VIN VIN, who's got a VIN - . . . I DO!.

More Strange Roads Traveled.  

It has been my goal to have my Lyka titled, licensed, and plated as a vehicle under the laws of the State of Colorado.  This has been first & foremost on the to-do-list for a couple of years.  I started doing research on the C.R.S. Section 42 -  Motor Vehicles - ended up reading most of the section, and concentrated on the Collector Vehicle sub-section.  

The process is not difficult, just time consuming, especially since I had to take the Lyka to meetings with the Colorado State Patrol - 15 miles away.  Which means a trailer and enlisting my son as my driver in his Lexis. 

 

But let's go back to April 2026.   I went to the CSP (Colo State Patrol) website to make an appointment for a VIN Inspection, the first step in applying for a VIN.   Appointments are booked 2-3 months out, but you can "wait-list".  I made an appointment for late May at a patrol office near me (10 miles) and started my wait.  

In early May I got antsy and drove over to the CSP office to see if I could meet with one of the inspectors.  I had pictures, and wanted to confirm what documentation might be needed to make things go smoothly.  As it turns out that was a good idea.  While I did not talk to the inspector myself, the clerk took my papers back and I could hear the conversation with the inspector.  When I heard "I don't think that is 'road-worthy'", I knew I had the wrong guy and went home, cancelled the appointment, and looked into one at the headquarters.   That was the right thing to do.   I managed to luck out and signed on to the appointment system right when someone cancelled, which gave me an appointment the next week. 

In the appointment system, you get an email from the inspector to confirm yours.  I used this to ask him if I would need to take the Steam Buggy off the trailer.   He replied no - and as it turned out was intrigued so he looked me up.   YouTube.   

When we got there, he came out and was saying how cool the Lyka was and that I was sure to come out ok in the process.   We went over the car, discussed the brakes, lights, reflectors, and other required items.  I showed him the documentation from STW and the certificates I had from inspections.  We then discussed how I wanted to be considered a "collector car" ,  or better yet a "Horseless Carriage"  - because it is one. 

There was a wrinkle in the process - My vehicle was completely built from scratch.  Most "kit" cars start with a donor vehicle.  The year and model draw identities from the donor, and the kit modifies the result. In my case, with no donor vehicle,  there was no make/model - just a result.  The VIN Inspector decided he could not proceed without further guidance, so all my information was bundled up and sent off to the Colorado Department of Revenue - Motor Vehicle Division for a decision on where to put me. 

Fast forward a month, now June, 2026 - The D.O.R. said I am an ASVE  - Assembled Vehicle with a year of 2025, which is when I finished it.   Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it got us moving forward. 

So the next step in the process is to go to DMV and actually apply for the Colorado Assigned VIN.  I went, waited in line for 3 hours, and paid my $3.50 to have the application sent back to the D.O.R. for approval and issuance of the plate.  I suspect that there is some old guy in the back of the DMV office hand stamping out plates.  It took another month before I got a call to come back out (another trailer rental) and have my plate attached.  

So by the end of July -  I have a VIN.  Now to apply for a title. 

 

Keep on Steaming - Stay Sane.

Jim