My SB100 Adventure

[radelow]

Hello fellow FFR's! Today is the start of my SB100 journey. As a little background, recently purchased a already built FFR Roadster (2008 MK3.1) from a seller in Kentucky. Now I write you from the DMV desk for my first appointment. Started out in typical fashion with the check in clerk being irritated that that I was doing something out of the ordinary (she had no idea what SB100 is). Then she got further irritated when i produced all the paperwork already filled out. Eventually got to a desk with a clerk who also has no idea what SB100 is and she is currently talked to her supervisor.

My intent is for this thread to eventually become the defacto writeup on how to process a previously built Factory Five in the State of Kalifornia.

More later!!!

[radelow]

Update. So far painless. All they required was the title with the transfer section signed by the seller, a bill of sale, and DMV form Reg 343. Oh and a check for almost $3k (use tax and registration fee). She did ask what year I wanted this car to represent which I responded 1965. Now I am sitting and waiting as they call Sacramento to get an SB100 number. Hopefully nothing comes up. I did call Sacramento to confirm there were available numbers (they told me there were plenty and that they didn't even use all of them last year).

Mark

[radelow]

*Update*. Got my SB100 number after a 20 minute wait! Only need to to go to CHP and Smog. No brake light taillight inspection required. Woo hoo!!! I will report back when I go through the next hurdle with the CHP...

Mark

[FFR5163]

Congratulations!

[FFR5452]

Are you trying to register the car as a 1965 vehicle? If so, you could later be charged with fraud and your vehicle impounded. Even though the clerk lets you register it as a 1965 vehicle, which is incorrect, YOU will be the one held responsible. The correct model year for registration purposes would be 2008. Registering it as something it isn't causes your DMV registration fees to be significantly less than a 2008 model. Even if it was previously registered as a 1965 vehicle in another State, you could still be in a whole lot of trouble if challenged. And California is spending a lot of time and effort to weed out improper registrations, as they need the revenue.
If you did register it with a 2008 model year, then you are good to go. Proper registration would be a 2008 SPCNS (special construction) vehicle.

[1fastsedan]

Which San Diego branch are you at? I need to do this fairly soon too. Thanks and congratulations!

[radelow]

If I was registering the car as a 1965 I wouldn't have to go through SB100 as '65 cars are exempt from smog. When they input a SPCNS vehicle into the system it isn't assigned a vehicle year. Just a Yr 1st Sold. See below.

[radelow]

Originally Posted by 1fastsedan

Which San Diego branch are you at? I need to do this fairly soon too. Thanks and congratulations!

Clairemont Branch!

[Frank Messina]

Congratulations, looks like your moving through this nicely. Actually the smog exemption is derived from the year your car replicates which is why they asked you for what year. I'm surprised they have you going to a smog station and not a BAR station. Let us know how the rest of it goes.
Frank

[radelow]

The phone number listed on my paperwork is the BAR phone number. I guess they just call it Smog Referee.

http://www.bar.ca.gov/80_BARResource...e_centers.html

[2FAST4U]

Congrats!!

[radelow]

Thank you all for the congrats and now on to my next Update...

Called the CHP to see about scheduling an inspection. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you tell them this is for a "Kit Car" as they need to schedule a double appointment (or so they told me). Anyway did not receive the news I wanted. The scheduling lady told me all appointments are booked solid and that I would have to call back on July 26th when the new schedule is available. Oh well not too big a deal. The car isn't even here yet and regardless I do have a 6-month pass to drive it.

[radelow]

*UPDATE* - Been trying to get an appointment scheduled with CHP and the calendar keeps filling up. They have asked I call AGAIN this coming Wednesday to see if any spots are open in the calendar! UGH...

[QSL]

maybe try a different chp office? Congrats on the Easy? journey so far! LOL.

[radelow]

Originally Posted by QSL

maybe try a different chp office? Congrats on the Easy? journey so far! LOL.

Only one we got in town!!! UGH! Hopefully Wednesday goes better...

[radelow]

*UPDATE*

I have now contacting the CHP branch here in San Diego on four different occasions only to be told every time "We have no more appointments.". This is getting frustrating to say the least! I guess I will just keep trying....UGH.

[1fastsedan]

Have you contacted the Orange County CHP office? Might be worth the drive to avoid the hassle of getting an extension on your current temp registration.

[radelow]

I fortunately have six months to complete the process so I am hoping I'll get lucky. The officer on the phone this time told me to make sure I call at 8am ON THE DOT. Will try again tomorrow...

Mark

[MRSQSL]

Did you get an appointment with CHP yet? I had called the Temecula office and they had appointments several weeks away. They told me to call back later because I wanted one further out and they can't schedule that far. I know you are in San Diego, but if you can't get an appt, that 6 mos is going to whoosh by before you can blink. Can't wait to hear how it goes as CHP is our next step as well.

[NiceGuyEddie]

how to not get SMOG renewal every year?

Jim is very much against the 1965 first year sold thing. i hope i will be okay.... i have been to the DMV so many times i can't even recall if i remedied this part.

.

[FFR5452]

Originally Posted by NiceGuyEddie

how to not get SMOG renewal every year?

Jim is very much against the 1965 first year sold thing. i hope i will be okay.... i have been to the DMV so many times i can't even recall if i remedied this part.

.

And here's the reason why. At a local car show, I noticed police officers walking through the crowd and checking out the registrations of various kit cars. When I asked them what they were doing, they said "checking for fraudulent registrations." I asked what would happen if they found one and they said they find them all the time. Vehicles are Immediately impounded and the owner can be arrested for fraud. And, I guess, the penalties are pretty steep to get your car back. So, register them for what they are, not what you wish they were.

[Ray]

Have you tried the El Cajon Office?

EL CAJON (680)

1722 East Main St.
El Cajon 92021-5259
619-401-2000

Ray

[Ray]

Originally Posted by FFR5452

And here's the reason why. At a local car show, I noticed police officers walking through the crowd and checking out the registrations of various kit cars. When I asked them what they were doing, they said "checking for fraudulent registrations." I asked what would happen if they found one and they said they find them all the time. Vehicles are Immediately impounded and the owner can be arrested for fraud. And, I guess, the penalties are pretty steep to get your car back. So, register them for what they are, not what you wish they were.

I actually stopped what appeared to be a '32 Vicky running antique plates for a moving violation. It turned out to be a Street Beast '32 kit car that was fraudulently registered as a '32 Ford. The owner had to pay, I think, 5-years of back fees/penalties and re-register the car as a SPCNS. DMV would also not allow him to go through the SB-100 process so he also has to meet CA smog requirements and pass a smog test every other year.

The big push for fraudulent registration enforcement can be traced to the Titles Unlimited case a few years back as well as the Boyd Coddington case several years ago.

Attorney General Lockyer Files Charges in Massive Vehicle Registration Fraud Case | State of California - Department of Justice - Kamala D. Harris Attorney General

http://ossh.com/firearms/caag.state....004/04-042.htm

Boyd Coddington Admits to DMV Fraud

Basically, do it right, do it legal and you won't (shouldn't) have any legal trouble later.

Ray

[radelow]

Hi everyone! Time for an update! Finally got an appointment with the CHP last Thursday. Showed up at 7:20am for my 7:30am appointment. CHP officer came out at 7:30am on the nose and we proceeded to go through my paperwork. He requested all the DMV documentation, my SB100 cert I got in the mail, AND the receipts from Factory Five, the engine builder and the transmission builder. I was missing one form which the DMV did NOT give me and that was the triplicate car inspection form that the CHP has to fill out. He was very understanding and said that half the time the DMV people don't know what they are doing. Regardless he said the inspection would move forward and worst case scenario he would finish and just have me go to the DMV and bring the form back later to sign. UGH!!! He had me drive the car around back to the shop. Then told me to wait in the waiting room and he would be back when the inspection was done. ...over an hour later... he finally came out and told me the car is good to go. He fortunately found an extra copy of the DMV form and gave it to me. Interesting to note and something that might pose an issue later, but when the previous owner registered the car in Kentucky they assigned a VIN. In California, according to this CHP officer, they use the FFR vin number. So now I have an SB100 cert that has the Kentucky assigned VIN but the CHP inspection that has the FFR vin. We'll see what happens with that. On a sidenote I looked all over the car but could not find any kind of plate! Guess they don't affix one.

I am scheduled for my BAR Smog Referee inspection tomorrow at 1:00pm at the local Community College. More reports later!

[FFR5452]

When you go to the BAR for your appointment, make sure you do not have a valve cover breather that vents to the open air. They must vent to the air cleaner either via a PVC valve and hose or a pcv hose directly to the air cleaner. If you need the parts, let me know.

[vnmsss]

With two VIN's now on the car (not sure that was the right thing for them to do, as I think they should've accepted the VIN and simply changed the Make to SPCNS), be sure the folks at the BAR use the CA VIN when entering data in the system. You also want the car to be inspected using the guidelines of body type/year (1965).....They should not actually test the car on a dyno, but just in case you get a retentive inspector, make sure all of your fluids are full, and as others have noted, be sure all vents and vacuum ports are closed off and/or routed properly...New PCV valve properly installed too. Good luck!!!

Karen

[ehansen007]

And, make sure that provide proof of insurance on the car to the DMV or they will suspend your registration. And, you need to be sure that you have the actual VIN supplied on your final registration for it to work. It should say something like SPSC.... for special construction. The problem is that the two processes do not coincide timing wise. You typically purchase insurance before your finish the SB100 to cover you while driving to all the appointments. Then the DMV won't ask for proof. Then you'll be driving it for a few months and you get a suspension notice. In my case, I got the notice, then tried to renew online, (which I thought worked) then I got another suspension notice so I called Sacramento and talked to no less than 5 people to get to the right person who could tell me what I needed to do. So good luck!

Erik

[radelow]

*UPDATE* - So went to the smog ref today. Very nice gentleman at Miramar College. FFR5452 wish I read this BEFORE I went! I have one of the valve vents venting directly to the CARB but the breather was just a filter with no tube to the air cleaner so I failed. It's an easy fix, I just need to go get the proper parts (air filter that has a hole on the bottom for the tube plus the neck for the filter at the valve cover).

On a much more important note, and something that could theoretically blow up in my face is that because the car has less than 7500 miles the inspector stated that typically you are not allowed to do that. I stated that the DMV told me (which they did) that does not apply to cars exempt from California Smog Rules (aka SB100) and provided the information from the DMV stating that. He stated that made complete sense but that the BAR office would have to confirm... He sent the info over to the office and told me I should have word back in a few days. UGH!!!! That could really cause a problem. But I fully prepared to do whatever it takes, including involving an attorney if needed, to resolve.

VNMSS I forwarded that information to him to make sure he uses the correct CHP assigned VIN. We'll see what happens on that.

Stay tuned for more information as it progresses.

[FFR5452]

Where in San Diego do you live? I've got a separate air cleaner and breather and hose that I used on my engine when I had mine done. I then converted it back to the original breather and air cleaner after the inspection. You can borrow it if you want. I failed the first time due to this also.
If you do it yourself, make sure you use the proper pcv hose and not a heater hose or fuel line or you will fail again.

[radelow]

I live in Bird Rock and work in Sorrento Valley. I am up in Carlsbad on Tuesday mornings to visit a project I have under construction... I would love to borrow your setup if it isn't too much to ask... Shoot me a PM with your cell and we can coordinate.