Thread: Does this qualify as a Hot Rod?

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Originally Posted by Fauxre

One more hoop to jump through before DMV title and registration is complete... Smog referee inspection next week.

By what standards will they smog test the car - year of donor car? year of engine? whatever they feel like at the moment?

One of the many reasons I enjoy driving vehicles more than 30 years old.....no smog tests!!

Thanks guys.

Originally Posted by randyr

By what standards will they smog test the car ...

Randy, here's my understanding of what the smog ref. will do.

First he'll compare all my paperwork with the car to confirm I brought to right one for testing. Then he'll confirm visually that the car is in fact a "specially constructed vehicle" (SPCNS) and not an existing make (Ford, VW,etc) that has been repaired, restored or simply had an engine swap. Once he determines the car qualifies as a SPCNS, he'll confirm my SPCNS Certificate of Sequence number (sometimes called a smog waiver), which permanently exempts the car from bi-annual smog checks. No need to test it.
The only thing left to do is determine the year of the car for title purposes. The waiver allows the builder to choose between two options... the year of the engine or, as I prefer, the year that the body most represents. The ref will compare the car to standard models in their database. If they don't find anything similar enough, the default year is 1960. The Velo Rossa is styled after the '62 Ferrari 250 GTO. But I don't know if that car will be in the database. Even if it is, the VR's dimensions are considerable different. I should end up with a title of either a 1960 or 1962 SPCNS.
The ref will then affix a BAR sticker in the engine compartment with all that info including the smog exempt status.

Clear as mud, right?