keeps you out of emissions and state inspection.) I was done all of it in one hour. Then you go back to his building show the reciept and your out of there. It was realyl much easier then I thoght it would be. Compared to those poor guys in California who take weeks to get their cars registered.

[ggunter]

What type and whos engine do you have and do you have paper on it?

[ggunter]

You can always say you had the trans left over form and old project.Or get a friend to write you a reciept for it.

[zackmd1]

What type and whos engine do you have and do you have paper on it?

That’s another concern I have…. The engine is a rebuilt 4.6 (had tons of spare parts from previous projects and a set of heads). I have receipts for both the heads and block but from what I can tell, there are no numbers on the receipt for the block that match anything on it.

[zackmd1]

You can always say you had the trans left over form and old project.Or get a friend to write you a reciept for it.

That’s exactly the case here. Trans is left over from a previous project.

[egchewy79]

My friend gave me a SBF and T5 that he wasn't using. We drafted a bill of sale and had it notarized. We put an arbitrary value which was intentionally low to avoid paying taxes when it came time for titling.

[zackmd1]

Ok so I located the serial/vin on the engine.... It is IMPOSSIBLE to read... Every other number on both the heads and block is a part number of some sort.

153966

The engine itself (transmission in the background)

153967

I'll see if I can contact the inspector to talk about what is expected in terms of paperwork. I have receipts for everything engine related and plenty of pictures with date and location data so I think I should be ok...

[CraigS]

Yes contact the inspector and have a chat. I helped a friend maybe 8 yrs ago and he went through he11. Engine and trans were from a Mustang he used to own. He pulled them and sold what was left to a guy who was going to build a drag car. He had a heck of a time because the guy was uncooperative for some reason. He had to have a lawyer send a letter explaining that all they wanted was a signature on a document corroborating his story. It took 2-3 months but he finally got through. John was a real professional and helped all he could but he explained the situation. He is basically putting his signature on the line certifying to the state that he is satisfied that all the parts are legally owned. He likes and wants to keep his job. BTW, get there before they open. The two times we went we were 30 min early and were 4th or 5th in line. And it isn't an organized line, just a bunch of people standing outside a door in the side of a building. So walk up and ask if this is the place. That is how everyone kind of keeps track of who got there when. The rest was just like ggunter says.

[ggunter]

Like Craig said, John is a nice guy and easy to deal with but won't deal with BS. Try to have as much paper to explain your engine and trans as possible, anything with a notorized bill of sale goes a long way.

[ggunter]

Did I mention this is only done at Glen Burnie location.

[Hurman]

I have, please PM me with your contact information and we can chat by phone.

[zackmd1]

Talked with the inspector. Seems like I am good to go with what I have!