What model year is it?? 4 cylinder or V-6?
I too had a registration problem on a car I purchased from a different state. The person I bought it from didn’t get it registered in their name. I was able to get around the problem by getting a letter from a dealer stating the value of the vehicle and purchasing a surety bond from State Farm Insurance stating the title for the vehicle was clear. The bond cost me 175 dollars. The DMV then made up a title for me and proper registration.
Good luck on the project if you end up doing it.
You might consider the following for some encouragement in dealing with this car.
I just received my latest copy of Mopar Muscle magazine yesterday and they always run an old car or barn find story in there.
Apparently an elderly person became too aged and feeble to care for themselves any more and went to a nursing home. The relatives were cleaning up the property and found an old car in the garage buried under a mountain of debris.
Once the car was accessible they called a classic car guy to come over and he bought the vehicle, which was a 1960 DeSoto in red and a 2 Door HT besides.
This car had been last tagged and parked there in 1973. All maintenance receipts (even for car washes) were in there and even a never delivered and still wrapped Xmas gift in the trunk.
Fresh gas, new battery and it runs like a top after the lifters pumped up. Who would have thought that after 38 years this car would have come to life so easily.