VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Converting title from engine number to vehicle serial number

I recently bought a '51 Styleline which is titled using the engine number.
I didn't want any hassles when I registered it so I went with that.
I bought it within the same state so titles are transferrable.
Just looking into the future a bit, has anyone had to retitle a car, changing from the engine number to the actual serial number on the door post?
Major hassle or no? I'm in New Jersey. I plan on calling tomorrow but expect some long, drawn out affair.

Thanks for any wisdom.

This will probably get more eyes in the General Discussion forum. I'll move it for you. My opinion is that every state has a method to resolve your issue. Asking anyone here that doesn't work for New Jersey motor vehicles is folly. Get your info from the folks you'll have to deal with.

I went thru this 2 years ago. New Jersey jerked me around for 8 months and 11 days. Due to Covid rules it was impossible to get an appointment because my Vin number was to long to fit the 17 character field. Had to pay a Title company $1500 to get the Title straightened out. All I can say is good luck.
j7l2

I'll call this week and see what they say. I'm expecting some kind of hassle. I'd rather straighten it out now before I might need to replace an engine in the (hopefully never/distant) future. I will keep posting what I find here for the edification of others.

I called NJMVC today and spent a bit of time listening to menu options.
I hit a few menu option buttons and came up empty after fifteen minutes on hold.
I think it best to leave it be for now and make an appointment in the future.
They actually mentioned “title corrections” in the menu items but that went nowhere.

I like your approach to leave things as they are for now. The reality is that unless you decide to change the engine the probability of it needing to be changed is minimal.

If you are like most of us you are lucky to put over 1000 miles per year on any classic car even if you only own one. So it will be many years before you "wear out" the current engine.

When I bought my '49 it didn't have a title with it. I bought it for parts, but the more I looked at it the more I wanted to build it as a rough hotrod. I did the "bonded title" thing here in Arkansas and while I was at it had them use the body serial number for the VIN. I did have to give them the engine number to do a stolen vehicle search for it, but there wasn't much hassle to it here. I recognize that you may have a far different experience in another state though.