Wanted:SPF,ERA,or Contemporary in Calif.

[Raceco]

Hello,

I am searching for either ERA, Contemporary, or Superformance Cobra, with a 427 side oiler. My main prerequisite is the car shall be SB100 certified, being exempt from smog inspections. The other possibility is, before the SB100 was enacted, the BAR through Referee Stations, adhered a bar code label in the engine compartment. This allowed the car to be registered as a pre 1973 vehicle, exempt from smog inspection. I am willing to pay market value for the car. I'm looking for a turn key, not a fixer upper. Thank you very much for reading this post, as I enjoyed daily, looking at all the Cobras for sale.

Steve
Bentspoke77@yahoo.com
(650) 773-2193 8:00am to 9:00pm PST

[mrmustang]

Steve,

While I am not in California, and there is no SB100 number associated with my car, because it is powered by a period correct (ie: early 60's) 427 sideoiler, it can be legally titled and registered in your state and will be smog exempt due to the drivetrain used. Feel free to ask other CA based members and they can fill you in on how this works. See the attached link in my sig line for further details on the car. Interested, let me know..

Bill S.

[Excaliber]

Same applies to my ERA for sale, listed on Cobra Country, ERA154.

Hey Bill, I hope ONE of us sells a car soon, to wierd having both of them for sale at the same time.

[Raceco]

Bill,

There is no doubt that your car is what I'm looking for. But having talked to a rep. from the Bureau of Automotive Repairs, I understand what is required to buy an out of state car. and that's why I'm adamant on finding a Calif SB100 car. Your car is beautiful, and you would've heard from me a couple of months ago had it been easy to register. Thanks for the reply Bill.

[dlang14]

Bill,

I suspect you already know this, but SB100 is not required here in CA. You can also smog based on year of engine block, so a nice 64 or 65 SO block is an option. Now you will have to pass a sniffer test, so if it's got a big cam it probably wont pass. Also it wont be exempt, you would have to re-smog every two years, but as long as your not looking to upgrade to 600 horses down the road you may not care.

Hope this helps.


Daryl

[Raceco]

Daryl,

I know you are knowledgeable about CA registration, having read your threads and posts. Perhaps the official I was talking to didn't steer me in the right direction. My understanding is, interstate transfer will not require any inspection, providing the vehicle is of pre-73 vintage. You are taking matters into your own hand, because of registering a Cobra as a 1967 Ford convertable or just a 1967 Ford. But out of state will require smog inspection and pass a visual and sniffer because it's out of state. Again there's the gray area of calling it a vintage Ford. I'm confused about this matter, and the SB100 is the ultimate way out. I've read your chronicle of your experience and learned quite a bit from it. I don't want to go through the SB100 process, and will deal with the biannual inspections if necessary. What are your thoughts and do you know the exact procedures going the other avenue? Thanks Daryl.

Steve

[Excaliber]

Registering a replica as 'other than' the year it was built could lead to BIG trouble, don't go there. Those that seek a 1965 or 1966 year on their title as model AND year of build aren't fooling anyone anyway. My title is 1965 MODEL year, but year of construction is when the car was built, no foul there.

I believe the reference to bringing in an out of state car requiring a smog check is only for the "Gross Polluter" check (assuming it's a 60's vintage motor). It doesn't matter WHAT year the car is it has to pass that. Unless you got a really radical monster motor it should pass. I'd bet money on MY car passing that AND any applicable smog check rules for year of block requiring a check every two years! In fact I believe MOST replica Cobras could pass it if their a 'reasonable' street build and tuned properly.

High compression and a cam that 'comes on' at 4000 rpm would be a problem. I HAD an engine like that and it was miserable to drive on the street! I rebuilt it to 'street friendly' specs, lower compression, a conservative cam and street type vacuum secondary carbs (by the way, that dramatically improved gas mileage as well as drivability).

[xlr8or]

When I did the BAR test for my SB100 I was over 5 times the amount required to be labeled as a gross polluter. Luckily with the SB100 it didn't matter as it was just a baseline.

[Excaliber]

xlr8or, tell us more about your engine specs. A 460 bored\stroked to over 500 cubes if I recall. But I don't know cam profile, carbs, compression, etc.

At 5 times the gross polluter standard I bet it 'hauls a$$',

[Raceco]

Excaliber,

I'm interested in your car, having seen the description and pics. As far as your title goes, what is your year of construction? I'm curious as to the length of time would it take to ship the car to Calif.? (SF) I'd like to research a little more on registering the car in CA. If you have more info on that, let me know. You can email me at bentspoke77@yahoo.com. I have your email through your ad in Cobra Country.

Thanks,
Steve

[Excaliber]

I'll e-mail you some title details. I tracked the history back and talked to the SECOND owner in Texas. Boy was HE surprised to hear from me

At first he was somewhat confused by my call. But as we talked the memories came flooding back. Before long he was all excited again and reliving the whole experience, like a couple of excited kids we were. He knew details of the motor only a guy who had seen the inside would know. He talked about running in the 11's at the drags, and I confirmed it STILL did. It was VERY cool catching his excitement. He sold the car, but the memories are like yesterday... I wouldn't be surprised if he's out shopping for another one.

Note to self: NEVER post your primary e-mail address on Cobra Country when advertising your car. Next time I will use a temporary Yahoo address so I won't have to delete so many darn "Nigeria, you've won a million dollars" freakin' e-mails.

[dlang14]

Hi Steve (and sorry for calling you Bill earlier )

I not very up to speed on bringing in a car from out of state. Certainly the path of least resistance would be an SB100 or SB1578 car (1578 means someone else brought it in from out of state and basically did SB100).

I don't know how the year of title thing works if for example another state has it titles as a '65 and you want to bring it in and correctly list is as a 2002 SPCNS (assuming 2002 for example only).

As Excal suggested stay away from trying to title it as a vintage car here in CA. It might work, but ultimantly you are rolling the dice and to me it's not worth the risks.

I'm sure we have folks on the boards that have done exactly what your interested in, hopefully someone can chime in. You might put a post under the registration section if you dont get hits here.

an early FE motor or 289 seems to me like the best bet if your going to try to pass smog every two years. If memory serves the 351w block didnt come out until 69? or so. That would mean a smog pump probably, and likely tougher sniffer standards. I'm not positive.

I'm going to the BAR next week, I fully expect my motor to fail. If the guys there are nice I'll try to ask some of these questions for you. Oh and I'm not very knowledgable, I just have the tip of the iceburg, but I'm learning.

You should think about coming to one of the bay area breakfasts (I've only hit west bay, but Dublin is supposed to be larger) there are some guys that attend that really know this stuff. Just be aware that the rules have changed from the beginning of the SB100 program. So if you talk to someone that did it 4 or 5 years ago your experience and the rules will be different. Gotta love consistancy! Let me know if I can help, like I said I'm still learning but I'm glad to share whatever I do know and I'll admit what I don't.


Daryl


Daryl

[xlr8or]

Raceco you have a PM.

Earnie it's a 460 .030 over with a custom grind cam that has lots of duration and pretty good overlap. It's running about 10.5:1 and custom ported SCJ heads. Running a 4150HP carb a little on the rich side.

[mrmustang]

Just put 420 trouble free miles on mine in 90-98 degree temps at the Summer Run in Lake George


Bill S.

[SCOBRAC]

Cars which are not registered as "SB-100" (AB-1572 for existing cars) cars still need bi-annual smog checks here in California for 30 years. It isn't a completely painful process but it involves a few trips to the DMV and BAR and then to your local smog station every 2 years. A 1966 427 would require all devices required on the engine as delivered (none although a PCV valve might be required by the BAR) Most engines here by 1968 had AIR systems and smog pumps, by 1972 or 73 catalytic converters were required. Whatever the requirement was is what is required now. In my area (Vacaville) that means an enhanced smog test on a dyno. cost is almost $90. There were smog laws in 1966 and it is possible to fail especially with dual carbs or a big mechanical carb.

I was considering pushing my car into the driveway and setting it on fire and put a "free" sign on it over an electrical gremlin I am chasing... I'll let you know if it get to that point.