Midwest Classic Insurance

Visit our community sponsor

Thanks Thanks:  3
Likes Likes:  1
Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: PA registration MK 4

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Posts
    13
    Post Thanks / Like

    PA registration MK 4

    My car is complete and now the painful process of getting the car a VIN and registered in PA to be able to drive it. I’ve visited 3 individual places all have a different version of how this process works. I’d love to find a place that has actually completed this successfully.

    Any help or direction would be gratefully appreciated.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Senior Member RickP's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Boyertown, PA
    Posts
    683
    Post Thanks / Like
    Where do you reside in PA?

  3. Thanks Dcirell thanked for this post
  4. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Mass
    Posts
    3
    Post Thanks / Like
    I just finished my PA state inspection two haft weeks ago. I took my car to Foster's. Dwight Foster (owner) inspected my car and walked my through the whole process. I would highly recommend his garage. I finished my inspection that morning of May 16 and took my paper work to my local AAA office and they walked into the state. May 30 I got a call from AAA that they had my plate and registration. Title was waiting at the house that same day. I have bin driving it almost daily.

    Foster's Automotive 117 E. Strawberry Ave. Mechanicsburg PA 17055
    http://fostersautomotive.com/

  5. Thanks Dcirell thanked for this post
  6. #4
    FF6602's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    State College, PA
    Posts
    100
    Post Thanks / Like
    Dcirell,

    I was an auto dealer / manager in PA for many years and have always used Tri-County Tag Service. They have offices in State College and Selinsgrove (Hummels Wharf). Very knowledgeable and friendly folks. Their website is: https://www.tricountytag.com/contact.html

    I am building a Mk 3.1 and talked with the owner at the State College location. This is the process she explained to me for titling a ”Specially Constructed Vehicle”. (NOT a Street Rod, Reconstructed Vehicle or other special designation). The process is outlined on this Fact Sheet from PennDot:

    https://www.dmv.pa.gov/VEHICLE-SERVI...ed_Vehicle.pdf

    1) Take your finished car to an ENHANCED Pa State Inspection station. As I understand it, Enhanced stations perform a “pre-inspection” to verify the quality and safety of your build. After all, some knucklehead could weld together some water pipe to make a “frame”, slap a big V8 into it and call it a “car”.

    Not all PA Inspection Stations are Enhanced Stations. See a list of Enhanced stations here:
    http://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/dv...edstations.pdf

    2) After passing the enhanced inspection, take the inspection paperwork and your Bill of Sale for the kit to Tri-County Tag and they will help you apply for a PA VIN and Certificate of Title for a ”Specially Constructed Vehicle” using Form MV-426B and Form MV-1.

    Note 1 — I have the original MSO (Manufacturers Certificate of Origin) from Factory Five for my car but was told that I can’t use that because MSOs are for dealers only. Tri-County told me “you don’t have a car yet, just a pile of parts” so you need a Bill of Sale for the parts (kit).

    Note 2 — I seem to remember something about documentation for major parts used in your build (e.g. a donor car) but I might be wrong on that. Please verify with Tri-County or whoever you use for titling.

    3) When you have the VIN, you can use that to obtain Motor Vehicle Insurance. Go back to Tri-County with the Proof of Insurance and they can issue a Registration & License Plate.

    4) Schedule an inspection appointment at the Enhanced Inspection station and take your Cobra and it’s newly-installed license plate, plus Registration Card and Insurance Card and they can do the ”normal” PA safety inspection and you’re good to go!

    As I said, this information is from my memory of a conversation I had in November 2018, so please verify with proper authorities, but I think it should put you on the right track. I hope to have my car to the titling state by late summer so I’ll be interested to learn of you experience. Please keep us posted and if you’re ever in the State College area, with or without your Cobra, please give me a call. I would love to compare notes with you! My mobile number is 814-777-2999.

    Best wishes for a smooth titling and registration process!
    Craig

    10/2018 -- acquired Mk3.1 #6602 which was an unfinished project in go-kart stage; 9/2019 -- completed car enough to drive locally and compete in autocross events; still in original black gel-coat; 347 Stroker w/ Holley 650 carb, roller cam; Tremec 3550; 3.51 rear diff; lots of Breeze pieces; 2021 -- XP Champion in Central PA Region - SCCA Autocross Series; 2022 - installed windshield and registered in PA; my Build Thread -- https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...ished-Business

    6/2022 -- acquired Mk3 #1004; finished build; 347 stroker w/ Holley 560 carb SOLD

  7. Thanks Dcirell thanked for this post
  8. #5
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Posts
    13
    Post Thanks / Like
    Hi Rick,

    I live in the South Hills of Pittsburgh PA. 15236 is my zip code

    With those i’ve interacted with so far it’s been painful. I appreciate the response

  9. #6
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Posts
    13
    Post Thanks / Like
    Thanks Craig. So far I’ve gotten, “those kits are not legal in PA”, “You need to register as a collectible”, “You need to register as a streetrod” to “You can’t register until the manufacturer gives you a VIN”. To all of which gives me little confidence these folks know what they are doing. Also hearing it could take 6 weeks and up to 6 months to get a plate. Again, doesn’t help me with confidence in these folks.

  10. #7
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Posts
    13
    Post Thanks / Like
    Thanks,

    Mechanicsburg is a bit far (3 - 1/2 hour drive) so hoping to find someone closer.

    Other conflicting topics have been the sidepipes. Some say no sidepipes in PA, others say fine just the way they are and yet others say they must be completely covered with heatshield and wrapped.

    Would love to know what others have experienced.

  11. #8
    FF6602's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    State College, PA
    Posts
    100
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by Dcirell View Post
    Thanks Craig. So far I’ve gotten, “those kits are not legal in PA”, “You need to register as a collectible”, “You need to register as a streetrod” to “You can’t register until the manufacturer gives you a VIN”. To all of which gives me little confidence these folks know what they are doing. Also hearing it could take 6 weeks and up to 6 months to get a plate. Again, doesn’t help me with confidence in these folks.
    Sounds familiar! I went to AAA and, because I bought the unfinished kit from a gentlemen in CT, was told — ”You have to have a Connecticut title with notarized signature of the seller to get a PA title...” .

    I went to an enhanced inspection station and heard — “you have to use the MSO to get a PA title, we can’t help you”.

    When I got smart and went to Tri-County Tag Service, I finally found someone who knew what she was talking about and feel confident in her ability to get this done. She was clear about the fact that these cars are NOT registered as street rods because I started with a kit, not a real car. As she said, “....all you started with was a pile of parts!” The PennDot fact sheet that I shared with you is very clear about this also.

    The funny thing was that, after gathering my facts, I went back to the enhanced PA inspection dude and shared what I learned. His response was... ”Gee, I didn’t know that. Guess it’ll be OK. Call me when you have the car finished.”

    Re: your side pipe comments — I haven’t heard anything about that and every Cobra replica with PA plates that I’ve ever seen has side pipes. Heat wrap, shields, etc. — again, never heard that.
    Craig

    10/2018 -- acquired Mk3.1 #6602 which was an unfinished project in go-kart stage; 9/2019 -- completed car enough to drive locally and compete in autocross events; still in original black gel-coat; 347 Stroker w/ Holley 650 carb, roller cam; Tremec 3550; 3.51 rear diff; lots of Breeze pieces; 2021 -- XP Champion in Central PA Region - SCCA Autocross Series; 2022 - installed windshield and registered in PA; my Build Thread -- https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...ished-Business

    6/2022 -- acquired Mk3 #1004; finished build; 347 stroker w/ Holley 560 carb SOLD

  12. #9
    Senior Member RickP's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Boyertown, PA
    Posts
    683
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by Dcirell View Post
    Hi Rick,

    I live in the South Hills of Pittsburgh PA. 15236 is my zip code

    With those i’ve interacted with so far it’s been painful. I appreciate the response

    A bit far for the Inspection Station I and others have used. In the event you get into a pinch, look up Dave at Borneman's Blast From the Past hot rod shop in Pottstown, PA. He had me on the road in about 3 weeks and it was painless. He even came and picked up the car. All I had to do was install heat shields and resolve wipers (I used an electric sourced windshield clip-on type). Other than that, it was painless.


    CFranks, another forum member is getting his roadster over to Dave at Borneman's hopefully this month so he can get across the finish line.


    As your finding out, it's has nothing to do with the tag office or what the PA vehicle code describes. More so the inspection station doing the work. Expect to have heat shields and wrapped pipes. That's a pretty common requirement at the DMV nowadays. Dave knows exactly what they are looking for (most don't). And the stations that fall into the "don't" category will have your paperwork tied up at the DMV for eons and end up costing you additional money/time because they are interpreting the requirements based on either their own assumptions or are looking to get some additional work out of you.


    A perfect example of this is windshield wipers. I know a guy who went to an inspection station and was told he needed wipers installed (on an already finished/painted car). He sourced said garage to do the work. In reality, you only need one wiper, electrically driven on a switch, and it says nothing about being a permanent fixture of the car.


    For my own situation, I installed heat shields and mounted a wiper motor on the windshield something similar to this

    https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Quick...otor,5513.html


    Before Dave even loaded the roadster up on his trailer, he performed half the tests in my driveway by operating turn signals, lights, horn, etc. He wrapped the pipes, took all the pictures, and filled out all the paperwork. A day later, I picked up the paperwork packet and ran it over to the local tag place. 3 weeks later, I had my plates. While the car was in his hands, I had him do an alignment and some other minor work.


    Good luck my friend. This part of the journey is exciting. Not sure if your still allowed too or not but I was able to drive my car home as soon as he completed the inspection. I've heard that is no longer possible but I can tell you it was a thrill.


    RickP
    Last edited by RickP; 06-04-2019 at 06:26 PM.

  13. Likes FF6602 liked this post
  14. #10
    Senior Member RickP's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Boyertown, PA
    Posts
    683
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by Dcirell View Post
    Thanks Craig. So far I’ve gotten, “those kits are not legal in PA”, “You need to register as a collectible”, “You need to register as a streetrod” to “You can’t register until the manufacturer gives you a VIN”. To all of which gives me little confidence these folks know what they are doing. Also hearing it could take 6 weeks and up to 6 months to get a plate. Again, doesn’t help me with confidence in these folks.
    Your car will be registered as "Specially Constructed" and the DMV will issue you a VIN. If this is a Factory Five car, it should come along with a intro packet that has everything needed for Titling/Registering. The only footwork I needed to do on my end was write down how I constructed the car. In reality, I just transposed the FFR manual contents section onto paper and included it with the paperwork.

  15. #11

    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
    728
    Post Thanks / Like
    I've never done business with them but heard good things about Elizabeth Auto Sales in Elizabeth. If I recall correctly, my friend had them help him title a street rod that he bought from another state. I'll also email Fred J. from the north hills and see who he used for his roadster, which I think has been on the road a few years. And once you get the car legal, please do stop by!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Breeze

Visit our community sponsor