2nd time around, or fate telling me I made the wrong decision.
A truly strange tale, due to no fault of the buyer, nor myself, 0034 is back in my garage.
Seller went to swap SC title in to his name, only to be told that the title has been flagged for investigation. A call to me yesterday morning had me scratching my head for the 11 hour drive back to SC from the northeast. Late in to last night I gathered information of the car dating all the way back to it's order and build in 2019, presenting this information to my local DMV office this morning before being taken care of by a truly wonderful supervisor.
Said supervisor called the state office to get to the bottom of this, then printed out a "for internal use only" document. This document shows that the same VIN issued to 0034 , based on the MSO being submitted to the California MVS offices and duly assigned SB100 label on the firewall by the original owner. Title was processed and delivered to first owner, who then moved to Maryland late last year. At that time the California title was submitted to the Maryland DMV for a new title and registration in that state. This is where things now take a turn. Seller, through a broker, sells me 0034 and I then submit Maryland paperwork for new title and registration here in SC. Title printed on the spot, new registration and plate handed to me to be placed on the car, a truly smooth transaction by my local state run DMV office, life is good.........Flash forward to yesterday, when the buyer submits paperwork, only to find out that the title is under scrutiny. Todays internal paperwork shows in 2001 and again in 2003, a 1964 Lotus's paperwork was submitted for title and registration in Maryland, woth the same VIN as 0034..Maryland DMV does not show the California title being submitted for the start of the 1st owners fiasco, but does admit that no other paperwork is noted in the computer other than the title/registration request, title and registration printed same day, which is, in itself, a question they have to answer internally as there should be more for either transaction....Coincidence, or a typo in the paperwork has yet to be decided, it could be 2 weeks, it could be 6-12 months, buyer (no fault of his), requests a refund, I grab my truck and trailer, head to the bank, and produce said refund. Drive to the buyers home and load up the car, spares, and all paperwork for the ride home. 5+ hour round trip, not including the 1 hour round trip to the bank at the buyers home to fix a typo of my own. 5pm I unload at the house, put 0034 back in he garage, and settle in for the night. I await some type of communication from the DMV here in SC, at the very least, a call from the state police to verify the VIN on the frame and firewall.
So, is this fate, a 2nd chance to right a wrong, is someone looking down from above and saying "schmuck, you were not supposed to sell this car"
Was it fate that 0034 originally had a Holley Sniper installed, the same that SWMBO had just purchased for me as a surprise early birthday gift.
We may never know, but tomorrow or Thursday, 0034 will once again have a set of valid plates, and a registration in my name, and perhaps give me a 2nd chance to not make the same mistake again.
Bill S.