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Please Help! New Comutacar owner.

Jeff Follin
 

I recently obtained a Comutacar. It is in very good condition,
having spent the last 10 years or so in a warehouse. It appears
totally complete and unmolested. It has 977 original miles, and all
lights and turn signals. The batteries are very bad, but I did charge
them for a while and I got the car to drive in a circle (slowly!) so
I know the car will run. Master cylinder needs to be rebuilt, and
new tires. I am about to clean it up so I can drive it around town.

Unfortunatly, I know very little about it. I did not get a pink
slip or registration papers, and it had no license plate on it. All
I can find is the VIN# 1111B1C2XAS000322 on the dash. The California
Dept of Motor Vehicles has no record of this vehicle.

My questions are:

1) Can anyone decode the above VIN and tell me something about the
car, such as the model year?

2) I assume the car was meant to be driven on the street (not the
freeway). How do I register the car for the street? The problem is
because I have no pink slip, registration, or license plate, and the
DMV has no record of it, they are requiring me to get a "Manufacturer
Statement of Origin" - I believe that is the form sent to the
government by the vehicle manufacturer showing the vehicle meets
Federal vehicle standards. Does this form exist somewhere? Does
anyone have any other ideas?

All the CA DMV could offer is registration as a golf cart (for
use on max 25 mph streets), or as a "low speed vehicle" - must go
between 20 and 25 mph and can drive only on streets posted 35mph or
less. This seems like a waste of time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am looking forward to
chasing my friend around in his 1923 Ford Model T. Restoring this
car will be simple compared to dealing with the CA DMV.

I can e-mail pictures of the car if necessary.

Many Thanks, Jeff
Mike Chancey
 

Hi Jeff and all,

You might want to check with some of the title companies that deal with
antique cars. There should be a number listed in Hemmings Motor News, an
automotive classified ad publication you can find in most bookstores. If I
am reading things correctly, the tenth digit is an "A" which makes yours a
1980 model.

Keep in mind the car may never have been titled in California, either
because it came from another state, or because it was never registered and
used on the street. Many C-cars were used as non-roadgoing service vehicles
on large private areas like trailer courts and commercial properties. It
should be possible to have a title company search all states to see if it
were ever registered. At one time Sebring Auto Cycle had all the sales
records from the C-cars, but now that they are gone I don't know where that
information ended up.

Thanks,

Mike Chancey,
'88 Civic EV
Kansas City, Missouri
EV List Photo Album at:
My Electric Car at:
Mid-America EAA chapter at:
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Follin" <jokerloco9@...>
To: <C-Car@...>
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 1:28 AM
Subject: [C-Car] Please Help! New Comutacar owner.


I recently obtained a Comutacar. It is in very good condition,
having spent the last 10 years or so in a warehouse. It appears
totally complete and unmolested. It has 977 original miles, and all
lights and turn signals. The batteries are very bad, but I did charge
them for a while and I got the car to drive in a circle (slowly!) so
I know the car will run. Master cylinder needs to be rebuilt, and
new tires. I am about to clean it up so I can drive it around town.

Unfortunatly, I know very little about it. I did not get a pink
slip or registration papers, and it had no license plate on it. All
I can find is the VIN# 1111B1C2XAS000322 on the dash. The California
Dept of Motor Vehicles has no record of this vehicle.

My questions are:

1) Can anyone decode the above VIN and tell me something about the
car, such as the model year?

2) I assume the car was meant to be driven on the street (not the
freeway). How do I register the car for the street? The problem is
because I have no pink slip, registration, or license plate, and the
DMV has no record of it, they are requiring me to get a "Manufacturer
Statement of Origin" - I believe that is the form sent to the
government by the vehicle manufacturer showing the vehicle meets
Federal vehicle standards. Does this form exist somewhere? Does
anyone have any other ideas?

All the CA DMV could offer is registration as a golf cart (for
use on max 25 mph streets), or as a "low speed vehicle" - must go
between 20 and 25 mph and can drive only on streets posted 35mph or
less. This seems like a waste of time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am looking forward to
chasing my friend around in his 1923 Ford Model T. Restoring this
car will be simple compared to dealing with the CA DMV.

I can e-mail pictures of the car if necessary.

Many Thanks, Jeff



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Here's some information on decvoding VINs that may help:


If that's not enough go to

and search for
vin decode

On Mon, 19 Nov 2001, Jeff Follin wrote:

I recently obtained a Comutacar. It is in very good condition,
having spent the last 10 years or so in a warehouse. It appears
totally complete and unmolested. It has 977 original miles, and all
lights and turn signals. The batteries are very bad, but I did charge
them for a while and I got the car to drive in a circle (slowly!) so
I know the car will run. Master cylinder needs to be rebuilt, and
new tires. I am about to clean it up so I can drive it around town.

Unfortunatly, I know very little about it. I did not get a pink
slip or registration papers, and it had no license plate on it. All
I can find is the VIN# 1111B1C2XAS000322 on the dash. The California
Dept of Motor Vehicles has no record of this vehicle.

My questions are:

1) Can anyone decode the above VIN and tell me something about the
car, such as the model year?

2) I assume the car was meant to be driven on the street (not the
freeway). How do I register the car for the street? The problem is
because I have no pink slip, registration, or license plate, and the
DMV has no record of it, they are requiring me to get a "Manufacturer
Statement of Origin" - I believe that is the form sent to the
government by the vehicle manufacturer showing the vehicle meets
Federal vehicle standards. Does this form exist somewhere? Does
anyone have any other ideas?

All the CA DMV could offer is registration as a golf cart (for
use on max 25 mph streets), or as a "low speed vehicle" - must go
between 20 and 25 mph and can drive only on streets posted 35mph or
less. This seems like a waste of time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am looking forward to
chasing my friend around in his 1923 Ford Model T. Restoring this
car will be simple compared to dealing with the CA DMV.

I can e-mail pictures of the car if necessary.

Many Thanks, Jeff



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[email protected]
 

Thank you for the info. Your ideas have reminded me that there are
businesses in Los Angeles that specialize in vehicle registrations.

Thanks Jeff
[email protected]
 

Thank you for the help. You have reminded me that in the Los Angeles area
there are businesses that specialize in vehicle registrations. I also have a
copy of Hemmings setting around - I will look inside.

Again, thank you,


Jeff

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