A little back ground.... I recently purchased a 1967 Austin Mini Cooper S from FL. The seller DID have a title, unfortunately it had not been transferred for some time.... and he was not the gentleman on the title. So what I have is the original 1968 title from Ohio. Signed over to Harold S Cleghorn who bought the car for $175 in 1971. At some point in time, I believe this car was simply parked in his garage because of minor body damage (simply not worth fixing).... 30 years slipped by and he never bothered transferring the title. I actually do have the application he filled out but never submitted from 1972, notarized in all.

I attempted to track down Mr. Cleghorn, but it seems he died in 1998. His son was also named Harold S Cleghorn Jr, but he died in 2005. So the best I can piece together, the car was likely sold by a family member after they passed -- who passed along the title they had. I believe it was intended to be parted out by the last purchaser but instead it sat in a warehouse for another 16 years.

Until I stumbled on the car. I have great hopes to restore it; to get it back on the road. But that will only make sense to do if I can get the title transferred to my name. I am hopeful that there is a way to do this -- considering this title is 46 years old. But I am also afraid the 46 year old mistake may not be possible to undo now that everyone has passed away.

Any information on whether or not this is possible, and what the next steps would be, would greatly be appreciated.

UPDATE: I did talk to my DMV and they suggested applying for a lost title, which is possible for cars over 25 yrs old in SC... but I am not sure that is a real title or just something to allow me to register it. I would hate to run into issues if I moved to another state.

 

In VA I had a similar situation. Abandoned vehicle title. Best thing ever. Check into it. Used the process several times.