Kansas changes restored car law

Kansas lawmakers have passed H.B. 2594, “Exempting certain modiflcations on antique vehicles from vehicle identiflcation number offense seizures and dispositions,” as a critical step forward in protecting the rights of restorers and owners of classic vehicles in the state. The catalyst for the legislation came from an automotive enthusiast in Kansas who purchased from Indiana his dream car in 2017 — a 1959 Corvette. When he tried to register the car at his home in Kansas, the Kansas Highway Patrol seized it as “contraband.” According to Kansas state law at the time, the Corvette had to be crushed and has been sitting in a Topeka impound lot ever since, while the owner pleads his case in the state court system.

Under the previous Kansas law, police were required to seize and destroy any car on which the vehicle identiflcation number (VIN) “has been destroyed, removed, altered or defaced.” There was no exception for a car lawfully purchased by someone who had no reason to be aware of its VIN issues. In the case of this 1959 Corvette, the dashboard VIN plate had been removed years ago during the car ’s restoration and reapplied with new rivets.

Upon learning of the case in late 2021, SEMA worked with Kansas Rep. Leo Delperdang to introduce H.B. 2594 to prevent such a seizure from happening again. The new law protects restorers and owners of classic vehicles while not impeding law enforcement from carrying out their duties. It clarifles that a VIN may be removed from an antique vehicle “if the removal and reinstallation are reasonably necessary for repair or restoration unless the person knows or has reason to know that the antique vehicle is stolen.”

The bill cleared both the Kansas House and Senate unanimously and has now been signed into law by Gov. Laura Kelly.