Cali Registration Woes

rbullockv8 said:
Charlie: Thanks for the condenser info. However, that's one of the reasons I had Renner's rebuild my distributor and convert it to 12v modern points and condenser. Those B parts were really getting hard to find. And I did check with AAA a while back, but because I was transferring a title from my long-deceased father, they said it was too complex for them.

Step-down: You said, "I've used MMO in oil and gas , double ,maybe triple the normal amount." How much is the normal amount? I also saw Sea Foam at Auto Zone. The guy there said to also use it in gas and/or oil. He swore by it, but of course he's selling it. Is it similar to MMO?
Bob C: I'm printing out that Vehicle Code info and taking it with me. New appointment is next Friday--that's the soonest available! Sooo slowww and under staffed here. I really hope the clerk accepts this info. Seems like they could quickly look it up and verify it online.
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Did you thoroughly clean out the fuel tank after it sat all those years? When gasoline evaporates, it leaves behind a varnish-like residue. Merely adding fresh gas will gradually dissolve this gunk, allowing it to get to the engine but it doesn't burn. Instead, it coats the exhaust valve stems with a very sticky residue. So an engine that ran great when first resurrected begins to miss more and more. This might be your problem.
 
WAIT A MINUTE....YES.....you must have the weight certificate to pass DMV in California because they deem all pickups as commercial vehicles now. I had to do that back in 2004 with my '33. Get the certificate of weight and take with you to DMV......now before you have your inspection you better make certain you have the VIN detailed and clearly visible or they will have you go to the local CHP office and they will rivet a new VIN # somewhere on your truck. I was told all this by the guy who did my inspection and I was lucky enough to show him the original stamping on the frame which was still visible and I brought all my Ford history books as proof of my story. Well I was there quite a while and it took THREE inspectors to pass my '33. WHEW!!!!
 
I wasn't sure if I should change to a registration service midstream after already completing the VIN verification (it was decently visible on my frame) and doing the other paperwork for the title transfer with DMV, but I might do that if I can't get it done this next week. I'll call Sacramento DMV on Tuesday and ask about the 1936 and older exemption--see if that's still in place or has been eliminated. Seems there is a difference of opinion here on the forum. I've got the Vehicle Code section number. I'll let everyone know.

40 Deluxe: Yes, I thoroughly cleaned the tank with some tank cleaner and put in a handful of castle nuts and two short chains to rattle around. Just about threw my back out horsing that tank back and forth, but I made myself do a very thorough job. I put in two in-line filters, one of which is clear and right under the floorboard where I can see it--no particles in it at all, and it's the first one after the tank. The other filter is before my electric fuel pump. But I see what you say about it gradually running worse if there is any residue that dissolves. Good idea. I picked up some MMO today and with start that medicine on the patient soon.
 
Post #22. Not all of the DMV people know all of the rules. It is pre-1936 no weight cert.
Sometimes, you just have to push and know what the code says.
It usually take a supervisor and they have to go to the book to find it.
There are several code sections that can save you some money if you know what to tell
them.
 
I hope you can convince them of the codes then, thanks for the information. I was a complete V8 novice when I got my truck, so I guess I was really lucky to have only made the one appointment and was able to get signed off! Please keep us posted of your success....I wish you the best of luck!!!
 
Okay, here's the near-final chapter.

Previously: 1. I trailered my truck to DMV for VIN verification, title transfer from my deceased father, and new registration. After VIN verification, I took the truck home at their suggestion since DMV is in a seedy area.

2. Second appointment, I was told I needed a weight certificate. Per some above comments, there is a California Vehicle Code weight exemption for trucks manufactured prior to 1936. I called Sacramento DMV to confirm this. The woman on the phone agreed and verified the exemption and suggested I take the printed exemption from the web to my next appointment, which I did.

3rd. appt at local DMV today. The first (checkin desk) clerk said although I was exempt from fees, I would still need the certified weight statement. I countered that it didn't make sense to require a weight certificate if the truck was exempt. She sent me on to the regular registration clerk. Once at that window, the woman clerk had no trouble finding the exemption in the California Veh Code, but then had to consult a supervisor and do some more searching to find out how to process said exemption. By the way, it's in their documentation: Commercial Vehicles, section 3.115 Weight Fee Exemptions.

Once she found that procedure/process instruction, she had no trouble putting the paperwork together. Very helpful and nice, and amazed that the truck has been in my family since 1939. I showed her a photo on my phone.

She bundled up all the papers for Sacramento, gave me a temporary registration good through August, and said it could take weeks or even months to finalize. But if I needed to extend the temporary, just come back in--and that maybe they could call Sacramento at that time and hurry things up.

If things wouldn't have gone well today, I was prepared to go to a registration service as suggested above. If I'd known about such services, I would have started there, but I didn't know they existed. Next time.

Thanks, all, for the suggestions and encouragement. Honestly, there were more than a few times during the last years where I woke up sweating in the middle of the night, fearing 40 years of non-op late fees and penalties compounding on each other. Or maybe dying before I got this all legal and leaving my wife to deal with it. But I guess waiting until the truck dropped completely out of DMV's system was a help. The total cost was only $211 to do everything and register for a new year.

So now I can drive it, work out the kinks, and finish the last things of the restoration.
 
Lets just hope you are done with them. Not so with me on two different occasions. The letters kept coming. The best was they needed a death certificate from a guy that died twenty years ago. Go figure. That was a fun one. Then I got my year and month tags but no little aluminum brackets that bolt to the bottom of the plates to put the tags on. They said, "you don't need them, just put them in the corners of your plates". Hum. !931 plates? Here we go again. Another fun one. And as stated earlier, no two people working there know the right answer. Some have there springs wound to tight and others are missing their main shaft.
 
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zzlegend said:
Lets just hope you are done with them. Not so with me on two different occasions. The letters kept coming. The best was they needed a death certificate from a guy that died twenty years ago. Go figure. That was a fun one. Then I got my year and month tags but no little aluminum brackets that bolt to the bottom of the plates to put the tags on. They said, "you don't need them, just put them in the corners of your plates". Hum. !931 plates? Here we go again. Another fun one. And as stated earlier, no two people working there know the right answer. Some have there springs wound to tight and others are missing their main shaft.
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The inefficiency is staggering. I suppose some states are much worse than others. The weight regulations for commercial vehicles in California is pages long, listing every possible motorized implement (for farms, roadwork, etc.) to trucks, to cars, to trailers, to motorhomes. Then there are pages of exceptions. Give me a couple of hours and I could trim it down to a page or two and save the state and citizens millions of dollars. But do you think they ask me? Noooo.

Charlie: I didn't get a breakdown on the fee, but the processes were title transfer, new registration, and about 5 other forms and affidavits regarding my dad's death certificate, my qualification as an heir, value of the vehicle at inheritance, application to use my old license plates, etc. Honestly, I was thrilled not to be charged a lot more! After all, gotta pay for that high-speed train, you know.
 
I am so glad for you that it's all settled! Now the fun part begins to complete your restoration and keep on trucking!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!
 
You should have ended up with passenger car plates and no annual weight fees. Annual renewal should be about $85. Is this what happened?

Charlie Stephens
 
I just renewed my 1934 Ford pickup here in California and it cost $92. ($80 registration fee; $1 License fee; $11 county district fee). This will go up SIGNIFICANTLY next year because the monolegislature passed the Moonbeam-signed gas tax and registration fee bill.
I know we all have our DMV experiences. My most recent is when I tried to register my 1950 Ford pickup with original 1950 commercial plates. DMV told me the plates belonged to another person. (Actually the one who sold the truck with the plates to the party I bought it from). I tried to contact the so-called plate owner and learned he was deceased! DMV told me "That is not OUR problem!"
 
Charlie Stephens said:
You should have ended up with passenger car plates and no annual weight fees. Annual renewal should be about $85. Is this what happened?

Charlie Stephens
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Charlie,

When I walked out with the sheaf of paperwork stapled together (copies VIN verification, temporary registration, temporary sticker for the windshield, statements of title transfer, documentation that the VIN number is for the stated year, weight certificate requirement--this was before I found that wasn't required), I didn't realize there was only the single $211 charge with no breakdown as to the various fees. I guess I could go back in and ask for a breakdown, but I'd just as soon avoid that place. Three times is enough.
 
After what you went thru I wouldn't want to know the breakdown. I'd just smile big (like you must have) and walk away clutching the plates and paperwork. :D:D:D:):);)
Paul in CT
 
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