A few years back I bougfht a derelict "65 Corvair Corsa that had been sitting out behind a service station in Oakton, Virginia. No title, no old plates, no documentation of any kind.

After a lot of tinkering and parts replacement I towed it to Texas.

Like you, I was pretty much at a loss as to what had to be done to get it titled. I asked a few of my grease-monkey buddies what I should do (either legal or not so legal) to get some presentable papers on the car. I got lots of "advice" but I didn't have guts enough to try most of it.

Finally, with fear and trembling , I went to the Texas Dept. of Motor Vehicles in Fort Worth expecting to be run off or maybe even have the car seized, but it turned out to be a pretty painless process. A very nice lady had me fill out a stack of papers explaining how, when, where, and from whom I got the car. Also, all the numbers, etc. and other information I could find on the car itself.

Maybe three or four weeks later the DMV called me and told me the reports were in and there were no "wanteds" or liens or claims of any sort found, and the car was mine and a new title in my name would be issued.

You might try going this route. It worked for me!
Jim