i keep hearing all the crap in california about pollution laws and cali bitchin about the old cars, is it really a pain in the ass to title a build, or if you guys buy an early car, 30s 40s, is it a pain if it has a clear out of state title to retitle it in cali? just wondering.
You have been sadly misinformed. I have never had any problems whatsoever. Stay tuned though, as all the envious California bashers who don't live here, will chime in very soon!
I have heard the same however have yet to see any real problems . I was told that my 27 running an sbc would be on the chopping block if I didnt get down to the CA DMV and get in on the "amnesty"program.Well Im not Boyd and Im just gonna keep on drivin' till they chase me down on the 405 like OJ. HA
I'm a transplant from Minniesorta since 1967. Dragged my high school hotrod a 31 A vic out here in 72 (avatar). Got it on the road in 78. Had to get the plates up to date in MN before I tow-barred it out, so once here just transferred the current valid title. CA is all about cash, you can do almost anything it seems if you're willing to pay the endless fees to feed the state government. When I first registered the "A" I think it was less than $20/yr. I now have 4 older registered/insured vehicles (31 vic, 28 rdstr, 49 pu, 66 Fairlane) and a 2 non-oped (40 Willys cpe, 53 Chev COE) Between the registration (near $100@) & insurance I'm doing my share to bail out the state! BTW only $1 of the registration is deductible on your state taxes, the rest is considered fees. Now back to the question - is it doable in CA? Hell yah, just bring cash.
I built a roadster from scratch,had to fill out some paper work,take it to the CHP for a Vin# stamp then off to the local smog/safety referee station,fill out the final paper work,DONE. NO BIG DEAL!!! ROY.
you hear all the stories, indiana has been working on pollution bullshit for the old cars. wanting to get some more money out of us like everybody else.
I believe it's a 30 year rolling cut-off for smog inspections. However, there's a bill before the state senate to make it '78, I believe. SEMA has more info on that. Other than that, owning an old car is no problem. I just registered a '63 Pontiac and a '52 Chevy with no inspection. As for new rods, all that is needed is a CHP issued vin plate, then wait till the first of the year to register the car as the year it resembles, like a fresh built '32 Ford would be registered as a '32 Ford. My buddy just went through that with his '27 T-bucket and a "Zipper" roadster. The amnesty program was to get owner to comply who used "bought" titles and had no numbers on their frames. You must submit all receipts on your build, otherwise the registration will be delayed until investigated. This is to keep owners from under reporting the value of their cars.
If you have a title in hand your fine. If no title its not a biggy but you need a bill of sale and a vin verify either way, if you have an early gm where they put the vins in stupid locations and aren't there any more, it makes things more difficult because they have no numbers to go by.
It is not as easy as it was in the seventies and certainly not as inexpensive but we still have it pretty good here. Sure the environment nazis want all californians to park their cars forever but I do not see much more change to the worse at least in my lifetime.
Speaking of which - there is a bill going up now to change that to 1981. If you live in California, PLEASE open this and send a letter to your Representative - let's push this through http://echo.bluehornet.com/hostedem...9000054d1ae9a2b9b478d0b6e1fe9ab8&ei=NKJIVTN2N
I had a '36 Ford basket case that I bought with no pink. I had paperwork from the PO saying the pink was lost and so I filled out the appropriate forms and a CHP came by to verify the number on the paperwork matched the number on the frame and it was a done deal.
my experience has been that as long as you have an original readable vin number, no problem, i just got my 28 a started last week, took em the vin number, said i dont have any paper work, paid and have a temp permit to take it to them or the chp to verfiy the number, easy peasy, not have heard some rought stories with all the homemade/ custom stuff.....like my friend that built his own electric car out of an ot fiat x1/9 in the 80s, and couldn`t get them to not make him smog it...lol
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