CLD

Hi All.

Just acquired a '75 911S Targa out of state (registered in Washington State). Went to register here in california, and DMV was unable to verify it due to not finding the Federal Certification Label, so I was referred to CHP for further 'verification'.

Wondering if others have encountered this problem, and if they have any tips firstly finding the Fed Cert label (have checked all pillars, frunk, engine compartment....No luck, VIN is there in several locations, 9115210482, which seems appropriate for model/year but 1970 and after apparently requires the Fed label ) I suspect was covered up in prior repaint, but don't see any obvious suspicious bumps on the doors or pillars.

IF I do have to go through the CHP verification, wondering what to expect, i.e. is there a checklist somewhere of what they're going to go over, would hate to burn half a day only to have to go back and do it all over again for something that needs fixing eg, lack of seatbelts in the rear jump seats etc. No glaring issues, and thankfully smog exempt for the year.

Any tips most appreciated as this is my first Porsche+first post

Dr. 914

here is a picture of what your car labels should look like, taken from a 76 911 targa

Freddie Two Bs

Gemini Blue metallic! Gorgeous color

Mdrury

One of the attractions of a '75 in CA is the exemption from SMOG testing, which is a key reason why I acquired a '75 Carrera in 2022.
So, off I confidently go to my local DMV to register and title my out-of-state vehicle here in N.Cal and the interaction with the examiner goes something like this:

ME: So it's clear that this is a '75 and SMOG exempt, right.
DMV: Oh yeah, no problem , especially since all 3 VINs are consistent.
ME: So, we're good then?
DMV. Err No. You must pass a CHP inspection as well, since someone didn't replace the Federal sticker that is missing. That is to prove that the vehicle was made to Federal safety standards for that year.
ME: Even if the VIN confirms US manufacture and the COA says so as well?
DMV: Yup, even then. Take this form and have a CHP officer sign it then we will issue your license tags..

Wait six weeks for an appointment then........

CHP: Wait here while I go check your vehicle (still without Federal sticker).
ME: It has no Federal sticker but I have all the relevant paperwork......
CHP: OK, it checks out physically and now I need to do some online checks.

10 minutes later CHP officer comes back, smiling..
CHP: OK here's the signed document. Please take it back to DMV and get your tags.

I read the Officer's notes on the form which essentially show that he took 10 minutes to access national databases to check that a) The vehicle was not stolen. and b) I didn't have any outstanding warrants!

Back at DMV it took me all of 5 minutes to turn in the signed form and be given my new tags.

Then I resolved to investigate getting a new sticker so that a future sale would't be jeopardized.
Turns out that it is possible to get them from Porsche in Europe quicker than a dealership in NA.

Hope this story helps.

alfetta

If you find where to get another sticker I would appreciate you passing on the source. I ran into similar ssues registering my 85 ROW car that I bought in Colorado. I verfied with two different people at the DMV in Sacramento that California does not require a FMVSS for any car over 25 years old. I did not have one and I got it registered with one of those car registration stores and avoided the DMV and CHP.

I did try and get an appointment with the one officer who handles San Diego County. Impossible, Catch 22. You could only get an appointment from him and his voicemail was always full. I even went to the CHP HQ and stalked him but he blew me off with a 5-second conversation!

Mdrury

You were fortunate to find a third-party service who would co-operate. My initial efforts through that route failed, with a similar response every time: "Not our policy to deal with vehicles dated before the 17-digit VINs i.e. WP0Axxxxxxxxxxxx "
My sticker source is not a secret: I visit Europe regularly and approached a dealer there in person. Just cuts out the delay introduced by using Porsche NA. It helped having the COA already.
Maybe CHP are organized differently in SD, but here in N.Cal I did get the option of visiting offices in other counties, I just chose to wait for my local appointment slot instead.

Mdrury

But if you have an ROW VIN, then that's a different issue altogether , surely? I thought the stickers were for US vehicles only.

alfetta

You are right, too much holiday.,

Bill Verburg

When i brought my RoW '76 Carrera 3.0 over It went straight from the boat to a shop that federalized it

When leaving the shop you received 2 sets of documents
1) EPA waiver
2) US DoT compliance

I was told to be sure to keep them

CLD

Thank you Dr 914, least I know I've looked in the right place, suspect it was removed during repaint and never put back in place.

CLD

Mdrury, thanks for that overview, this is the scenario I was hoping for, have an appointment with CHP next week, and all things that seem like they'd be of interest to them are in order (no outstanding warrants that I know if )

Will look into that lead on getting a new Fed Sticker put in place,

Cheers to all,

Spyerx

This is weird. On my 71 which was out of state they didn't even bother with looking for the emissions sticker. I used AAA though, not DMV. Though, last time I did this was 4 or 5 years ago.

They did verify the VIN in 2 places.

You know.... AAA can do out of state registration and inspections (I've done it at least 3x with them). Maybe that is worth a shot?


See this:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...-location.html