VIN and title in FL...

[serrata]

I finally finished getting my 33 chevy road worthy and drivable. Now I'm trying to figure out the mechanics of getting it titled and registered. Backwards I know.
I bought the body just across the border in Alabama from craigslist ad. It was rusting into the ground in a field. I filled out a FL bill of sale and had the seller sign it. That was 11 years ago. They had no title, the body had a cowl plate, but no floorboard serial plate.

I went to 4 DMV locations and I got varying rejections at all of them. They said I needed proof of ownership and the bill of sale was not enough. They also didn't like that I didn't have a valid 17 digit VIN. I just had the body and Job Ids from the cowl plate.
I can't contact the seller anymore. They have long since moved.
The only possible route I see is the full assembled-by-parts process through the FLDMV but I may still have a problem proving proof of ownership of the body if they don't accept the bill of sale. I kept receipts for all the steel and other stuff I bought during the build. I also own the title for the truck I used as the engine and axle donor.

Ideas??

 

[kenny c]

It may not be legal but maybe you can find a used car dealer that will “ sell it to you” for a fee of coarse.

 

[gene49]

Do they have a bonded title deal there? Where there are concerns about the vehicle, a bonded title covers the States butt. There are hoops you have to jump through, but that process is usually easier then getting the title through the government process.

Here in IL, that cowl plate is the vehicle identification, there were no 17 digit Vin numbers back in 1933.

Might be worth the effort to enlist your local elected State Representative (the one that represents you for matters concerning the state, not the fed Government) to see if he (or she) can help move the process. You might be surprised how much someone that is part of the state government can help you concerning state matters.