My Recent Experience with SB100 & Bringing a Used Cobra into California

[ACHiPo]

Yes I need to read more. I have a year;-)

By "special emissions place" I meant BAR--now I just need to find one.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by ACHiPo

Yes I need to read more. I have a year;-)

By "special emissions place" I meant BAR--now I just need to find one.

There's one in Livermore, but I believe most of us used the BAR Referee in San Jose at Evergreen College.

Ask the Ref > Home

[ACHiPo]

Thanks! Might be worth the drive if they are more familiar.

[socalliving]

Cobalt289, nice write up on the process. That was my exact experience minus AAA. Although, I paid a professional DMV processor to handle the paperwork to avoid waiting in DMV lines here in San Diego. She was very familiar with SPCS/SB100 process.

My car was from out of state with a different type of registration.

If you don't have the time or patience I recommend paying one of these people who do this for a living and who have a good rapport with the DMV staff. It will be a seamless process. I still had to go to the CHP and Air Resource Board for the inspection and sticker.

Like you said it was not too bad but very time consuming if you went to the DMV yourself.

BTW, she was up in Grass Valley and everything was mailed to me. Worth every penny.

[ACHiPo]

Originally Posted by socalliving

Cobalt289, nice write up on the process. That was my exact experience minus AAA. Although, I paid a professional DMV processor to handle the paperwork to avoid waiting in DMV lines here in San Diego. She was very familiar with SPCS/SB100 process.

My car was from out of state with a different type of registration.

If you don't have the time or patience I recommend paying one of these people who do this for a living and who have a good rapport with the DMV staff. It will be a seamless process. I still had to go to the CHP and Air Resource Board for the inspection and sticker.

Like you said it was not too bad but very time consuming if you went to the DMV yourself.

BTW, she was up in Grass Valley and everything was mailed to me. Worth every penny.

Can you PM me contact info?

[tanenson]

I am looking to buy a Cobra replica that is registered in MA as a 2007 vehicle. The body style is a 1965 Cobra manufactured by Backdraft Racing. If I buy the car I am worried that I won't be able to get it through the California registration process. It is used and comes with all the build receipts, but since the original owner had to surrender the MSO to register the car in MA I will not have that as a part of the transaction. I would value you opinion as to whether I will be able to get through the California registration process with those conditions in mind. In summary, not manufactured in California, no MSO available, registered as a 2007 vehicle in MA, and I am buying it used from the finish company that is selling it for the current owner.

Thanks,

Tim

[tanenson]

Can you send me contact info for the lady in Grass Valley?

[tanenson]

Can you send me contact information for the lady in Grass Valley?

[JustinT]

I'm considering purchasing a FF car that is currently registered in another state as a '65, but it has a late model injected engine. Do you think that will cause any issue? From what I've read I think it could be registered under SB100 by bodystyle but under that example older engine blocks were used.

Thanks for your expertise guys

[JustinT]

Did you have any luck or learn any more on registering without the MSO?

[dcdoug]

Jeezus that was painful to read. Glad you got it sorted out. Took 15 minutes in Maryland and is registered as a '65 with vintage plates. No emissions, no inspections.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by JustinT

Did you have any luck or learn any more on registering without the MSO?

A previously registered car will not have the MSO, that is surrendered when first registered. However, the state title replaces the MSO. Look at it like the MSO is the birth certificate and the title is the replacement for it.

Most states will take another states title at face value. There are exceptions and often are due to valuation concerns (i.e. the "1965 Ford" $500 title that was used to register the car initially, etc.). Remember in most states it is all about the Benjamin's, they want ALL of the tax revenue they can get!

[Ron61]

Justin,

You can no longer use the engine year to register a car under SB-100, just the body style. As some have stated, if you have access to one of the people that do this such as the one in Grass valley, it is well worth the money to pay them to do the darn paper work.

Ron

Originally Posted by JustinT

I'm considering purchasing a FF car that is currently registered in another state as a '65, but it has a late model injected engine. Do you think that will cause any issue? From what I've read I think it could be registered under SB100 by bodystyle but under that example older engine blocks were used.

Thanks for your expertise guys

[Cobalt289]

Hey Justin - My car was registered in another state as a '65 too, so the only difference is that I still had the MSO (so it's not automatically taken away when registered elsewhere). The later model engine shouldn't affect CA SB-100 registration, as long as you have the minimum emissions required for a '65 car, which is a closed crankcase for a carbureted engine - and I don't know what it would be for an injected engine.

[Cobalt289]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

A previously registered car will not have the MSO, that is surrendered when first registered. However, the state title replaces the MSO. Look at it like the MSO is the birth certificate and the title is the replacement for it.

Most states will take another states title at face value. There are exceptions and often are due to valuation concerns (i.e. the "1965 Ford" $500 title that was used to register the car initially, etc.). Remember in most states it is all about the Benjamin's, they want ALL of the tax revenue they can get!

My ERA Cobra was first registered in Wisconsin, then registered by me in California - and I still have the original MSO, so they don't always take it.

[51astro456]

Cobalt289, can you tell me what air cleaner and breather cap you used for your 351W?...in order to pass the BAR inspection?? Thanks!

[Cobalt289]

51astro456 - I used an Edelbrock 1208 air cleaner off the shelf from a local O'Reilly auto parts store. It has an attachment for a PCV hose. Don't know about the specific breather cap. Just got an inexpensive one at the same store that also had the hose fitting.

[51astro456]

Great, thank you!

[51astro456]

Cobalt289, could you please pm me with your email?...or email me at moonpie4u@gmail.com
I'm going through a similar process...I have some questions...thank you, Dan

[51astro456]

Thanks very much to Cobalt289 for posting his experience registering his out of state cobra. Here is my experience to date, registering a 2007 superformance cobra previously registered in South Dakota.

I bought the car on 3 April 2017. I went to the DMV on 6 April . I ended up working with the supervisor..the first person was a bit clueless. All she took was the application for title/registration form 343. Once I made it clear that I wanted to register it via the SB100, she called and got a sequence number from Sacramento. My number is 2017096, so on 3 April they were only on 96 out of 500.

I ended up with a receipt that had what I paid for the taxes (about 10%..ouch)…and that I had to get a VIN verification and BAR. I asked about the CHP and she said that I did not need to do the CHP since the car already had a VIN assigned from superformance, as indicated on the South Dakota title. Note: In FFVR23 (REV. 11/2015) it says "Kit vehicles are registered by the manufacturer's serial number and do not need a 17-digit VIN or model year." BTW, the South Dakota title said “1965 Ford Cobra Kit”…it was tempting to let them register it as a 1965, but I figured that the SB100 route was the better way to go.

Luckily I have all of the paperwork from the first buyer (MSO, and all receipts….)…as well as the South Dakota title…

I received the official SB100 certificate 2 weeks after I went to the DMV. I had tried to schedule the BAR appointment, but they said I needed the certificate first…so I waited. As of now, my apt is on 4 May 2017 at the Monterey Peninsula College BAR station. **UPDATE: Appointment now 9 May...BAR scheduler called and said referee would not be there on the 4th.....

I will update this post after that visit! Thanks to other posts, I have already made the PCV system a closed one..with PCV hoses.

UPDATE: Had my BAR referee appt. The referee was friendly, but gave little indication as to whether or not I would be approved. He and an intern student took some photos, and looked over the car briefly. He noticed that the car had the closed PCV system..thank you Cobalt289!! He allowed me to hang around and ask questions. He said that they would send the photos and paperwork (copies of MSO, chassis/engine receipts, statement of construction, Certificate of Sequence, title from South Dakota) up to Sacramento and I should find out by Friday. I explained why I didn't have the paperwork from the CHP...he seemed to fully understand that part...that the car already had a VIN assigned by Superformance (and title had same VIN), and would use that...He did say "Oh good, it says 'kit' on the South Dakota title." On my statement of construction I mentioned in the remarks that it was a private sale from the seller in South Dakota.

I'm still at a loss at why this should be so mysterious? Rolling chassis like Superformance and others should be well known...yet we still seem to be at the mercy of "someone" making a determination.

Soooo...I'll update again as soon as I find out!!!