Not much of a chance here in MO of using the ol'title, got a buddy they just nailed on a dune buggy because he used the same title & VIN off the VW it came from. I found a whole lot of misleading and incorrect info on the web for MO, even from the official web sites. You are correct it has to be substantially complete, I simply called the inspection station previous and asked all the questions I wrote down, as well as who I talked too, doing this earlier than later is where I messed up as I should have done it from the start of the build and I didn't. There is nothing hard about it, just finding out which hoop to jump through first and what order afterwards is the trick. The SEMA law helped alot but it hurt in some respects as they are more strict now, the part of notraized bill of sales and title copy's isn't alway's easy when you buy used parts, just ask the guy for'em at the swap meet and let me know what he says!