Registering an early car in Washington DC

[66DC]

Anyone here register an early car in Washington DC? I've got a 66 I'm trying to register and I think I'm getting bad/wrong advice from the DMV.

The DMV website says no inspection necessary, but the DMV staffer said I definitely needed inspection, albeit only once. Go to have the car inspected, and get an inspection sticker good for only 2 years. Guy says I have to come back every 2 yrs.

Further, no one knew anything about Historic Plates (not that I really care).

Any advice? I need DC-specific info. Thanks.

DF

[luckyluke]

Hi I have and early 911 (73 RS Tribute) registered as historic in DC. It was really a pain. Back in 1998 I had it in MD because DC required for you to go through inspection once. The hard part is that it has to be stock and meet regulations for that year. Since it was a track car at the time, it fail time after time. Finally in 2005, I took out the cage, racing seats. harness,put in proper carpet,seat belts and a stock exhaust and made it through inspection by the skin of my teeth. Emissions were tested and required to properly pass for the year of your car. Thankfully I had the proper engine to do this. Once you get the inspection clearance you can go for a historic plate. They are rare. Below is the picture of how the plate looks. I am only #800 in the series as you can see!

[luckyluke]

Here's a better piocture of the plate. BTW For insurance reasons, make sure your car's paper work is properly lined up. You don't want them to deny a claim based on a technicality. I have been pulled over in DC for not having a front plate mounted. I have also been pulled over for not displaying a registration sticker. Both of these were lying on the dash, proped up! In the picture you don't see the window sticker because I was driving in CA. Becareful! Another funny thing, I was also pulled over for running French yellow bulbs on the way to Summit Raceway with a friend, but that was VA.

[66DC]

Well, I got the HMV plates (from Georgetown). The problem was, when I went for the initial inspection, the guy who actually did the inspection forgot to designate it as "historic", which caused the confusion.

Luckily at the DMV, I was the second guy that week where this happened, so the DMV gal noted the "historic" designation in the system, and I got my HMV plates. They told me not to worry about the inspection sticker. Also, apparently, there are restrictions with HMV plates, but no one could tell me exactly what they were. Some said I couldn't drive during the week, others said I could, but had to keep under 5000 mi/yr, others said I could only drive to/from a show. In any case, I'm good to go!

See you at the Deutsche Marque -- my car's staying firmly in the parking lot.