Verdict on tube vs pan ---redoux

Odd that this thread would be locked after just three posts!

No one addressed another issue about tube vs pan---or really it should be "pan vs. all others" and that is ease of registration and insurance.

The pan based cars come with a VIN. A VIN is the key to quick and easy registration without hassles of having to qualify a car as a "special build" or whatever it's called in each state.

Further, the vin proves the car is exempt from smog regulations as the VIN shows the year of manufacture.

I was thrilled that my car had a VIN number as registration was as quick as if I dbought a new Ford. (Or used Ford for that matter).---Jack

Roger that. In MD w/ that VW VIN you can declare Street Rod (substantially modified, 25 years or older) and there is no inspection of any kind.

The pan Vin was Painless for me too. I also got atinque plates that are good for seveal years. Saved mucho $$ in taxes for my State.


Marty G.

IMHO I think that pan is a valuable feature that Vintage doesn't even talk about.

There are absolute horror stories on here if you will do a search about the hassles with registering a "special built" or whatever the hell they're called in various states.

Pans rule!---Jack

I guess it varies from state to state. Once the local DMV folks listened to the DMV person in the state office, licensing mine was easy with just a chassis number. Then again, South Carolina is pretty lax about such things.

Kirk may not advertise this benefit in writing or on a website but he did make it clear how easy it is to register his cars in most states. He mentioned it several times when I was in the process of ordering my car this past July.


Marty

That's for sure.....and that goes doubly for any cars sent over seas, too.

As for South Carolina, I have a "home built" trailer that I needed to register here in SC because I take it out of state (in-state, non-commercial trailers do not need a license plate in SC).

When the DMV lady asked for the Bill of Sale or VIN number I told her it was a home-built and didn't have a VIN, so she suggested that, since it needed one to become registered and I was the owner, I make up one on the spot, which I did, using the VIN guidelines for SC (number/combination of letters and digits).

Once I proved that it was a home-built (it said so on my Rhode Island registration) everything was approved by the Supervisor, and the plates were issued. Everybody was happy....

What was pretty simple here in SC would have taken DAYS in Massachusetts, believe me!

Speaking of Massachusetts, I recently researched what it takes to register an Intermeccanica in Massachusetts for Henry Reisner up at IM. It seems he had a customer whose car was registered as a 2004 IM Roadster, it cannot pass the emissions testing for 2004 in Massachusetts and was denied a registration sticker. I found out that Mass. now recognizes Replicas as a reproduction of an earlier vehicle and will register it as such. If anyone's interested, I can post the instructions to help others. They would apply to ANY tube-frame car with a Manufacturer's (chassis) number.

gn

I agree 100%; that's a definite plus of the pan based cars. Mine is registered as a VW Bug which is, in fact, what it is albeit modified slightly and disguised.

I agree that the pan is the easiest way to actually get on the road. Wheather you think the tube or pan is better for performance, I think most of the people I know want to just drive on Sundays or daily and are not racing. My friend with a beatiful Becks Syder is not having as much fun as he should be. He is always having some issue with the Mass.DMV. Now they won't even return his calls, and he is a very easy going guy who just wants answers. Somebody wake up Ted Kennedy. Pan cars float for a while.

Alan:

Give your friend this URL: http://www.speedstershop.com/viewtopic.php?t=895

In it, I give detailed instructions for registering his car in Massachusetts, INCLUDING the phone number of the DMV trooper in Boston who will assist in his getting the car inspected as a reproduction of whatever year his 550 replicates. I gathered this info at the request of Henry Reisner at Intermeccanica and passed it along for his customers in Mass.

This process is the same for 356/550 replicas, Cobras, you name it, although there are subtle differences, depending on vintage and make, Not a big deal, though.

Good luck.....

Gordon
Ex-Massachusetts and now South Carolina "Speedstah Guy"

OOps!

Just saw that I already gave you that info in another post (see what cold remedies can do to you??)

Anyway, you and your friend are right about the Mass. DMV folks, and often the "officers" are just as clueless as the folks behind the counter (sometimes more).

All I can suggest is trying a different office, even if you have to end up in Boston (are they still in the "Sick Building" just off of Washington street? Aptly named, that). I've found that there can be a world of difference not only between offices, but between people that you get in each, too. Shouldn't be that way, I know, but you're dealing with a sloth-like bureaucracy here. Information available at the main office in Boston can often take YEARS to disseminate to the outback.

Try my suggestion (if you already haven't) of contacting the office I provided the phone number for, tell them of your problems and ask that they recommend a different office that might be more "enlightened" snd that the central office get involved with a resolution. Of course, if you've already done that and STILL having troubles, then try contacting the helpful folks at:

Factory Five Racing, Inc.
9 Tow Road
Wareham, MA 02571

Phone: (508) 291-3443

Fax: (508) 291-3883

They might be able to suggest something.
gn

You could cut the numbers out of a vw pan, or stamp some numbers yourself that match the title and mount the vw body tag somewhere. Most of these cars are registered with a 30 or 40 year old title, chances are if you ever get pulled over the cop is gonna have no idea what a vw chassis looks like anyways. You can't assume every cop and motor vehicle dept worker has the same knowledge as you do about these cars. Most guys building tube chassis use the rear torsion housing from a bug anyway, so it is easy to transfer the vw numbers to whatever your chassis configuration is.