How are Beck's registered in California?
Are the exempt from smog?
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Dan,
I registered mine back in June. You have to do it under the SB100 for special construction vehicles, which will get you smog exempt status. Couple of trips to the DMV, one to the CHP, and one or two to the smog referee and you will be good to go! I thought it was going to be a nightmare but it was actually quite easy...just takes a little more time 
was it a costly ($ ) process ?
To register a car in California, the biggest expense is sales/use tax. The specially constructed (SB 100) method of regsitration does not, by itself, add much in monetary costs, just a few extra trips to CHP, BAR, etc. You may want to Google CA SB 100, specially constructed registration in CA to get more info.
Not sure if it still is held true , but CA DMV only issues 500 of these permits per year. Also read up on this SB100 legislation, just last week I was talking with a DMV "technician" and she did not knowing anything about SB 100 vehicles. (Now she does)
Yes, the number of specially constructed vehicle registrations in California is still set at 500/year. For at least the last 3 years, unused permits have been available through December, so, after a few years of more demand than supply, the demand has ebbed. Be aware that only car guys refer to the process as SB100, the sponsoring legislation. DMV employess refer to it as "specially constructed vehicle" registration.
Whew!...I'm glad I don't live in California. Bureaucratic red tape makes me crazy.
When I got to the DMV desk in Connecticut (with paper work in order and my hair combed) it took all of ten minutes to register my out-of-state VS...another five minutes with a DMV inspector.
Over and done with... and my Starbucks coffee was still warm!
The fact that a Beck does not use a VW pan with a VIN and title makes it more difficult. Heck, there's guys with flared fendered, big engine Speedster replicas that are registered say as a 1968 VW Sedan. DMV just changes the color on the title and moves to next customer.
New Beck builds into CA are not an issue IF and ONLY IF you follow the proper procedure and answer their questions correctly. One of my good friends/clients actually wrote a flow chart of what to do. Plus the engine and transaxle receipt have to be directly in YOUR name.
For used cars I am getting all kinds of mixed stories... several clients have had ZERO issue registering their used cars, while others have been told that if the car was first registered outside of the state of CA, it can NEVER be transferred into the state of CA as a SB100 car, and since the aircooled motor won't pass smog, it can never be registered in CA period... I actually have a NorCal client dealing with this right now.
Originally Posted by rswardrop: I had absolutely no problem in Redwood City.
Originally Posted by chines1:
New Beck builds into CA are not an issue IF and ONLY IF you follow the proper procedure and answer their questions correctly. One of my good friends/clients actually wrote a flow chart of what to do. Plus the engine and transaxle receipt have to be directly in YOUR name.
For used cars I am getting all kinds of mixed stories... several clients have had ZERO issue registering their used cars, while others have been told that if the car was first registered outside of the state of CA, it can NEVER be transferred into the state of CA as a SB100 car, and since the aircooled motor won't pass smog, it can never be registered in CA period... I actually have a NorCal client dealing with this right now.
The SB100 registration, or "specially constructed vehicle" process is comparatively new to CA DMV, as it's been in existence about 7 or 8 years now. The difficulty is that means that about 4,000 vehicles, at most, have been registered with this process. That translates to most of the DMV employees not personally registering a car with this system, with their only exposure in a memo or training class.
I completed my registration in Santa Monica, a pretty big city. The DMV clerk told me she had 13 years at her job, and mine was the first specially constructed vehicle registration she had done. That doesn't inspire confidence in the customer. My process went smoother (I think) since I checked my attitude at the door and worked with the clerk. Mine was a new SAS build, tube frame based.
When I first started the process in Capitola, a small town, the manager told me my car couldn't be registered using the specially constructed process. I politely asked her to call Sacramento, gave her my cell number, and got a call later that day to come back in to complete the registration. May not work for you, but it worked for me. I don't know if I'm read for the mature approach to life, since I'm only 68.
Good advice from Jim Kelly, be it California or Connecticut DMV...or anywhere in between.
These people aren't sales clerks working on commissions who have to bite their tongues while dealing with foggy, semi literate, and often contentious customers.
Do check 'attitudes' at the door. Prepared paperwork, a smile, and politeness go a long way at the DMV counter