Buying a "Barn find" - legal issues ?

Speaking from experience, not citing it as law, but -
when I tried to register a barn find BMW, off the road since 1990, I had massive difficulty in getting any headway with DVLA with just the VIN. It was too old to pull anything up using a trade HPI (which if you do on the VIN will show you the number plate) and DVLA were essentially saying no. I worked out what the number plate had been from the old ones which were in pieces but even then it was a no (which I don't think was right, but it was because it wasn't showing as being on their database).
Then I (actually) found an old green logbook in the car and used that in the end, with that there was no problem and they did send it back when I asked (for posterity). I wonder given the new Data Protection Directive and how the current V5s are coming back with no previous owners details, if they would acquiesce for you to retain an old V5 in this scenario...

Somewhat different to my experience of registering an old motor.

I 'inherited' my estate which hadn't been on the road for well over 20 years from my great uncle who'd been dead years. As in, I took it from the garage of his abandoned derelict house to save it being crushed when the house was demolished (with no logbook etc.) Although I did have permission from the executor of the will (who also had legal control over the estate as a guardian). Just applied to register the car in my name with a V62 form, and that was that. They never asked me any details and needed no additional info, nor was any contact made with the guardian or executor of the will.

Maybe I just got lucky?

Hi, thanks for the info. I *think* anything that has been registered (taxed, change of address etc) since DVLA went computerised* should be on their system so V62 might be an easy solution.
The early 1960s motors I'm looking have been off the road for many years, if they have been wiped from DVLA computers (or were never there in the first place) it might be similar to the problems above ^ 

* A random Google find says DVLA went computerised in 1970s/80s, so there's a fair chance wrecks from the early 60s have never been on their system www.autocycle.org.uk/v765.html

Edit : if there's no number plates / logbook / taxdisk with the car, I won't know the reg number so can't even try to use V62   

I don't mind repairing the car but I'm trying to avoid taking in a project that turns out to be impossible to register. Thanks to everyone for their input 

No reg number, you may be able to get it registered on an age related plate if you can prove when it was made (usually involves getting info from the manufacturer).
Reg number, check if it's on the computer using the DVLA tax checker, if it is just apply for a V5. if it's not on the computer to retain the original reg you need something to prove the reg belongs to the car (old buff logbook, copy of original reg details from the archives etc) and a V765 form signed by an appropriate owners club www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-register-a-vehicle-under-its-original-registration-number If you can't link it to original reg then you can get an age related one if you can prove date of manufacture.

Old style V5 or new, should be good to go (but check it shows up on system still otherwise it's V765 time again).

As I posted above you do need to prove that the reg number belongs to the car, but there are other items the DVLA will accept apart from a registration document. There is more info on the FBHVC page here www.fbhvc.co.uk/legislation-and-fuels/dvla-and-dvsa/

If you can't link the original reg to the car you can still get it registered on an age related plate if you can prove when it was made.

I have some experience of this, and it's not good. I bought something similar that had no reg but a Chassis number. I had a check run by (I think) Experian on the chassis number to see if it threw anything up like it was stolen and they said the number wasn't on the system. Wrote to DVLA telling them I didn't know the reg but here's the chassis number, they wrote back to me saying you didn't send us the reg so you're out of luck. I then called them, and they told me to 'restore' the car (by which they mean get an MoT, they eventually explained) and then apply again for a new reg following the guidelines here: www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/new-registrations

Unfortunately getting bits for it is a pain and I've lost interest in it so haven't got it to MoT stage yet so I don't know if it will be successful, but be warned if you don't have a reg number you essentially need to gamble the money and time to MoT it with no guarantee they will actually register it once done.

I have quite a bit of experience with barn / garage finds - currently have 2 Jowett's in my barn that are for sale that I recovered a little while ago - so any documentation that you can source is very helpful - things like the old logbook, period pics, old tax discs for the vehicle - owners clubs can be immensely helpful and most have a nominated officer that handles registration reissues / problems with DVLA - some clubs will hold original factory records with most clubs also having nominated officers that hold register details for the various models that the marque produced - out of this information vehicle build dates, registration numbers can be found from a vin / chassis number and in some cases the vin / chassis number can be traced from the registration number. The British Motor Museum at Gaydon hold records on a vast range of UK manufactured vehicles especially anything under the BL / BLMC / Austin / Morris range, The Coventry Transport Museum holds records on vehicles built within Coventry & Solihull & The Rootes Archive Centre Trust holds records on the Rootes range - it's quite surprising what a little research can unearth - Within a few days of collecting the Jowett's I had traced the complete ownership history, found owners club register details, some factory records - discovered a few bits of information within the vehicles themselves like several old tax discs, a letter from DVLA in the 1980's confirming one of the vehicles was on their records - only after I had done this did the estate get back to me and advised that they had now found both of the original buff logbooks - but over a substantial period and quite a few vehicles I have yet to be refused the reissue of the original registration index by DVLA for a recovered / lost then found vehicle.

Have a pic of some of my recovered tat

I think this must have been where I was getting turned away, in that I had nothing to support the plate being for the car (apart from physically the plate being on the car lol) so with it not being on their database, it was a no go.
Wasn't helped by being in N.I. and lots of old cars were dropped off when DVA moved from Coleraine (here) to DVLA Swansea in what, 2012ish?

You know all those people on ebay that sell those 'collectable' buff log books?