I'll take a stab at the ugly beast! It IS legal to title your "new" Cobra in many US states depending on the state, a couple of different ways.
Some say, the year of the ENGINE will work. Others might say the year the car "most resembles". The BODY style is 1966 for instance.
In the US all cars driven on public highways have to be registered with the State they are IN, the "home base". MOST of the US States also require a certificate of "title". This is used ONLY to prove ownership and has little or nothing to do with getting the car "registered". Without a "title" you can bet it is going to be SO hard to prove "ownership" you will not be able to "register" and get license plates, etc. MANY STATES, but not all, require the car to pass certain "safety" requirements BASED ON THE YEAR on the TITLE of the car. The "title" will only show ONE year, the year the car "represents", which is NOT neccessarily the ACTUAL year the car may have been constructed or RE-Constructed.
Buying an SPF from Africa? An ERA from the US? A "kit" car from say, FFR? They will ALL come with an MSO. Manufacturers certificate or origin (or something like that). Which will show the YEAR the car was BUILT. You pay tax on the "parts" and can show that the "parts" were obtained "legally". With that you can then apply for a "title", which if you KNOW WHAT the laws are in your STATE and PUSH FOR IT will show the year the car "represents" or the year of the "motor", NOT the year of the MSO!
In Hawaii, the State WILL title your car according to the YEAR OF THE MSO and you WILL have to meet the "safety" requirements for a "new car". Which of course, you will NOT be able to meet, so you CANNOT register your car here using an MSO. AT THIS TIME, "legislators" are working on a "loop hole" for us.
SO,,,,,you title your "Cobra" as a 1966 Ford 2 door convertible (NOT as a "Cobra") in SOME OTHER state and in YOUR NAME using a LOCAL address in that "other state" and then ship the car here! Kinda like "shipping it" to Belgium maybe??? Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't!
The Department of Motor vehicles MAY or MAY NOT look closely at the VIN NUMBER assigned to the car by the original manufacturer (SPF, ERA, FFR). They KNOW that in 1966 the VIN NUMBER was only so many digits long. Now YOUR Vin number is WAY to long to have been issued in 1966. "Whats wrong with this picture", they will ask themselves. Now the car has to be "inspected" by a licensed State "re-constructed vehicle" inspector. You WILL FAIL that inspection! You have no outside door handles, no heat shields on your "mufflers" and the list goes on and on. Not to mention there is NO WAY your Vin number comes from a 1966 vehicle, making your TITLE suspect!
Best bet? Buy a car here, title, register and license in YOUR NAME in SOME state in the USA. Ship to Belgium. HOPE they won't catch the size of the Vin number as a "tip off".
Or, do like I did, just buy your Excalibur back because it IS a "real" car, DOT and FED approved for the year it was built. It was NEVER offered as a "kit", the is NO MSO! They were ONLY factory built. The bad news? 1992 to about 1997 are the only years they were made.
OK, actually the "bad news" could go on for another page or two. Federally approved "bumpers", catalytic converters, "third eye" brake light, WAY under powered. To long, to wide, etc. etc. etc. But I still love my Excal, it's a "legal" thing..........
Ernie
