Registration questions

I'm considering buying a mostly turnkey kit in CA that has never been registered. It's built on a, I'm told, '91 VW pan.

I've read (or am under the impression, anyway) that if you build a kit on a more modern platform (unsure whether it's the VIN or the engine), that you must conform to the emissions standards of that period.

Is anyone familiar with the process in CA? Things you must be sure to do, and things you must be sure to avoid?

I don't want to inherit someone else's costly mistake and end up with a car that I can't drive on the streets in CA.

First of all, it shouldn't be a '91 VW Beetle pan, unless it is a Brazilian or Mexican car that has been imported illegally to the US. If it is, you have a problem as you won't be able to get it registered. Technically, for you to be able to register your VW pan based car legally in the US your donor car has to be up to '79 (the last year VW Convertibles, if you want to use that chassis as a donor (I wouldn't), were imported to the US.

I bought a Vintage Speedster form a guy in Louisiana. The title says "57 Porsche 356". Does anyone know if Vintage Speedsters ever built a speedster on a 57 356 pan? Also, with this title, can I get YOM plates in California?

original speedsters do not have pan chassis

Well nobody can say, no, for an absolute certainty, I would bet 10k that it is NOT on a 356 pan or frame or whatever they want to call it. You have to understand that many states will title it in the description however you want it to be. Heck in Iowa, I could call it the Willy Wonka Special and thats exactly what it would say, but it would be registered under the "specialty contructed" cars to get it registered.

Vintage uses a VW pan and puts the body on it.

Gerry, I agree 100% with the previous posts. The way Vintage Speedsters are registered straight from the shop when you order one is as the donor pan they're built on. In my case my car is registered as a '68 VW Bug. Maybe in your case, the owner just changed the registration to call it whatever he wanted; it really depends on the state.

All,
Thanks for your help. Wish me luck in getting it registered with YOM plates!

As an update:

The '91 comes from the year the Fiberfab body was constructed. My car was built on a '70 chassis.

I got it registered as a 2005 SPCNS (specialty constructed vehicle) in CA. The CHP restated the original VIN from the donor bug that had been junked, and I have a little metal stamped plate in the door jamb to prove it.

Because it's got a '70 motor, I took it to to the CA smog referee for an inspection, thinking it would be smog exempt. Well, sort of:

What? 1970 Beetles didn't have dual carbs and electronic distributors? Uh oh. So even though it doesn't need to be smogged, it can't have all the newer gizmos and geegaws. I'm not about to put on a single carb and a vacuum-advance distributor, sooooo...

I have temporary tags through the end of November. Car will sit in December. Then I'll be in line at the DMV on January 1st for a certificate of sequence.

I've been to the DMV 4 or 5 times, to the CHP, and to the Smog Referee. Even though I get different information from each of the agencies (and each trip) about what the title will eventually look like, so far the process has been relatively painless, rather efficient and most of the parties have been quite helpful.

I was worried that I'd have a difficult (or impossible) time getting the car properly titled and tagged, but it's been easier than I thought, even though obtaining a certificate of sequence was my "worst case" scenario...

Brian,
You are doing this the legal way in California. I have talked personally with the Fraud unit of the CA DMV and it is illegal to register a replica speedster in CA as a VW. It must be registered as a SPCN (special construction) to be legal. You can read the requirements of SPCN at the DMV web site. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/spcns_main.htm

In speaking with the Fraud Unit, it was specifically stated that this law covers those that buy a turnkey, build their own from their own VW registered pan, or buy a pan from a builder and then hire a builder to build the speedster.