How hard would it be to register this car in California?

[1973911s]

1974 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA, , Chrome Yellow with Black Interior. '80 3.0 engine, polished crank, fresh rods & hardware, Cosworth lightweight pistions, mahle cylinders, 3.21 heads, 993 sport cams. Mass Air Flow kit (Authority), special programming, B&B Stainless headers w/ heat & S.S. dual in/dual out muffler. Centerforce Clutch. Fully balanced & blueprinted engine. '86 915 trans w/ limited slip, '88 911 Carrera rear suspension, Turbo 26 MM t-bars, Carrera calipers, 23 MM master cylinder, Bilstein sport shocks, 930 tie rods, delrin bushings. '88 Carrera fuel tank, pump & filter. '75 Carrera tail, RUF type front spoiler w/ front oil cooler & driving lights. 930 FUCHS 16' alloys 7" fronts & 8" rears. Dunlop SP8000's. Sport interior w/ restored guages, 10k tach, etc. 930 supple leather seats, RSR door panels, rear seat removed, roll bar, Sony CD deck, Fosgate amp, 6 speaker system

[CarreraS2]

Would be very easy. As a '74, it is smog exempt.

[DW SD]

AGREED with socal. SIMPLE - Just go to DMV or AAA with signed (released) pink slip from the past owner. I made the mistake of not having some information completed and had to mail back to the past owner for completion. My car is a 71 and has similar engine (86, 3.2).

[Por_sha911]

It would be much easier to register for it to be parked in my driveway! Very nice car. Didn't I read somewhere that CA was considering changing (or just changed) the law concerning exemptions? Is there any risk that the Evniormental Nazis will try to eliminate exemptions currently in place?

[charlesbahn]

Yes, here in Washington, D.C. all the politicians agree that in California ALL cars will be subject to smog testing beginning next year.

You should bring that car to Maryland as soon as possible.

[Jack Olsen]

California stopped the rolling exemption at 1975 (and earlier). It's pretty safe to say that a '74 will be permanently exempt.

However...

Technically, it's still illegal to change anything -- and you will have to have the car inspected by a DMV employee when you initially register it as an out-of-state car coming into California. This is where you could conceivably get caught, since that engine compartment kind of screams 'Hey, dude, I'm modified.'

I didn't start modifying my 1973 Illinois 911 until after it was already registered in California. Does anyone know of an instance of the initial DMV inspection leading to smog problems?

[CarreraS2]

Jack, that is a good point.

When I registered my out of state motorcycle, I had to have it "inspected" by a DMV employee.

The "inspectors" were all little old ladies that probably couldn't identify an engine part if their life depended on it.

BUT, there were certain things they looked for, and they won't let you go until they find what they are looking for.

On the motorcycle, they looked for the engine number on the case, and also for the sticker saying the bike was California smog legal. Even though, of course, motorcycles aren't smogged in Cal.

I don't know what stickers, numbers, etc. they look for on a car.
But it's probably worth some research to find out.

[rjp911]

Join AAA and register it at their place. The kid that came out and looked at my 1973 MGB with V6 from GM said, "COOL!"

[930addict]

Correct me of I'm wrong, but I believe if the car has a 1980 engine, the visual inspection will be for 1980 and not 1974. So the "original" exhaust system for the 1980 engine would have to be there.

I went through this a year ago when I bought my car from out of state. The smog inspection was done at a smog inspection facility (my wrench handled this for me) and then, once it passed, i took it to the DMV for the "safety" insepection.

It was pretty painless but I had to swap the GHL exhaust out for the stock exhaust.

[yelcab1]

1. The AAA no longer does out of state registration.
2. That does not look like a 3.0 L engine, more like a 3.2L Motronic.

[84porsche]

Originally posted by rjp911
Join AAA and register it at their place. The kid that came out and looked at my 1973 MGB with V6 from GM said, "COOL!"

Damn, I was thinking the exact same thing. I had a an 82 Rabbit Diesel from Arizona that sat here for 4 years and when I registered I went to AAA because I didn't want to deal with the DMV hassles. They inspect the lights, the vin numbers, make sure the hood latch works and check turn signals just to make sure the car is road worthy. Smog is not AAAs main concern at all.

[CarreraS2]

Yeah, my guess is that they won't care or inspect anything smog related. I think they would mainly check the the VIN number. But I'd call the DMV and simply ask what it is they are going to look for with an out of state car. Or check the website.

[Jack Olsen]

On mine, he definitely poked around the motor. I don't remember what he was checking, but he had a list.

[techweenie]

Incoming inspection of an out of state car is only necessary if the registration is not current and/or if any of the Federal tags are missing -- like the one on the driver's door jamb.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Oh Man, I've been watching that car on CollectorCarTraderOnline.com. It looks awfully nice. But the price...Holy Moly as the old saying goes. Have you actually entered into a deal yet, or are you just considering it as I was.

[1973911s]

I am just thinking about it. I need it like a I need another hole in my head.

Michael

[TerryH]

That's a beaut, Michael!

I brought a car from NY to CA in 1998. It was a 1986 Buick. The DMV ladies were all over the thing even under the hood. When they couldn't find matching VIN numbers in separate places on the car/motor, so I had to make an appointment with the Highway Patrol and visit their garage. Eventually, all worked out, but it was a hassle.

None of this is smog related directly, but if they compare motor numbers, they could determine you're not smog exempt.

Back then they also charged me $350 just because the car was from out of state. They have since recinded that law and gave me refund.

[Oldporsche]

I think the real effort of the CA DMV is to outlaw cars.

David Duffield

[tiorio]

Originally posted by techweenie
Incoming inspection of an out of state car is only necessary if the registration is not current and/or if any of the Federal tags are missing -- like the one on the driver's door jamb.

Eh? Do you have the motor vehicle code on that one? I've bought a couple of out-of-state cars and had to have each and every one inspected by the DMV, current registration and all.

Either way, someone else mentioned the really sticky issue here. DMV / CARB smogs your car based on the year of the chassis -or- the year of the motor, whichever is NEWER. So if the motor is an '84 for example, you have to have ALL the smog equipment for a 1984 model year vehicle. This includes engine computers and dash lights et al.

The 1974 and earlier smog 'exemption' does not free you to do whatever you like to your vehicle, it just keeps you from having to deal with the inspections. So a 1974 chassis with a 1984 motor would be subject to smog checks like a 1984 vehicle.

There is a fine line between legal and possible here...

[aigel]

Come on folks, if you haven't imported a car to CA, don't guess. And quit worrying this guy. This car will be NO PROBLEM to import to CA.

Techweenie is correct. All they looked for on my 4 cars when I imported them to CA was the fed sticker in the door jamb and the VIN. Yes, ALL cars will have to see the DMV, but only the ones that are verified to be 76 and newer will have to have a smog inspection. The others are excempt and can be registered without smog.

And Todd is correct too, it is illegal to modify your cars engine or smog equipment from the original, even though it is excempt from testing. However, in practise, if there is no inspection, who will know what you do to your car? The inspection of my 71 built cars (2 of them) did not go into detail what I had under the hood. It could be anything. The inspectors at the DMV are not technicians, they are paper pushers and they look for the fed sticker and vin.

And finally I would like to say, that this car could be smog legal, even if the laws should change. A newer engine in an older car is never a problem, as long as it comes with the smog equipment of the engine year and gives smog test numbers that are required for that year / engine. So, technically, you could get that 3.2 or 3.0 or whatever back in it's original state. All you would need then is a referee to bless it and a sticker.

Hope this helps.

George