Hey All,
First time on this forum, great site...lots of beautiful cars.
Anyways, my dad is going to be taking ownership of a 63 replica in the coming weeks, so I have a few questions about registration/inspection.
The car is going to be titled and have it's VIN done in Ohio, and it's never been registered before in any state, it's a new car.
While investingating what we're going to need to do, I found out about the new MA inspection regulations and I almost threw up, I'm sure you're all familiar:
Session Laws: CHAPTER 311 of the Acts of 2010
SECTION 3:
"Specially constructed vehicles and replica vehicles, as so defined, registered after April 30, 2012 shall be subject to emission control requirements based on the model year and configuration of the engine installed in the specially constructed or replica vehicle."
SEMA site:
http://www.bipac.net/semaga/TagTitleToolbox_MA.pdf
Exemptions:
"5. Specially constructed and replica vehicles until April 30, 2012, at which time they will be tested based
on the model year of the engine installed"
This essentially means that because my dad hadn't taken ownership and registered the car prior to April 30th, there was no way he could apply for an emissions exemption, and there was no way he'd be able to ever register it. I was completely bummed, I couldn't believe this was happening...this is my dad's dream car, and it would never hit the road.
I did some digging, called the engine builder, and found out that the 302 that was installed in the car is from 85-95, meaning it's pre 96 and therefore isn't OBDII. This made me feel better...since anything prior to 98 in MA doesn't require emissions testing. Going by the above regulations, this means that my dad's car is going to be emissions tested based on the model year of the engine installed, and, since this engine is a pre 1998 engine...it won't have emissions testing done. Am I correct in my assumption and understanding of the new law?
If so, I have two questions for anyone "in the know", or anyone that has experience with the same, so that we can get our ducks in a row before my dad takes ownership of the car:
1) Once the title transfer has been done, and we are able to get the plates etc..., what needs to be done via the RMV or MAC to get this information, regarding the model year of the engine, associated with our VIN so that when we go for inspection, the station knows that emissions testing isn't required?
2) When we go for inspection, what is this going to entail, basic safety check etc...? Anything else we should be aware of or prepared for?
Any other help or advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much, -Dave