SB 100, Johannessen. Emission control: specially constructed
vehicles.
Existing law defines a specially constructed vehicle as a vehicle
that is built for private use, not for resale, and is not constructed
by a licensed manufacturer or remanufacturer, and requires all
specially constructed vehicles to be subject to the emission control
system testing and certification requirements established by the
Department of Consumer Affairs.
This bill would require a passenger vehicle or pickup truck that
is a specially constructed vehicle to be inspected by stations
authorized to perform referee functions, as prescribed, and would
require the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide an initial
registration to no more than the first 500 vehicles that meet the
specified criteria and are presented to the department each year for registration. Upon completion of the inspection, the referee would be required to affix a tamper-resistant label to the vehicle and to issue a certificate that establishes the engine model-year and emission control system application.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 44017.4 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
44017.4. (a) Upon initial registration with the Department of
Motor Vehicles, a passenger vehicle or pickup truck that is a
specially constructed vehicle, as defined in Section 580 of the
Vehicle Code, shall be inspected by stations authorized to perform
referee functions. This inspection shall be for the purposes of
determining the engine model-year used in the vehicle or the vehicle model-year, and the emission control system application. The owner shall have the option to choose whether the inspection is based on the engine model-year used in the vehicle or the vehicle model-year.
(1) In determining the engine model-year, the referee shall
compare the engine to engines of the era that the engine most closely
resembles. The referee shall assign the 1960 model-year to the
engine in any specially constructed vehicle that does not
sufficiently resemble a previously manufactured engine. The referee
shall require only those emission control systems that are applicable
to the established engine model-year and that the engine reasonably
accommodates in its present form.
(2) In determining the vehicle model-year, the referee shall
compare the vehicle to vehicles of the era that the vehicle most
closely resembles. The referee shall assign the 1960 model-year to
any specially constructed vehicle that does not sufficiently resemble
a previously manufactured vehicle. The referee shall require only
those emission control systems that are applicable to the established
model-year and that the vehicle reasonably accommodates in its
present form.
(b) Upon the completion of the inspection, the referee shall affix
a tamper-resistant label to the vehicle and issue a certificate that
establishes the engine model-year or the vehicle model-year, and the
emission control system application.
(c) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall annually provide an
initial registration to no more than the first 500 vehicles that meet
the criteria described in subdivision (a) that are presented to that
department for registration.
LOOKS LIKE TROUBLE TO ME, I THINK the prior laws were probably better.... find yourself a 69ish block and head off to DMV.... now doesn't matter what engine but the limited to 500 Specially Constructed a year..... UGH!!
I don't believe SB100 requires you to register your Cobra as a specially constructed vehicle (SPCN), and thus would not prohibit you from smogging according to the year the engine block was manufactured (which existed prior to SB100). SB100 adds the body style option for the first 500 cars.
When I registered mine, the DMV told me that participation in the SPCN program was voluntary.
"This bill would require a passenger vehicle or pickup truck that
is a specially constructed vehicle to be inspected by stations
authorized to perform referee functions, as prescribed, and would
require the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide an initial
registration to no more than the first 500 vehicles that meet the
specified criteria and are presented to the department each year for registration."
Sounds pretty clear to me.... I then looked up the definition and all of our cars meet it unless you have an original
What year was your car registered as, what does the title say, and when did you do this?
I used SPCN this year, so I can't say from personal experience that you can definitely use an old block to pass smog. My statements are based on my, admittedly, layman's understanding of the laws.
"Specially constructed vehicles do not have a manufacturer assigned model year because they are esentially home-made vehicles. In the past these vehicles were subject to the emissions control requirements applicable to the year of the engine installed in the vehicle and the regular smog inspections per the county where the vehicle was registered. The year of the engine was determined by a Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) referee during the initial inspection.
In 2001, Senate Bill 100 passed which allowed the first 500 specially constructed passenger vehicles and pick-up trucks presented for original (initial) registration to DMV to have the year model for emissions control equipment and inspection purposes based on the appearance of the engine or the vehicle as a whole. In addition, if the vehicle or engine does not resemble an established make or year model BAR is required to assign 1960 as the year model for emission control purposes. In 2002, another Senate Bill passed, SB 1578, which allowed previously registered vehicles to be allowed this special consideration by BAR in addition to initial registrations."
To me that indicates that participation in the SB100 SPCN program is voluntary and not required. If you are not one of the first 500 vehicles and do not receive a SPCN sequence number, the old methods of registration are still available.
SB100 had no effect whatsoever on registering a specially constructed vehicle in CA using the engine block as the identifier for the "age" of the vehicle for emissions and registrations requirements; you could do it before SB100, you could and can do it after. SB100 was sponsored by a state legislator who happens to love cars--it was intended to make things easier, not more difficult, by providing a new way to register a specially constructed vehicle that wasn't slaved to engine block age. The real problem with SB100 is that only 500 cars a year can be registered under it. Maybe, over time, we'll be able to get that number increased.
So I have a 69 engine in my cobra, how do I go about getting it registered outside of SB100? ON their website they don't mention anything about that...
Brian,
Check out this site...there is some engine year registration info there as it applies to SB100. I assumen the same restrictions hold true outside of SB100
The DMV can supply you with what you need; you may need to call; whether it will be easy for you to get what you need from the DMV is pretty much the luck of the draw.
joe - sure..... we have talked before... the car will be here shortly just trying to get the leg work done ahead of time....... just email me... would be fun... brainbugnj@yahoo.com
TT - on the phone trying to find out if I can go by the old laws according to engine year, I would rather do this....
just got off the phone they had no clue... told me all I needed to do was get a 343 (Reg) and get it started then get it smogged and brake and light. The SMOG should be done according to year of motor which would be 69. We will see how this goes... car is coming in a few weeks so...motor is clearly a 69 has C9 serial on the block.
Brian,
according to the info from the link I sent earlier, if you use engine year, it has to be ALL STOCK components for that year (ie Air cleaner, carbs, heads, etc...) I believe a '69 428 sold in CA had a smog pump as well.
Joe
__________________
"There are 10 types of people out there....the ones that understand binary and the zeros that don't."
This is true unless you are careful about your compenents and have CARB numbers for them... I don't know how bad the refs are, I guess it will depend on which one you get.....
I'm getting ready to order an ERA,and it will be getting a 428 as well.I am most interested in what you guys find out.My thanks to you for doing the footwork on this.I also looked into a '63 390 as an option if it comes down to it,but would much prefer the 428.
The 390 blocks and the 428 blocks are the same. So, just run a '63 390 block w/ 428 crank, rods, and pistons and have your cake and eat it too! Had a '66 428-4V and a '70 428SCJ and the casting code on the block said 352 (its on the driver side front of the block, right below the head, by the water pump). Most FE's say 352 except the side oiler 427's and a few others.
P.S. I live in the great state of Arkansas where we DO NOT have an auto inspection! For a kit car all you have to do is fill out a little paperwork, have the State Police to look at it so they know its not stolen an give them about $25.00, a copy of your paperwork, insurance card and walk out w/ you tags. Its that easy!
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Thanks for the info,Stengun!Guess I'll be on the phone to Danbury Engineering tomorrow.Sounds like this may even save a few Pesos as well(might be able to spring for that roller cam!)Is it just me,or do other people who visit this site download every BB picture they find in the Gallery?I'm getting quite a collection.
For non-SB100 special construction vehicle registrations, the car is registered based on the year it was built, but it is smogged based on the year of the engine. Two different things. If it was built before 1973, it is exempt from smog testing as with any other vehicle.
My Butler was registered as a 1982, but it needed to be smogged according to 1969 specs for the year of the motor (351C).
SB100 still brings your registration under the special construction provisions, but you receive an exemption from smogging if you get one of the 500 numbers.
Guppiedriver, I strongly recommend that you do not register your car immediately. You will want to be sequenced 1 through 500 as a specially constructed vehicle.
If you register as 501 or above, your car will be a 2003 model year, and your engine will also be a 2003 (regardless of block age, pursuant to SB1578). Since a specially constructed vehicle requires both a state smog certification and brake/lamp certification, your car will have to pass the 2003 requirements for engine smog equipment and inspections AND brake and lamp inspections. You probably do not want to install all the 2003 smog stuff and you probably do not want to install a 3rd brake lamp, side marker lights, back up lamps, dashboard brake warning light and anything else the Vehicle Code states as a requirement for vehicles registered as a 2003 model year.
However, if you wait, your car will be registered as a 2004 (sequenced as the first 500 applicants), the state referee can determine the year era the car is supposed to represent, and your car will only need to meet the requirements of that year. I'll guess that your car is a replica 1965 or somewhere near that date. If the state inspector, smog and also brake/lamp, can not determine its year or the car doesn't closely resemble the car of that era, then the default is 1960. This is based on SB 1578.
There has been some talk about SB 708. SB 708 will not affect specially constructed vehicles registered recently. If you regestered under SB 100 or SB 1578, your vehicle is actually registered as a 2002 or 2003, which ever year you completed your paper work at the DMV. SB 708 only affects vehicles with registered before 1974.
Why do I know this? My car was registered in 2002 (#197), the BAR smog referee determined my 1970 351W motor was a 1960, which is consistent with SB100 and SB1578. My motor is pumped out and detailed, but I also installed the PCV valve pursuant to the 1970 laws. This didn't matter since the referee determined that my motor was different enough that he had to use the default year of 1960. With the Certification, the DMV issued liscense and registration to me.
I thought I was set, but for my next years plate tags, the DMV also required a State Brake and Lamp certification. This is consistent with regulations for a specially constructed vehicle. I found a brake and lamp referree. He said my car was a 2002 and needed all the extra lights and dashboard brake warning light for that year car. This meant punching holes in my expensive body and paint work, rewiring my electrical, and reengineering my brake system. All do-able for extra cash, but who has a kit cobra with all this stuff? The Bureau of Automotive Repair has given me great assistance in this matter very quickly. However, I needed to research the laws and regulations because this inspection referree and some of the BAR officials were not aware of SB100 nor SB1578. My fax to them included all of the pertinant research information. The BAR will write a letter to my inspector by next Wednesday, then I bring my car in again, and the car will be looked at as either a 1965 or 1960, which is consistent with SB 1578, and the Vehicle Code.
These were the hurdles that I encountered and I found that I needed to become an expert of the laws. I should have my new tags within a month or so.
If not I am just going to camp @ DMV on Jan 2nd.
Had a '66 428-4V and a '70 428SCJ and the casting code on the block said 352 (its on the driver side front of the block, right below the head, by the water pump). Most FE's say 352 except the side oiler 427's and a few others.
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