[Vid]

Here in Nevada, those of us with TRUE classic cars will be facing a bit of an uphill battle to keep our classic vehicle plates with no smog check necessary, thanks to a poorly written law and a bunch of knucklehead rule benders.

Right now we enjoy not having to get a smog inspection for any car older than 25 years provided we only drive up to 5000 miles per year. They do inspect the odometer annually during the registration renewal process.

The problem is, some cheapskates with 1997 or slightly older cars are getting classic plates for vehicles like Voyager minivans (not classic) Ford Festivas or even Camrys. Owners are disconnecting the odometer just to save a few bucks and avoid having to get a smog certificate.

Naturally people are complaining about beater commuter cars having “classic” plates solely to skip the smog process.

I’m curious what the climate is in other states for classic car registration and smog certification. It looks like I have smog testing in my future.

Oh and as always, let’s not get political

Here’s a quick local news story about the problem here:
https://youtu.be/pdJdPINGTwI


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ANDYA]

Here in New York it’s a $10 safety inspection only.

[Stuart]

Sounds like the sort of thing SEMA should get involved in. You may want to send them a letter. https://www.semasan.com

[Goatracer1]

In NH if you register your 25+ year old car/truck as an antique you have to have a safety check every 2 years. Prices are not set by the state so you can shop around. They average between$35 and $50. If your car is registered as an antique and over 60 years old you don't have to have it inspected. We also have "Street Rod" plates but I don't know their rules.

[sd7369]

Same thing here in Maryland. Cheaters get junky rusty camrys and buicks because they are in excess of 20 years, they can get "Historic" plates. This bypasses the complete safety inspection (which is quite comprehensive and is only done once when car changes hands) and any emission inspection as well. They are not subject to the normal inspections that keeps real garbage off the roads.

The part that is terrible for the legitimate driving public is the cheapos also get the LOWEST insurance limits possible (if they have it at all) so if they hit you in your true classic or 2 y/o car, YOUR insurance will end up paying. It is a good thing that responsible insurance companies usually will not insure a car that is not considered a classic in their view..

These junkyard refuges can have 4 bald tires, broken glass, fenders flapping in the wind, exhuast held up by coathangers, belching a crop duster smoke screen blowing coolant on your windshield and the police usually do nothing to enforce the laws.

[Sirrotica]

In Ohio we have Historic plates, but the ability to travel all over is severely curtailed to participation in shows rallies, or travel to a repair facility.

(A) As used in this section, "historical motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle that is more than twenty-five years old and that is owned solely as a collector's item and for participation in club activities, exhibitions, tours, parades, and similar uses. A historical motor vehicle shall not be used for general transportation, but may be operated on the public roads and highways to and from a location where maintenance is performed on the vehicle.

(B) In lieu of the annual license tax levied in sections 4503.02 and 4503.04 of the Revised Code, a license fee of ten dollars is levied on the operation of a historical motor vehicle.

(C) A person who owns a historical motor vehicle and applies for a historical license plate under this section shall execute an affidavit that the vehicle for which the plate is requested is owned and operated solely for the purposes enumerated in division (A) of this section. The affidavit also shall set forth that the vehicle has been inspected and found safe to operate on the public roads and highways in the state. A person who owns a historical motor vehicle and desires to display a model year license plate on the vehicle as permitted by this section shall execute at the time of registration an affidavit setting forth that the model year license plate the person desires to display on the person's historical motor vehicle is a legible and serviceable license plate that originally was issued by this state. No registration issued pursuant to this section need specify the weight of the vehicle.

(D) A vehicle registered under this section may display either a historical vehicle license plate issued by the registrar of motor vehicles or a model year license plate procured by the applicant. A historical vehicle license plate shall not bear a date, but shall bear the inscription "Historical Vehicle--Ohio" and the registration number, which shall be shown thereon. A model year license plate shall be a legible and serviceable license plate issued by this state and inscribed with the date of the year corresponding to the model year when the vehicle was manufactured. Two model year license plates, duplicates of each other, may be displayed on the historical motor vehicle at any time, one plate on the front and one plate on the rear of the vehicle. The registration certificate and the historical vehicle license plate issued by the registrar shall be kept in the vehicle at all times the vehicle is operated on the public roads and highways in this state.

Notwithstanding section 4503.21 of the Revised Code, the owner of a historical motor vehicle that was manufactured for military purposes and that is registered under this section may display the assigned registration number of the vehicle by painting the number on the front and rear of the vehicle. The number shall be painted, in accordance with the size and style specifications established for numerals and letters shown on license plates in section 4503.22 of the Revised Code, in a color that contrasts clearly with the color of the vehicle, and shall be legible and visible at all times. Upon application for registration under this section and payment of the license fee prescribed in division (B) of this section, the owner of such a historical motor vehicle shall be issued a historical vehicle license plate. The registration certificate and the license plate shall be kept in the vehicle at all times the vehicle is operated on the public roads and highways in this state. If ownership of such a vehicle is transferred, the transferor shall surrender the historical vehicle license plate or transfer it to another historical motor vehicle the transferor owns, and remove or obliterate the registration numbers painted on the vehicle.

(E) Historical vehicle and model year license plates are valid without renewal as long as the vehicle for which they were issued or procured is in existence. A historical vehicle plate is issued for the owner's use only for such vehicle unless later transferred to another historical motor vehicle owned by that person. In order to effect such a transfer, the owner of the historical motor vehicle that originally displayed the historical vehicle plate shall comply with division (C) of this section. In the event of a transfer of title, the transferor shall surrender the historical vehicle license plate or transfer it to another historical motor vehicle owned by the transferor, but a model year license plate or plates may be retained by the transferor. The registrar may revoke license plates issued under this section, for cause shown and after hearing, for failure of the applicant to comply with this section. Upon revocation, a historical vehicle license plate shall be surrendered; a model year license plate or plates may be retained, but the plate or plates are no longer valid for display on the vehicle.

(F) The owner of a historical motor vehicle bearing a historical vehicle license plate may replace it with a model year license plate by surrendering the historical vehicle license plate and motor vehicle certificate of registration to the registrar. The owner, at the time of registration, shall execute an affidavit setting forth that the model year plate is a legible and serviceable license plate that originally was issued by this state. Such an owner is required to pay the license fee prescribed by division (B) of this section, but the owner is not required to have the historical motor vehicle reinspected under division (C) of this section.

A person who owns a historical motor vehicle bearing a model year license plate may replace it with a historical vehicle license plate by surrendering the motor vehicle certificate of registration and applying for issuance of a historical vehicle license plate. Such a person is required to pay the license fee prescribed by division (B) of this section, but the person is not required to have the historical motor vehicle reinspected under division (C) of this section.

[72projectbird]

Inspections of any kind are nothing more than a cash grab.

I'm fortunate enough to not have anything but a basic safety inspection. No emissions. I always find it hilarious watching the inspector look around my daily driver and wondering why it smells like a marina and the idle is chopping like a mofo, but he plugs into the obd2 port and shows nothing lol

[Charlie Brengun]

So in my country (Netherlands) a couple of years ago they changed the law somewhat. Road tax exemption moved from 25 years to 40 years old and if the car is over 50 years old they no longer require any inspection.
So 25 year old cars are just that, a 25 year old piece of crap that nobody cares about and they disappear to Africa or Eastern Europe for another 25 years of service (usually a lot earlier than becoming 25 years old though).

These days when I see a classic on the road (which isn't a lot by the way, in part due to the $8 a gallon fuel prices) it's usually a nice car instead of a flat black pile crap that is just 25 years old..

It works for me, the yearly or bi-yearly inspection is a total pain and they look for 'environment' related issues more than safety related issues anyway.

[Half-Inch Stud]

No inspection in AL. Not many mechanics either.
PA inspections have rigor. Rust is a deal breaker for frames. Emissions never failed me, but hope to be done with that. Great mechanics in PA.

[sd7369]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

In Ohio we have Historic plates, but the ability to travel all over is severely curtailed to participation in shows rallies, or travel to a repair facility.

Maryland has the same restriction but there are hundreds of violators, I see them every day. The s**tboxes are being used as daily drivers and as I stated, the law isn't enforced. It is really annoying.

[Lemans64]

Same crap going on up here in Canada, where we have 25 year old mini vans with collector plates. It's not right.
Only thing up here is that the owner must have another vehicle registered for to and from work. Collector plate
is not valid to and from work. But I'm sure people still use them for that. There needs to be some sort of guide to
prevent this from happening, the vehicle is supposed to be in good shape, so not sure how they get the collector plate,
pictures are needed to qualify for plate. No emission tests up here. N a couple of years there will be 1st gen Pruis out there with collector plates. LOL

[ta6point6]

Well here in CO all vehicles from 72 up ( I think) need to have emissions. The 79 truck needed to have emissions done on it. It took me a while to get it passed and alot of mechanics around here dont know much about carburetors on vehicles. I had to buy a O2 sensor and gauge to get it to pass. The truck actually passed with no egr valve or any of the emission vacuum lines hooked up beside distributor. The emissions place only looks to see if you have a catalytic convertor and stock appearing air cleaner. Once you pass emissions (15 annually) you can get Collectors plates on vehicle that last 5 years and pay the 15x5 and the other fees that come along with it which is usually 175 for that five years. With those plates you can drive as far and as long as you want to. You can also get a yearly emissions test done as well and skip the collector plate 5 year fees. As long as you own your vehicle you can just keep paying for the 5 year collector plates, no emissions test. When you sell vehicle it has to be emmissioned to stay in certain CO counties or you can sell to someone in NE or KS without test. It is sad to say but it looks like the only way to keep junk cars off the road is emissions testing. Seems like visual inspections and making sure a persons brakes lights are working are a waste of time and money. CO makes emissions mandatory yearly for older vehicles or newer vehicles every two years. Of course that is just for CO to make money. CO does have some inspection vans that sit on the off ramps of the highway that will measure tail pipe emissions. If you fail it takes a picture of your license plate and you must go in for a test. That seems more practical rather then the annual or bi-annual inspections.

[72projectbird]

I have no problems with cars 25yo getting classic/antique/collector plates. Back when muscle cars were aging and started hitting that 25yo mark, most weren't restored beauties. Many were clapped out, spray painted and barely running. You see the same with cars today that are starting to qualify for the same plates.

Should my truck that I use as a truck not qualify for classic plates because it's not rotisserie restored? The truck that I've been paying taxes on for years and years, and now that it qualifies for a tax break, I shouldn't take it? Yeah right.

What about the modern classics, like a Supra, Skyline or RX7? Someone restoring one of them shouldn't have access to a classic plate? We're getting awfully choosy on how we want to apply rules and laws.

[geeteeohguy]

In CA, we have to smog every car and truck 1976 and newer. I had to smog my '67 GTO in 1997 when it was 30 years old. My 39 year old Toyota truck has to get smogged on a dyno every other year. Still passes with 300,000 miles on it(had to replace the original CAT at 275k miles a few years back).
And, they lower the allowed levels of emissions as the vehicle gets older, so passing is tough. Kind of like having a 20 year old athlete being required to run the 100 yard dash in 10 seconds, but by age 65, he needs to run it in 8 seconds or get sent to the rest home. It's crazy, and used to generate income.

[Jonsie]

When I lived in NJ: '66 Goat, Historic tags, no emissions/inspections, re-register once per year, zero $$

[jhein]

I live on Oregon and even here we only have emission testing for vehicles '75 and newer for gas, '74 and newer for diesel. But for both, only if you live in/near Portland or Medford. Fortunately for me, none of those things apply to me.

[Vid]

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

In NH if you register your 25+ year old car/truck as an antique you have to have a safety check every 2 years. Prices are not set by the state so you can shop around. They average between$35 and $50. If your car is registered as an antique and over 60 years old you don't have to have it inspected. We also have "Street Rod" plates but I don't know their rules.

That’s interesting about NH because I just bought a 2nd home there in Gilford (due to first grand baby arriving last May). Not sure if my LeMans will end up out there or I’ll just buy a 2nd Pontiac, lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Vid]

Originally Posted by 72projectbird

Inspections of any kind are nothing more than a cash grab.

Ain’t that the truth. In this day and age, why would brand new cars or even cars several years old need a smog check?

The manufacturer of new cars should have to prove a given model is clean enough and that’s that. Maybe after it’s 10 years old a secondary check to make sure it’s still up to par. If it passes, good for 5 more years. If it doesn’t pass, then maybe go to annual for that particular violating vehicle.

True classics should be treated along the lines like most car show entrants, ‘75 or earlier no smog required. Four door sedans and minivans from the 80’s and ’90’s take a hike…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Goatracer1]

I have nothing against minivans with antique plates if they are nice survivors or restored. Some of them can be 35 years old. When I bought my 1967 GTO it wasn't that old. The engine was tired. It needed new paint, vinyl top, interior work and mechanical work. The old guys with the Model T's and A's bitched about our cars back then. Lighten up! I don't mind seeing cars of any age if they are cared for.

[RocktimusPryme]

Ive been following that a little. I used to live in Vegas and have been thinking about moving back. 5 years in the small town midwest has convinced me that I am not bible belt material. I miss the restaurants from Vegas, and resent all the nonsense gossip here constantly going about.

I was reading up on the laws if I went back, and at least in Clark County it sounds like there are separate more lenient rules for cars from 1967 and older. If I went back I would have to downsize my hoard anyway. I would probably just stick to cars that meet that 1967 benchmark,