CA Registration

I'm going to be registering a 2003 IM in CA shortly and as I'm new to CA and Speedsters, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice/expectation on what to do/expect in the process.

Thanks! Dennis

First thing to do is a search on the subject. You'll find a ton of info.
The search function is on the main forum page.

Thanks Bill. I've actually LOOKED for the search feature and never noticed it there. Best, Dennis

OK, I've read the posts, most of which are over 2 years old on this topic. I understand about the SPCN designation for CA registration for VW pan vehicles. What about the IM? The DMV website is oh so unclear.

I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.

I'd contact Henry Reisner at IM and ask him for advice. I'm sure he's helped some of his customers with this issue.

Hey Lane, long time since we talked. I gave Dennis the same advice. I am sure that you have guessed by now whose 2003 IM from NC we are talking about. There must be a way to do it as lots of them out there on the wrong coast. Just logging on here has brought back the desire to go drive the IM...

Yo James!!! Long time, no hear!

Any chance I could convince you to join us for the Carlisle Caravan in a few weeks? You wouldn't regret it

what is it registered as right now. if its a VW then no problem. if its a spcn then that is a whole new can of worms from what i understand.

Actually, thats not entirely accurate. My speedster is registered SPCN (purchased within California) when I bought it which was a simple transfer/change at the DMV.

The challenge comes when the car comes into CA from another state. The previous owner of my Speedy had it shipped in from the East Coast where it was registered to the year of the VW Pan. When she tried to transfer the title, the car first had to go to inspection (CHP, BAR, etc) and afer inspection was when the car was titled SPCN -- so the can of worms was actually BEFORE it was registered SPCN.

Now that its titled SPCN there are no grey areas if I ever have to make an insurance claim. And in my particular case, the car is smog exempt as well (the year of manufacture is 0000 in the registration/title).

Dennis, I can talk to you about it offline if you want: polynesianpop AT yahoo.com.

Well, the 2003 IM from NC is currently (literally received the new title yesterday - a story in itself) registered as a 2007 Custom 2S, which I am told means convertible. It was previously registered in SC as a 1958 Porsche Speedster, but NC didn't like that the vin didn't match the Porsche specs, so when I registered it here I got a call several months later saying they needed to inspect it. A woman with a gun (sexy) came out and took a look at the pile of paperwork I have and said it needed to be retitled. It took a while but finally got the new title. The paperwork I have says the engine is a german imported rebuilt 1967 1600cc Type 1 Beetle engine, but not sure if that will help or not.

So, all you registration experts, does this help? I can't imagine that it couldn't be registered there, but wondering what the hassle level will be for Dennis.

PS - Lane, sorry man, would love to drive the speedster there with you guys, but it will either be in transit or in California at that time. Now, if Dennis wants to come to NC and we could drive his car to Carlisle, I would love to accompany him there. We could even ship it home to cali from there. Dennis???? LOL.

Understood. Too bad you only kept it a little while. That's a nice one.

Yep, I sure wish I could keep it, looks great in the garage, but priorities are different now. I was talking to Henry last week regarding another issue and just about fell out of my chair when he told me how much my car would cost to build today. His estimate of my car with my options would be well into the 70K+ range. Thats a 30K or so increase in cost over 4-5 years....amazing.

It will be missed.

Regarding the price increases- The US dollar ain't what it was three years ago. As a matter of fact, I believe it's worth about 25-30% less....

I'm glad I built what I did. I'm not selling unless something REALLY dramatic happens in my life.

Sorry Stan, hope I didn't come off as sounding like it is Henry just raising the price on it.. he did say that production costs have skyrocketed (steel etc has gone way up) and the cost of getting stuff done to his standards has gone way up too. Obviously the Canadian dollar has gone up, way up, and that is affecting these numbers. On the plus side, the IM's build 5-10 years ago are worth almost what people paid for them today. One note is that people should adjust their insurance. I talked with my insurance agent the other day to check on some stuff and told him about the price increase and he said if I keep it we should adjust it.

Sorry Dennis, I have taken this thread WAYYY off topic. Lets get back on topic, registration. How hard will it be?

Actually, the insurance info was great. Something else on my list.

So...... how hard was it to register the out of state, IM in Calif?

As me in a couple of weeks. Car should arrive in CA during the week of the 28th of April. I'll post on the registration process.

It is my understanding that all of the "Special Construction" registration numbers for the entire year are assigned and gone by 10:00 a.m. on Jan 2. If you miss the window, you sit out that year!

Find a small local office (shorter lines). Verify their opening time before arrival. Call around.

Dennis.....I'm hopeful you were able to get your car registered, as I'm
possibly interested in an IM. And as you've had to do, you imported one, I'm considering that option. Don't often see them already registered in CA for sale.

You can register your car as a SPCN anytime of the year. You will need receipts for the major parts, certain agency inspections, and you will have to meet the smog requirements for the year of your car's engine. AND you will have to do the smog thing every two years.

The numbers that are alotted by January 2nd are for cars registering under SB100. You need all the paperwork you would need for SPCN except the agency inspections and the initial smog (for information only, don't need to pass) are done after you pay your money and get your number. You need to do this on the first day (early the first day) that DMV is open in January of 09.

This is a great way to register your car if you can because you become exempt from all future smog inspections. There are only 500 available numbers each year and they go FAST.

Dale...what exactly do you mean by receipts for the major parts? I'm thinking that could be a problem, when buying a second hand vehicle.

Dennis, if you have AAA, you might try registering it there instead of DMV. They might not make you jump thru as many hoops.

Arthur,
I don't know much about registration of a "kit car", SPCN, or similar from another state. If you haven't done so already you might read the CA DMV site. For SPCN vehicles being registered for the first time as a SPCN, the owner needs to provide receipts or documentation as to the origin of the frame, body, engine, transmission, and perhaps other major parts.

This is a link to the CA DMV site regarding SPCN registration.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/spcnsreg.htm

Dennis,
Did you get your IM yet? I have a pan based IM almost in transit from NJ and expect it maybe 5-16 to 5-20 or so. I was lucky enough to get all the orginal IM build receipts from Joe the second owner. I am sure that you will get build receipt from your seller or Henry will send you copies for the DMV. On the DMV form there is a line item for turnkey purchase so it should be an easy form to fill out.
My car NJ title lists it as a "04 Porsche rec" which scares me but there is also a letter from NJ DMV that states the engine is a 73 VW and subject to 73 VW smog rules. Hopefully that will make it easier. I want to register as a 69 VW pan 73 VW motor porsche replica. I will post my result when I get through the system.
Please keep us updated on your progress because a newer IM or Beck could be in my future some day.

Cheers
Dave

In California a car is registered by the chassis, or in our case, pan, so if your car has a pan then registration is actually easy.
you tell them it's pan based and show them the number which is always located in the same place, the number will automatically come up in the system and viola, your done....
It's the tubular guys who have issues, and I have to agree going to the AAA has got to be easier than the DMV, but they still have to abide by the laws of the state...

Dave: My IM is scheduled to arrive next week from NC. I'll post when. Vince: Can AAA really handle the whole thing? I'm a member and didn't know!

Dennis, The auto club can do anything except drivers license issues..
I was just there today to do a transfer of ownership of a harley I bought in Arizona....They look at the numbers and thats it....
If it is a Pan based car, it's a snap....just look at the vin behind and between the seats. I think most of us know where it is located...
If it is tubular I think Dale said it best.....