Pa. mustangers should read this!!!

[82 GT]

If you are from Pa. and have a modified mustang between the years '74-04 or have CLASSIC plates you want want to know this information.

I'm sure everyone by now is aware if the new "visual inspection" of smog equipment on vehicles at inspection time.
That means ALL factory smog devices must be in place that was originally installed on the car from the factory.
This includes cats, air pump, EGR, etc.......
Since this is only a "visual" inspection, that means they aren't tested but must be installed.
This law also applies to even the classic cars of those years!!

I went to the notary a few days ago and asked what I could do about it since my '82 is no where near "smog legal"!!!!
There is this application you can fill out for a MODIFIED VEHICLE that is filled out by you or the person that performed the modifications and you must describe, in detail, what mods where done to the car.
You must also supply 4 photos of the car(front, back and both sides) which must be signed by the inspection mechanic and also pics of the engine and exhaust if mods were done there also.

There is also a page the mechanic must fill out which pretty much says all safety equipment works(horn, brakes, wipers, lights, seatbelts)

This is the ONLY way I have found around the bullshit law.

Ahhh..but there is just one catch though. IF your application is accepted by Penn Dot(no guarantees) your title then becomes an "R" title which pretty much means your car is worthless.
If anyone else knows any more about this let me know.
Also, if anyone needs the name of that form, let me know.
I'd tell you now but I don't remember where I put that paper...sorry

[Mach 1]

yeah, its gonna be that way everywhere eventually. One of the reasons Im giving up the hobby. To much hassle anymore. ****, well all be driving hybrids soon enough..

[Mercury]

Dam...no offense, but I sure am glad I dont live there anymore. Sounds kinda like Big Brother and associates is tightening its ever crushing grip on the car hobby.

Hey Mach 1...Dont give up man. Yeah its alot of crap, and I'm sure its not going to get any better, but how many of us are breaking the law already. Just like anything else....There will be ways around it. Be it with loop holes, or connections.

[Mach 1]

well, like I said, one of the reasons, there are a few others.

Good luck to all who keep at it.

[Fox Body]

Man, reminds me of that story "The Rogue" posted in MM&FF a few years ago. We'll all (all of us who keep at it) be running and dodging the law to get to the one last state that will still allow internal combustion engines....

Anyway, that sucks, dude. Just getting worse and worse. Seems like by the time I get my car the way I want it, the next day a new law will pass to throw it all away. And how would having an "R" title screw up the worth/value of your car? Even without it and before there was ever such a thing when people bought a , say, fox body mustang, they knew it was most likely modded anyway. Stupid bureaucrats.

[82 GT]

Foxbody , to most people when they see an "R" title, they automatically assume the car has been wrecked.
If a car is in an accident but not totalled and then put back together it gets an "R" title which greatly reduces the value.

If someone now wants to sell their modified car/mustang with an "R" title they are going to have to explain why it has an R title to the buyer who now thinks your car is worth half your asking price.
You see the implications now?
You may as well forget getting any decent price from a dealership if you ever decide to trade it in....... See....that's the trade off...you get to run your modded mustang but it's not worth squat through the eyes of the state.

BTW, anyone in Pa. who wants to know the name of that form you need to fill out, it's the MV-426(b).

[Stang_Crazy]

One of my buddy's sent me an e-mail a while ago explaining this insane law. In Allegheny county, we've had visual inspections for smog equiptment for some time now but it sounds like this new law will really put the clamp down.

A question for ya 82 GT: If you fill out the form and are given a 'R' title and all that bullsheet, what happens if you decide to put the smog equiptment back on the car? Can you go back and clear the R title or does it stay with the car? That would be fooked up if they didn't clear it....



I will never fill out a form and take pictures of my car and be given an "R" title to drive it on the street. Funk that. The guy I go to now for emissions/inspection just runs my car for emissions. He doesn't do a visual at all....so it's easy enough to throw on a catted h-pipe and get the car inspected.

[Mach 1]

Originally posted by 82 GT
You may as well forget getting any decent price from a dealership if you ever decide to trade it in.......

A decent price from a dealership on a trade in never existed in the first place...lol.

Ive traded in modded cars before, and its a losing proposition, R title or not, as is any trade in just about.

[82 GT]

[i]
A question for ya 82 GT: If you fill out the form and are given a 'R' title and all that bullsheet, what happens if you decide to put the smog equiptment back on the car? Can you go back and clear the R title or does it stay with the car? That would be fooked up if they didn't clear it....



[/B]

Good question but I'm guessing it stays with the car.
The "R" lets other potential buyers know that "something" has been done/changed to the car in the past.
Even if you then restore the car to it's original design.....it's still not "original".....see what I mean?
I'll go through all the bullshit because I want to drive it this spring.
I didn't put all that time and money into it just to have to turn around and smother the **** out of it with smog crap.
I'll spend the extra $97.50 for a COLLECTABLE tag and be finished with it. I don't plan on selling the car anytime soon since I just rebuilt the engine last Fall.

[Fox Body]

Okay, I see what you're saying, 82 GT. All this crap makes me wanna be rebellious......

[Mach 1]

82GT, I wouldnt worry too much about "book" resale value with a car as old as yours anyway. If you had a newer model, I wouldnt do it, but in your situation, and a valid reason for the "R" title, it shouldnt hurt you.

I almost bought a Ford Bronco once that was really cheap because it had an R title. I looked at it pretty close, and you couldnt even tell it had been wrecked.

[andy669]

Originally posted by Fox Body
Man, reminds me of that story "The Rogue" posted in MM&FF a few years ago. We'll all (all of us who keep at it) be running and dodging the law to get to the one last state that will still allow internal combustion engines....

I remember that. That was a cool little story. Thanks for bringing that up, I'm gonna have to dig that out and read it again.

Andy

[82 GT]

Originally posted by Mach 1
82GT, I wouldnt worry too much about "book" resale value with a car as old as yours anyway. If you had a newer model, I wouldnt do it, but in your situation, and a valid reason for the "R" title, it shouldnt hurt you.

That's what I was thinking too. I've made too many changes to it to be worth anything anyway.
Most people looking to buy an "82GT usually want something close to restored or restored.
The way I see it...I'll always be able to sell it to some high school kid who justs wants something that goes fast.
The only thing I'm worried about is if for some reason my application isn't accepted by D.O.T........then what??

[Mach 1]

Then you crank up "breaking the law, breaking the law...." on your stereo and drive anyway...

I cant remember who sings that, is it Judas Preist?

[82 GT]

Originally posted by Mach 1
Then you crank up "breaking the law, breaking the law...." on your stereo and drive anyway...

I cant remember who sings that, is it Judas Preist?

Yeah, that is Judas Priest that sings that song.
With my luck, I'd be singing that song...."I fought the law and the law won"..........LOL

[xxxBlakexxx]

The "R" Title issue really blows, but moddified cars never get a good trade anyway. As far as the mainstream car sales industry goes, the more you modify, the less the car is worth.

I have a good friend who is a sales manager at a large used lot in town. He just took in a heavily modified Rice Burner. Kid probably paid $4k for it and dumped about $8k in to it. They gave hin $2K on a trade and did not even want it on the lot. Sent it to auction.

They should assign another letter to it. Doesn't R mean Repair? Give it an "M" for Modified for petes sake!

[BLACK85GT]

R means Rebuilt, here in florida anyways. Its like a car was totalled and you bought it from the salvage yard and rebuilt it.

[82 GT]

Originally posted by xxxBlakexxx
Doesn't R mean Repair?

In Pa. here R means "Reconstructed". Which is about the same thing as "repaired".
Usually, an R title indicates that the car has been wrecked and repaired.
I agree, they should assign another letter like "M"

That kid with the ricer you mentioned should have been smart and sold it himself. He would have got a lot more than 2K probably.