Titled as "Special Constructed"
 

Has anyone had a tittle that read "special constructed" rewritten or changed? I had a buyer, only draw back is the tittle says special constructed with no year listed. Oh yah...this is in the state of Pennsylvania.

Very common for example. My F5 MK II had a Florida title which listed the car as a 1965 Factory Five Roadster. When I titled it in Texas they found it was previously titled in Mass as a 2006 Assembled Vehicle. So on my Texas title it is listed as a 2006 Assembled Vehicle. Special Construction is just another state's term for kit car or assembled vehicle.

Some states wont allow it to be exempt when titled as Spec. Cons. (Virginia for exam.) They are telling me that it needs to say "1965 Roadster" on the tittle to be exempt from all of the regulations. So I am wondering if a 5 year old tittle can be changed to reflect that.

You say you are in PA. You should reach out to MrMustang (Bill). He has experience getting Cobra replicas registered in PA and NJ in the past. If I recall from Bill, PA may disregard existing VIN numbers and assign a PA VIN. I think PA that only a small subset of Inspection stations are qualified to inspect Cobra replicas for registration.

Oh, I see you already have a Backdraft and if you live in PA, you must be familiar with how PA works. Every state is different, I am not even sure why you are worrying about Virginia if you are in PA. Are you thinking about later resale?

yes, trying to sell it, car was titled in 2017.

I had a buyer from VA, but they turned it down do to special constructed on the tittle.

@MrMustang

You need to reach out to the Special title division in Harrisburg and explain the need for a "dated" title modification. Not difficult to do, but might be a bit time consuming as they are short staffed. 717-412-5300 start calling at 5 minutes to 8am, which is when they open. Title will still be branded as a "specialty construction" but will include the year it was originally titled.


Bill S.

Bill,

In post #3 (as currently unedited as of this moment), Zeke would like the title to say "1965 Roadster" to be able to sell his car to someone in Virginia. It seems that he will not be able to get a title like that per your description above.

Here in Kalifornia, Specialty Constructed Vehicles are titled with the designation SPCNS and have a model year of '0000'

That is correct, in PA there is no "magic wand" to have your title switched to a "vintage" title with a PA issued "SW" VIN. Are there ways to do this, sure, are they legal, no, and could get the car impounded and crushed due to tampering with the VIN. That last part specifically posted as a 2022 update and warning to earlier posts on the web where people say it can be done. Those outdated posts, with old style loopholes, are no longer valid.

Bill S.

PS: Plenty of Cobra replicas get sold as 2007-2022 "special constructed", those searching for a "vintage" title are either overseas and looking to prevent additional taxes (6% vs 40%), or people in the states doing the same, or in some obscure counties of certain states, emissions or property tax issues combined. That is their issue, not that of a specific car, or seller of such, and their issue to overcome, not the sellers.

PSS: Seller should post a for sale ad in the classifieds here, as there are many who are searching for Cobra replicas right now, with few quality cars being on the market.

Yes and the SB100 that comes along with Specialty Constructed Vehicle title make the car more valuable in California because the wise buyer in California will know that the car is easily registered in California. A Cobra replica that has a current California title that says something like "1965 Roadster" is probably best avoided by a potential California buyer as something that might not be easily registered when the California DMV gets involved.

So a Specialty Constructed Vehicle title can be worth a premium.

.
Thanks Mr Mustang for your quick response! So I pretty much had my car sold to a guy from Virginia but he backed out because his DMV in VA didn’t know the model year 1965/or manufacturer, or lack of info that was originally printed on my PA tittle. It only states "special construction" and date titled/date issued in 2017. He told me that because of this, the car would need a normal inspection(emissions) and wouldn’t be exempt from anything! I was just wondering if my tittle could be changed and by reading your post above it looks like it maybe can be! My next question would be should the tittle include anything else? The certificate of origin originally said 1965 Roadster! I just would like it to read what most states would make it easily transferable and no hassle and be exempt from inspections! Thanks in advance!

The year that PA will fill in will be the year it was submitted for titling, in this case, 2017. You cannot legally change the title in PA to read 1965.

Does your VIN start with "SW" ?


Bill S.

....and yes it has a "SW" vin#

yes, VIN starts with SW. I don't understand why they wouldn't allow this? PA allowed it to be exempt titled this way. Why not word it for other states to do the same? It is a 1965 replica. Not sure on how I am going to sell this car titled this way. New owner will have to reconfigure the whole car just to make it street legal. Anyhow thanks again for your help.

PA issued a VIN for a "special construction" automobile, it went through an enhanced inspection, once that paperwork was submitted, a "special construction" title was issued. At that time, any "special construction" title, whether it was for a Cobra, motorcycle, truck, etc and so forth was done without a year in that box. This was thought to be correct, but after a few years, and other states rejecting the title as invalid, PA specialty title office added the year it was originally titled as the year for the title. This is the process today, and will remain the process. So for you to want the year to be "XXXX", vs what the rules and regulations of the state are, just is not reasonable in the eyes of the law. You want to attempt to reinvent the wheel with the PA DMV, by all means, have at it. Just keep in mind, in the mean time, you'll need to have the title amended to read "2017" if you expect another state to take the title "at face value".

Bill S.

PS: PA DMV used to issue a letter explaining the process to other states, early on, those states took the letter and issued their titles per their own rules and regulations. Unfortunately, and this is from a recent transaction between a PA "specialty constructed" Cobra replica (ERA if it matters) and a sale into Tennessee, where the title had to be reissued as I stated above. In other words, Tennessee rejected the blank year, and the letter from the PA DMV explaining it, thus forcing the same as what I described above as well.

It continues to amaze me how challenging inspection, registration and taxation is for the small volume of vehicles that make up this hobby segment.

Only when you try to reinvent the wheel and not follow the rules and regulations provided to you when building the car.

Or were you not aware of the "Titles Unlimited" fiasco that started with a law enforcement officer in California who did not want to pay his fair share of taxes and got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. This then cascaded from California throughout the rest of the United States of America. Cars got confiscated, some got crushed, others had their titles and registrations revoked and had to go through each states enhanced inspection, VIN verification by local law enforcement, and then a proper retitle, with proper taxes and all fees, legal and otherwise, after a rather unpleasant audit, paid before the cars could be legally driven on the road again.

All because one person thought they were smarter than everyone else.


Yes, really.


Bill S.

Slightly aware, I was just coming on the scene back then.

From what I read, seems like CT’s process is pretty straightforward vs other states. I had no issues in 2004, they were actually quite supportive at inspection.

My annual vehicle tax issue, that’s another story, and only indirectly a DMV issue.

All I’m saying is these multi-step processes (and state to state transfers) could be less burdensome, but I guess that’s how they ‘weed out’ the troublemakers.