Title for car where engines are swapped

[Gene F]

Originally Posted by David in San Antonio

The auto theft special deputy sheriff of the seller’s county inspected The Wretched Roadster because the title number did not match the engine number. With the seller, the floor mat and floor boards were removed and he crawled all over searching for a number in the frame, to no avail. Finally, he looked up the title number and the engine number and found neither corresponded to a stolen vehicle. That, plus the thick folder of old receipts and photographs, and the seller’s anecdotes was enough. No metal tag was issued. Instead the Sheriff’s Department signed an official document allowing the old out of state title number to be used for a new, Texas title.
Back at the motor vehicle bureau for the third time, there was some discussion about the old title having the name of the seller’s long-deceased brother on it. We also had to go to a truck stop to use the state-inspected scale and pay $14 for an official document stating the weight. There was at least one other wild goose chase item but I don’t recollect just what it was. Finally I had my temporary tag in hand and returned to the Wretched Roadster in the parking lot to find someone had scratched the paint on the driver’s door with (presumably) a key. And unlike all those Teslas running around, the 1930 Ford did not have 360 degree video recording triggered by vandalism.

The key thing really ticks me off. And trust me that is the nice version.