Registering An Out-of-State 7 in CA?

[BeSeeingYou]

SB100 is a smog exemption. <SNIP>

I would make a prior visit to the DMV to make sure that they know how to do SB100's (the call to Sacramento).

Another requirement is proof of ownership, either a title. or the statement of origin from Caterham.

The final requirement is a California VIN, you make an appointment with a Highway Patrol station that puts 2 VIN id's (and supposedly a 3rd hidden one) on your car. In my case, they taped one VIN on the outside of the body just to the left of the steering wheel so that the side curtain would hide it, and the other one inside the engine compartment next to the existing English VIN.

Some owners have stated that they got a saftey inspection, mainly that your brake lights and turn signals work, but I didn't get one of these.

Thanks much, especially for the advice about the prior visit. I saw that a couple of other members here have done that as well. Paperwork for Statement of Origin, engine & tranny receipts would be available. Though I am still a bit concerned regarding any attempt to register a used car from another state. Calling DMV got me nowhere. Guess all I can do is try. Appreciate all the suggestions and advice.

[BeSeeingYou]

Not to Digress [Engine Question]......

but anyone have any recommendations for mechanics for 7-type cars in the Bay Area? I like tinkering myself, but time is a factor, and I want to have someone available who I can pay and reliably count on to do regular checkups and maintenance. One of the cars I am considering has a Zetec w/ Webcon system, and the current owner admitted he couldn't find a mechanic for it, and didn't have the time to learn how to service it himself. I'd feel better if I had a qualified mechanic to back me up and to serve as a quality check. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Doug Liedblad]

See Woody Harris at MSI Motorsports in Vacaville.

He works on several of the Sevens I know about.

MSI has a dyno for ECU mapping and has worked on several cars resulting in very satisfied owners. Some of the of the Sevens from S. Cal go to his shop.

Woody is a member of this list

707-448-3322

Doug

[BeSeeingYou]

Back to an out of state 7

Finally found my source for the original "I read somewhere..." On the USA-Se7ens List, I came across this post:

At 12:00 PM 3/8/2004 +0000, Thomas Jones <tjones at transmeta.com> wrote:

"By the letter of the law if the car has been registered/titled somewhere else, it does not qualify for the SB 100. SB 100 is supposed to be for an owner who built his (or her) own car."

This is true, SB 100 was aimed specifically at cars which were presented for initial registration, but the next year, Sen. Johannessen (my hero) sponsored SB 1578 which modified the law so that previously registered vehicles were also eligible.

Specific language of the bill: "This bill would eliminate the requirement that the registration provided to the first 500 vehicles by the Department of Motor Vehicles be an initial registration for that vehicle." Full text is available at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/01-02/...chaptered.html

This fact was also included in the response posted by Sergei previously from the DMV website, specifically this passage: "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."

Of course this applies only to vehicles registered in CA. The initial question from Don said "...legally titled and licensed in the USA." Each state will have different requirements, so no blanket statement can be made about the entire country.

Tom Tweed

I have written Tom [a former Ultralite owner] to see if he has any additional insight, but wanted to see if anything about this post jogged anyone's thought processes. I did come across a fellow who brought in a Virginia-titled Birkin, but in VA, it was already titled as a 1967 Lotus, and it appears that DMV simply gave him that, so that it never was a SB100/1578 issue.

[DaveG]

Damn I think the girl at DMV put '72.

Rob,
That's OK the guy who really matters is the referee. He inputs the year that the emmission controls will be held to and HE is the one you want to put 1961...
DaveG

[venom7]

Thanks Dave. I might be in Simi mid week, next week, picking up my Thunderbird and Galaxie. Meeting with a friend(another car guy) for lunch, maybe you want to join us?

[DaveG]

Rob,
Sure. Give me a call at home 805-527-6089 or on my cell
805-901-1332
DaveG

[BeSeeingYou]

<SNIP> Once there, note that the DMV has to make a call to Sacramento to reserve your sequence number, which you get in the mail later. You only need your VIN (English or California VIN will do) to allocate a SB100 sequence number. It would be a good idea to get a temporary permit and have the car there at the DMV in case they want to verify the VIN.<SNIP>

Jeff:

How do you get your car to the DMV with a temporary permit in order to verify a VIN in order to get a sequence number? Several people have indicated to me that DMV can get pretty testy about having a car driven that is not yet registered. And I don't know how you could get a temp permit without presenting some VIN-based paperwork to begin with. Sorry if I am missing something obvious.

[venom7]

When I was in last week at the DMV the woman gave me a day permit to bring the car back to get the VIN check. Easy as that. I also have my CHP inspection within 24 hours so hopefully I can get away with the one permit. I'm guessing once I do get the DMV check, there is no reason why they shouldn't give me an extension(?).

[BeSeeingYou]

When I was in last week at the DMV the woman gave me a day permit to bring the car back to get the VIN check. Easy as that. I also have my CHP inspection within 24 hours so hopefully I can get away with the one permit. I'm guessing once I do get the DMV check, there is no reason why they shouldn't give me an extension(?).

Gotcha. When I talked to the local folks, they did not seem to be worried about verifying the car itself tomorrow.