Texas Street Rod Law Finally Implemented

[Henry Rifle]

Sorry if this is a repeat, but I couldn't find anything on a search except for my old posts.

I didn't think Texas would get it done, but the new street rod licensing law is now fully implemented. The details are at the following URL. Forms are listed as attachments.

Registration and Title Bulletin - #004-12

[Dave Severson]

Plain and simple!!! Cover all the important aspects of licensing a Hot Rod, now if some of the rest of the world would wake up to the fact Hot Rods are legitimate vehicles and have a right to be legally licensed without 6 months worth of hoop jumping!!!!! Congrats, Texas!!!! One more good thing the state has done!!!!

[dlotraf33]

That's the SEMA model.................................. The only thing, or 2 things that does is allow vehicle to be titled or corrected to say "replica" and year model. And exempting from yearly inspections if speciality plates are used. As for the rest it appears that now I would need a court order or hearing to do what I could before with a couple of trips to tex dot. I'm sure, knowing them, it will make titling more complicated in the long haul. And if your vehicle can't pass yearly vehicle inspections, I don't want it on the road with mine......................

[rspears]

Hey Jack,
Good to see your name pop up again! Hope all is well over in Italy. You must be getting short on that assignment, aren't you?

One thing that I've noticed in the SEMA model is that they define the vehicles for occasional use, which can be cumbersome and open to interpretation. I don't see that in the Texas process, which is a good thing. The only hangup I note is the requirement for an ID number on every major component. Many body guys don't number their units, and N&N is one of them. It has a business card laminated into the tranny hump, but no unique number. In Texas that would require a court order or tax assessor/collector hearing. Still seems to be a big step forward!! Wish Kansas would follow suit.

[Henry Rifle]

Roger, Since the car already has a valid Virginia Title, denoted as "Replica," I don't have to go through all of the components piece by piece (again.) Oh, and Texas requires the inspection to be by an SME Master Technician. Standard corner Texaco inspection won't work. I've located one, but need to work out a way to get the car there.

[34_40]

Almost a year between posts in this thread and then there's "Henry Rifle" !! And in Texas now too!! Good to see your post.
I hope your travel to DMV becomes as smooth as you made mine!!

Looking forward to hearing the news that the cars wearing plates. 8-)

[Henry Rifle]

The '34 is titled, registered, plated and legal.

1st step: Got insurance (Grundy)
2nd step: Got 30-day temporary tag from Denton county. (I had to go to the tax office in Denton to do this)
3rd step: Drove to inspection station with ASE master technician (SME was wrong - a carryover from my gov't acronyms). BTW, he was also a gear head with a '68 GTO.
4th step: Took VA title, inspection documents, insurance certificate, and photos back to the Denton County tax office and talked the clerk through the process.
5th step: Handed over a couple hundred bucks and walked out with a paper plate. The metal plates are made to order and will ship from Austin.

It was a fairly easy process - but I read up on the law, called the main office for details, and had all my ducks in a row.

[Dave Severson]

Great news, just in time for the cruizin' season!!!!

[rspears]

Good deal! Glad you got through the process without problems, and without lightening your wallet more than a couple of hundred Washington's. Wish Kansas would get smart....

[40FordDeluxe]

Very nice! In Iowa, last I knew they would license it as the current year and you will pay taxes on the current year vehicles. Not cool.

[Henry Rifle]

Iowa adopted the SEMA model law for street rods, replicas, etc., in 2008. http://www.bipac.net/semaga/Bills/Iowa.pdf.

[40FordDeluxe]

That's good to know. Thanks for the link!

[Henry Rifle]

Latest news. I received a call from the Texas DMV today. The ASE tech didn't have the proper license to inspect my car. I have 10 days to get it re-inspected at a different facility or the plates will be pulled. The DMV guy was very helpful in explaining the problem telling me what I needed to do. When I called one of the local inspection station (there are only 4 within 20 miles) they had no idea what I was talking about. They were OK with it after I explained the law, though. It looks like Texas set up the inspection rules without talking to the people they require to inspect the cars.

[34_40]

Well hopefully this will be the end of it! It shouldn't surprise me when the inspectors have no knowledge of their request! The same things happened to me in Mass.!

But it sounds like your at the last hurdle (finally!) then on your way to the finish line!

[Henry Rifle]

Yesterday, I made an appointment at the Firestone store for this morning. When I arrived for my appointment, the counter guy told me that the master technician ". . . was here, but he went home. Suggest you come back tomorrow." That's it. No explanation. No "sorry for the problem." Nothing. I guess the guy was sick, and I can understand that. However, there's a way to treat customers, and it doesn't include a curt dismissal. Bottom line - going elsewhere.