John,
You unfortunately did not do your homework when shopping for a used Cobra. You should have realized that some states are less restrictive than others when it comes to licensing a vehicle for use on the street. In this case, clearly you have an early FFR (what is your FFR chassis number? take a picture of the trunk to be sure and post it here) with the overseas sourced turn/brake signal lenses. The "DOT 568" is the federal approval number for the glass itself and speaks volumes for the particular person and enhanced inspection station you went to (do a search on the subject here, I have written extensively about it).
Side pipe covers are a bolt on, bolt off item and available from several vendors.
Wipers are a must in NJ as you have already found out. Call FFR and order a set up, they are easy enough to install on a Saturday afternoon.
Low pressure brake switches can be installed easily as can the associated light for it. You do not have to even remove the dash as there are simple one screw under dash brackets that you can use (normally used for accessory foglight switches and available at your local auto parts store.
Catalytic converters can only be sourced from FFR.
All in all figure less than $2,000 (that is if someone else does the work) to get the car to pass the NJ inspection process.
In closing, forget about going back to Asbury, they are a known trouble station. Once you have added what needs to be, make an appointment at Morristown, and you will be good to go.
Bill S.
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnarcara
So long story longer...
My wife & I have dreamed of Cobra ownership & literally have been looking at them & trying to learn about them for a few years now. We found a beautiful one right in Philly, so we decided to pull the trigger. That was July 28th. Here it is September & I am having an IMPOSSIBLE time trying to get this thing registered. I sent in all of our paperwork , & the inspection process is ridiculous. I have 15" rims on & have to change them to at least 17", no biggie as I have the proper wheels all ready to go. I just have to switch them out. I of course need to get shields for the pipes. Now, my pipes are ceramic coated which is supposed to be ok, but my wife got a pretty painful "kiss" the day we got it so who really knows. I don't have high beams NOR an indicator in the dash. Hell I don't even have a space in the dash for it which means... dash removal & drilling right? I need the turn signal to be self canceling. Man, I have seen cars that don't have any working signals on the road & the driver uses his hands to signal. There's NO ROOF, signaling is easy! I need a dual master cylinder, which I think I have, but it needs to have a brake failure light, yup.. more drilling into a dashboard. I need to make sure that the windshield Factory Five is using here is the proper safety glass. It has the inscription "Laminated Safety Float DOT 568" the guy , Joe, at the Asbury Park Facility said he has no idea what that is & I may need to replace the windshield too. I need replace the signal & tail light shields, as they are "Lucas England" NOT DOTSAE lenses. We need to install catalytic converters, he said even though it's a 1991 302 with fuel injection & may pass the emissions at the regular inspection station, he "likes to see" cats. I need a shift knob with a shift pattern on it, easiest fix of the frikkin' day! AND WIPERS!!! there isn't even a hole in the body for a set of wipers & you know what that means... MORE DRILLING! This time into a show quality body of a beautiful vehicle! What really sucks is before we purchased this car in July I had no idea even where the oil goes in a car. I'm a photographer NOT a mechanic, so we purchased a vehicle that would be good for us since it needed no work & was an easy engine for any corner garage mechanic to work on. Today I am putting it across the boards for sale & I don't even have the title in our name since the state still has it! What the hell do I do!?!?!? |