No more Emissions Testing!

[Jack21]

States are pretty much coerced by Federal grant money, highway, education, Police, etc. to enforce certain standards. Like emissions.

Just compare what you pay in Fed, and State income taxes and it becomes clear how the tax dollars get distributed.

For the unwashed masses of unmodified, bone stock, grocery getters, and commuters, emissions is not that big of a deal.

Specialty, restored, and custom built vehicles account for an extremely small percentage of vehicles, irregardless of the State in question. The DMV counter clerk will know virtually nothing about classification, and registration of your car. (That's assuming English as a second language has been moderately sucessful by the DMV clerk.)

To make matters worse, 50 States have 50 different sets of requirements for registration, safety, and emissions. You MUST be an educated consumer in this respect by knowing what your particular State requires for registration, emissions, and emissions exemption. In many cases, you may have to build your car with your first priority being getting it registered with favorable emissions requirements, e.g. emissions exempt. Then re-building it for your performance requirements.

Sharing this information here, or by private e-mail on a State by State basis is essential. What the State fraud investigators are looking for is stolen cars, or parts, re-introduced through new registrations and titles as rebuilt from "junk parts" sources. Popular cars such as late model BMW's, Lexus, Preludes, Infinity's top the list through "Chop Shops". This is where your State DMV is focusing it's attention. Cobra? What the hell is that???!!!

Cobra builders are not doing anything illegal (much less Felony illegal) by attempting to register their cars as emissions exempt (or emissions compliant consistent with year of original manufacture, '63-'66). You need to find the right niche to complete the registration process specific to your State. What you're trying to avoid is attempting to meet '99 emissions standards with a '66 engine.

What we're trying to do is give you the How To, and options to doing this for your particular State.

In retrospect. There was the "Registration Engine". A '64 - "66 289 SBF or 390 FE. These were bone stock, steam cleaned, running engines, installed in a car for registration. Once registered, the registration engine was returned to its Galaxie, T-Bird, or whatever. Then, a Cobra engine was installed in the Cobra.

Many of you early '70's muscle car owners will remember this one. The annual emissions parts box. You drove the car year round with your aftermarket parts, but once a year, you had to go through emissions. You put your OEM parts back on the car for inspection. To pass, the engine would barely run. In some cases, the car would not be drivable to the inspection station and would have to be towed. Get your sticker, get towed home, reinstall driving components, and you're good for another year. Radical cases involved a complete engine swap to the original engine, just to get the damned emissions sticker.

Another example. Pure commuters/grocery getters. Had '84 & '86 Oldsmobiles nearly identical. '86 passed emissions, '84 would not. Swapped carb off '86 onto '84, and '84 passed. Next year, switch carbs back. Did this every year for about 14 years until both cars disposed of.

[Bob Parmenter]

Roger and Karl,

It is correct we no longer have a State Patrol inspection of out of state vehicles. It is true, their primary targets were stolen vehicles (mostly late model joy rides, or popular utilitarian models) that were trying to "wash" a title by changing the state of registration. It was a tremendously costly waste of time since they caught a mere handfull the last year in operation. In a surprise move, considering how inept our state usually is fiscally, the program was terminated on cost effectiveness basis almost two years ago.

I have registered two cars from out of state that had titles from the pre-emission test period in the past couple years. Both sailed through the process without a wiggle, burp, hitch, or any other descriptor you would like to use. Whatever the old title said is what the new title says, e.g. 1927 Ford roadster. Much easier than the "old days" of WSP hassles at the inspection station. As for kit built cars, I have not done it personally, but have been told the date will be based on the MSO, and taxing will be based on receipts. The local DOL licsensee will assign a VIN base on completion of the paperwork process, and of course the money grubbers will extract tax based on sum of the receipts. If the out of state title is already in your name, then the tax is not due since you are only transferring state of ownership rather than transferring ownership. Also, I believe the emissions testing cutoff date is a rolling 25 year old criteria, no longer a specific calendar year cutoff.


Roger, the practice of buying a title has about disappeared since it is deamed a felony, class "C" I believe, to sell one or use one to "fraudulantly" register a vehicle. I know of two guys who got out of the title business here in Washington because of that. Does it still happen? Well, office pools on who wins the Super Bowl are illegal gambling too, but I'd be willing to bet (oops!) there might be a few happening anyway later this month.

[Blue Cobra]

I had heard that PO Boxes were not allowed for title registration, I guess as with most goverment offices it depends on who you know and talk to. Folks have said that to slip a PO Box by the DMV you should list it as a #nnn as though it was an apartment number versus a PO Box.

[G.R.]

According to the news this evening looks like the "PObox" loophole is going to be closed very soon, as there is some sort of legislation being drawn up to address the issue.

[RogerC]

I would guess this is because people in Seattle are getting hit hard by the Monorail tax on their tabs. I've heard the number of up to 20% of the tax revenue might go away for the Monorail due to people getting PO Boxes outside the Seattle city limits. I think the "hand built" car guys will be caught in the net for the bigger fish.

[Bob Parmenter]

Tis true about leaving the city. When we moved south earlier last year the tabs on Lee's car dropped $45.00, and that was BEFORE the monorail measure passed. That's supposed to add ANOTHER $65.00 on average. Seems the voters are still speaking their piece by getting the PO box solution. SIGH!!