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Vehicle Titling
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1949 Ford F-1 - Titled with Classic Assembled Title
Process - by Erik Glover
Finding an old vehicle and fixing it up is the heart of our hobby. And that is exactly what Erik did. At his young age, he had already restored a tractor but he found this truck - body and chassis in the Kearney area - no motor or transmission. Luckily he found a rebuild flathead and the transmission in Central City. He put the two together along with a lot of other new parts and with work he had a "driver' and without a lot of money in it. Only one problem - he did not have a title. He went through the classic assemble titling process having an NRCA inspector provide the required "club" inspection. NRCA also assisted him with understanding all the other steps needed to get through the process. Now with title in hand, and ready to drive all he needed was insurance - simple unless you are under age 25. Not to be stopped Erick managed to get that done through his father's insurance company and with a good heater he has a year around driver.
This is a great story but not uncommon. After finding and fixing up an old vehicle,it is disheartening to the builder when they find out what a difficult position they are in when it comes to getting a title. There are provisions in Nebraska Statutes that provide for getting a antique title, but again it requires a statement from the owner that the original title has been lost. We don't recommend anything dishonest, such as falsifying statements etc. and rarely do we see that being done. We have seen titles bought and sold and used to get the title transferred to the new owner/vehicle, but again that is suspect at best.
This problem made its way to the Nebraska Unicameral about 10 years ago and a potential solution was developed and passed in a bill. It allows you to obtain a title for a vehicle that has been assembled from parts "essentially the same as original". This is a solution if the hobbyist gets started with it early on in their build and plans for it. The end result is that you can get a title for the year of mfg of the vehicle and it looks just like an original title. NRCA has put together a program to help members accomplish this.
The process requires that a Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (NDOMV) certified car club inspector inspect and verify that it has been assembled from parts essentially the same as original. NRCA is recognized as certified car club in this process and can certify to the NDOMV that an individual member of NRCA is qualified to inspect certain makes, models and years of vehicles. It is only one step in a somewhat complicated process. You must have receipts for major component of which there are 6 and it also requires a sheriff's inspection. Being a unique process we find often that it is not understood by your country sheriff very well and getting this done will vary from easy to difficult by county.
A finished vehicle if it has been modified will not pass. An assembled vehicle with the correct parts can pass and then with a title in hand, the owner is free to make any additional changes just like you could if you got an original title with the vehicle. To help members with this process NRCA has developed a step by step guide. This is just another great reason why you should belong to NRCA!
