Question about price

[underwel]

About a week ago I was watching a 1948 FL Panhead engine on ebay. It was rebuilt with a title. The engine sold for $5300. I'm just curious if that is roughly the price range I would expect to pay for a 48 FL engine with a title. I might be in the market for either a 48FL engine with title or a 47 knucklehead cases with title. I currently have a 47 knucklehead engine that I'm trying to get a court order title for in Ohio. Ohio is painful. If I can't get a title I'm looking into plan B. Thanks so much for any responses.
-Eric

[Rubone]

A pair of Knuckle cases will cost as much as a whole Pan engine.

[underwel]

I figured as much

[chuckthebeatertruck]

If you haven't already started the court process in Ohio, you might want to stop and consider an alternative way to get your paperwork. It isn't cheap . . .but it is far faster and involves less "proof" than the bond.

So you know where I'm coming from -- I grew up in Cleveland and my family owned multiple automobile dealerships and even after the dealerships were sold, almost everyone continued to work in the industry with mother and several of her very close friends being title clerks. I spent most of my 'ute running titles in Ohio and I used to use the dodge I'm listing below for non-titled stuff -- with the exception I used to use Alabama instead of Vermont.

Anyways, longstory made short, there are a bunch of states that are registration only states. Ohio hates these and claims 7 times out of 10 that the registrations aren't legal for titles (they are, but clerks can be a real mother if they get a burr in their saddle).

So, to avoid this, we used to flip the registration to a title in a state that doesn't care and is friendly to Ohio.

I mostly used a buddy in PA.

Basically, you scrub the paperwork through the other state.


Here's how:
1) Register your 47 motor in vermont using the name and address of your friend/family out of state. You'll pay the normal fees plus 6% tax on the NADA good value. Here's a link to the NADA site -- I chose a 47 EL and zip 44131 (independence, Ohio) and the good value is $14,700. So, you'd pay $882 in tax. https://www.nadaguides.com/Motorcycl...EL-61ci/Values
2) When they receive the Vermont registration give them the bucks to convert it to a PA title. As of last year (2019) PA was accepting registration only states and issuing PA titles. We did the last one really early in 2019 -- so check and make sure nothing has changed if you want to try this.
3) When the PA title arrives have your friend/family member sell you the now titled stuff.
4) Flip the title in Ohio. You will have to show a clerk at the DMV the VIN for verification (don't use the Highway Patrol!!!)

Total cost will come out to around $2000 when you're done paying taxes. This is more than going through the courts -- but also keeps you out of the courts.

The only real tip is to not cheat on the price for the "sale" from PA to OH. If you try to say you got the bike for $400 -- that will catch a review. This means that yep, you'll pay tax twice (VT and OH) but that is something you need to weigh.

The other thing to keep in mind is that DMV offices sometimes apply the rules differently. I've used VT quite a bit in recent years and have been told by other IL residents that they got screwed by the DMV and couldn't get a clean IL title. I have not had this problem and have flipped about 6 bikes without paperwork in the last 7 years via VT. Heck, I have two other bikes sitting in my shop that I haven't flipped yet . . . they are still wearing VT tags.

Each year, VT just sends me a renewal to my address . . . in Illinois. Technically, IL has a BIG problem with this . . . but VT does not. I just work on not getting pulled over when riding those bikes :-)

Good luck -- but don't let the system beat you. All bureaucracy has a built in back door -- sometimes you just have to kick it hard, but it's there if you're patient.

[pisten-bully]

Each year, VT just sends me a renewal to my address . . . in Illinois. Technically, IL has a BIG problem with this . . . but VT does not. I just work on not getting pulled over when riding those bikes :-)
.

...from the state that had paper driver licenses, no picture, until the 90’s....we want, we need the revenue