Title Mistake?

[TonyM]

I recently received the title for a 1937 Ford I had purchased in February. The car was purchased by the seller in 1990 and was not titled until after his death. His estate titled the car in Indiana recently in preparation for its eventual sale. If I remember correctly, the Indiana title described the car as a "Carryall". When I went to title and register the car at a reputable Illinois Title Company, the staff and I were careful to describe the make and model accurately on all documents. When the Illinois title came back, the car was again described as a carryall.

Will this be a problem down the road? The car is not a carry all, it is a four-door sedan. Wondering if I should make efforts to correct this now. Any suggestions?

TonyM

[jimvette59]

In NY my 27 ford Runabout with a Box was turned into a 27 ford 2 door convertible. The computer didn't know what a Runabout with a box was or a Roadster was. Go figure !!!!

[37 Coupe]

Hope you have better luck than I did here in Ohio on trying to get a 1939 Ford convertible coupe title reworded. Everything else was correct on title,serial number matched original frame and transmission/engine number ,model number was for convertible but description was coupe/sedan. When I asked gal to reword it she ask me if I was trying to entice her to alter a legal document of the state of Ohio and pointed to a list of similar "crimes" and penalties. Title description remained the same until I sold it to guy in Mass, and he didn't care. Car was described wrong from new car Ford dealer.

[ford38v8]

The important thing on the title is the serial number. I'm amazed at the number of guys who have never compared the title registration number to the actual number on the frame rail.

[TonyM]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

The important thing on the title is the serial number. I'm amazed at the number of guys who have never compared the title registration number to the actual number on the frame rail.

I have done this. It matches.

TM

[Vic Piano]

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When I got our '39 CS the registration was from New York State (NY does not require a title from any vehicle produced prior to 1972) however, the prefix on the VIN for '39 Fords is 18 and someone in the Motor Vehicle Department typed the prefix # as 10. I was able to get the registration corrected numerically however, when they asked me the body style I said Convertible Sedan to which the women replied "well, which is it, a convertible or a sedan?"... Things went down hill from there...

[Barry B./ Ma.]

I had a huckster pickup once and the state title called it "other".

[Russco]

Just go to your Sec of State office with the title and explain there is a misprint on it, they should change it for you. There may or may not be a fee involved but they should correct it. Ask them to change it to Four door or just Sedan. Dont try to complicate it and I wouldnt even mention the previous title description either. Just tell them its a Sedan not a Carryall.

[David J]

I have a 34 that lists the body type as " unknown " . That way when I bought it & the person at the DMV was "in her opinion" overworked & underpaid with the ATTITUDE to match so I just left it . Numbers all match & that is what counts . I think DMV workers must hafta pass the really bad attitude test B4 being hired .

[John R]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

The important thing on the title is the serial number. I'm amazed at the number of guys who have never compared the title registration number to the actual number on the frame rail.

From personal experience: the numbers do not always match even on original, unmolested cars. Like maybe one digit is wrong. In these cases, it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.

[rotorwrench]

AS was mentioned earlier, the numbers speak louder than the words. Modern discriptions are not the same as the descriptions used in the prewar era and even they are different than the pre WWI era from the brass & wood age.

I have a Model-A Sport Coupe that is registered simply as a 2-door. That gives a guy a lot of flexability if he were to decide to change bodies. There were quite a few bodies that could be described as having two doors. If I put a roadster body on there it might be stretching things a bit since convertible isn't on there but it still only has two doors.

[paul2748]

First go to the DMV and see what is needed to get the title corrected. Maybe they can do it easily . Take pictures with you.

[mrtexas]

Originally Posted by 37 Coupe

Hope you have better luck than I did here in Ohio on trying to get a 1939 Ford convertible coupe title reworded. Everything else was correct on title,serial number matched original frame and transmission/engine number ,model number was for convertible but description was coupe/sedan. When I asked gal to reword it she ask me if I was trying to entice her to alter a legal document of the state of Ohio and pointed to a list of similar "crimes" and penalties. Title description remained the same until I sold it to guy in Mass, and he didn't care. Car was described wrong from new car Ford dealer.

You should move to friendly place like Texas! It's hot in the summer but the winters are very nice. I've got neighbors from Cleveland next door working for Goodyear. I've lived here(and retired) for 34 years and love it. We have very friendly people down at the courthouse to hand out license plates and titles. I haven't had to even get my out of state antique car purchases inspected when I transferred the titles!

[CHuDWah]

Originally Posted by Russco

Just go to your Sec of State office with the title and explain there is a misprint on it, they should change it for you. There may or may not be a fee involved but they should correct it. Ask them to change it to Four door or just Sedan. Dont try to complicate it and I wouldnt even mention the previous title description either. Just tell them its a Sedan not a Carryall.

Yeah, good luck with that!! "Carryall" must be the default setting in ILL-annoys - my modern pickup's title came back that way even though the application clearly said "Pickup". SoS wasn't interested in correcting it - probably just as well since their website lists a fee of $95 for a corrected title! Jesse needs to spend less time drumming up organ donations and more time doing the job he's elected and paid to do.

[1931 flamingo]

It may be a "quirk" of the descriptions imbedded in the computer system in use. Only so many models recognized. As long as the #'s match and you have title in your possession I wouldn't worry. JMO
Paul in CT

[Russco]

I work for the SOS but have nothing to do with titles so I went and asked one of the gals there, she said they can correct it and more than likely at no charge but it depends on the info on the previous title and transfer application she said carryall is used a lot now mostly on SUV and cars like an HHR anyways that's what they told me this morning at the Springfield office

[blucar]

When I purchased my 5 win cpe in Idaho in 1952 the Idaho title and registration listed the car as being a Delux coupe... After have owned the car for two years I moved to Nevada.. Nevada titled the car as a Delux coupe...
In 1956 I moved to California. When I registered the car in CA I was handed paper work that said the car was a.. BUSCP.... I objected to the classification and the omission of the Delux wording.. Of course my objections got me nowhere..
Many years later the BUSCP was changed to AE, whatever that is...
Interestingly.. when I recently reviewed the registration slip on the Ford, it now says 'Year sold' '52 in lieu of the '36 that the slips use to say... Strange that the DMV would have picked up '52 for the year sold... I guess this happened when I had to prove ownership of the vehicle about ten years ago, because I had let the registration lapse.
To prove my ownership of the vehicle, I took the registration cards from Idaho, '52-54, Nevada '54-56 and CA '56-98..

[32phil]

Here is a really unbelievable one. I bought a 67 Mustang in 91 from New Jersey. I live in New York. When I called to get insurance on it, J.C. Taylor caught an typing error in the Vin.# I was working in Central New Jersey at the time so I went to the DMV near my office to see about correcting the typo on the Title. (New Jersey had to correct it before New York would register it.) When I explained the error to the girl at the DMV she said " Ahhh I see I made a mistake...!!!!" I couldn't believe it !! 4 YEARS LATER...100 miles away....I get the same girl who typed the Title !!!She knew she did it because they put their initials on the bottom of the Title. She fixed it on the spot!!

[TonyM]

Originally Posted by Russco

I work for the SOS but have nothing to do with titles so I went and asked one of the gals there, she said they can correct it and more than likely at no charge but it depends on the info on the previous title and transfer application she said carryall is used a lot now mostly on SUV and cars like an HHR anyways that's what they told me this morning at the Springfield office

Thanks Russco. Thanks a lot.

It's good to have a FordBarn connection in the SoS office.

Thanks for your help.

Tony M.

[jim1932]

From experience with several states.... do not walk into a large registry and expect any help. I drive an extra 30 miles to get to a rural office to do my registry stuff... well worth it for the customer service alone.

In this case I would handle it through the mail. Sent a photo of the car and explain you prefer the description to correctly state sedan to avoid future transfer issues. You can waste several days walking into an office for that.

[CHuDWah]

Originally Posted by Russco

I work for the SOS but have nothing to do with titles so I went and asked one of the gals there, she said they can correct it and more than likely at no charge but it depends on the info on the previous title and transfer application she said carryall is used a lot now mostly on SUV and cars like an HHR anyways that's what they told me this morning at the Springfield office

I can understand using “Carryall” for SUV-type vehicles – in fact, that’s what Chevy called their SUV years ago. But my vehicle was factory-built as a pickup – it has a cab (extended) and an open box and the application and previous title said “Pickup”. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

I could care less what SoS calls it but I’m concerned the error may cause trouble years from now when I trade or sell it. I have found SoS responsiveness varies among offices – the nearest one (in a fairly large city) is notoriously uncooperative.

Originally Posted by jim1932

From experience with several states.... do not walk into a large registry and expect any help. I drive an extra 30 miles to get to a rural office to do my registry stuff... well worth it for the customer service alone.

Yep!

[FL&WVMIKE]

Originally Posted by John R

From personal experience: the numbers do not always match even on original, unmolested cars. Like maybe one digit is wrong. In these cases, it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.

This won't work in Florida. To register a car in Florida, the clerk in the DMV has to go to the parking lot to personally check the number on the car, or if it is not with you, you have to get an officer of the law to come to your house and check the number.
I know this is true, as the serial no. of my '35 was off one digit on the final number. I had owned the car for 45 years and did not know this. I am the forth owner. It could have been a typo, from the Ford factory in 1935, and never caught.
I was able to contact the right person in the W.Va. DMV, who corrected it for me. I did have to give them my old title and a signed statement from a Florida police officer. I was worried for a while.
MIKE