Kiro1968

Has anyone bought a vehicle from outside of California and gone through the vehicle registration process of getting a Cali plate and stickers?

I bought a 1993 240sx(S13) Coupe here in Houston to drive around while i'm here for training. I want to take it back to Los Angeles, meaning I'll have to get new plates and stickers.

Has anyone done this recently, cuz I heard from my cousin that you have to have your vehicle inspected by the CHP and that if your car is modified like exhaust and stuff you won't pass?

I've replaced the following stock items with: RS*R GT2 Full Cat-Back Exhaust System, Generic Racing Seats, 4-point camlock seat belt harness (got rid of the automatic seat belt, hated it), 4inch intake filter (needed for the Tomei air intake adapter).

Any info is much appreciated.

calidrifter

Ok so by training you mean your in the military right? If you bought it from another soldier you will qualify for what is known as a grey market vehicle.

If you bought it from some dude you will have to get it inspected by a referee (smog judge) and he will see if it complies with what is called government regulations. These regulations are similar to those in Cali except they are a little less strict. After that all you'll have to do is register it at the DMV. Oh you'll also have to get it smoged efore you even try to register it. BTW it would be a good idea to put the stock airbox on because the smoggers won't even test it without an EO# on the intake.

l2aine

OR if you're not military... LOL:

- I bought my car out of state. All I needed to do was pass smog and it's good... until I found out that the previous owner removed the catalytic.

like Cali said, I also suggest getting the engine bay to look completely stock before you smog it (less hassle), get a tune up, make sure you have the required CA emissions parts (o2 sensors, catalytic, etc.) and you should be fine.

Kiro1968

thanx for the info, and I guess I should've been less vague not in the military...auto collision certification training.. ^_^
Ok the engine bay isn't going to be a problem since all i did was replace the air box with a cone filter and adapter..everything else is stock.

Just a couple more question thanx ^_^"

?Will I need to take it to the CHP also or is it just to the DMV after getting it smogged

?Is it going to be a problem driving around with a 4point harness instead of the oem seat-belt system

?Is it going to also be a problem if i do a front end jdm s13 conversion, in getting approved for cali plate and sticker or should i just wait

l2aine

1. get it smogged before you go to DMV and save yourself 2 trips... no CHP visit needed.

2. it is illegal to drive with a racing harness on public roads. There's only one exception - the Schroth harness is the only DOT approved harness that is legal for public roads - not even Sparco harnesses are legal except for the track (FIA certification IS NOT the same as DOT)

3. front end conversion won't be checked by the DMV, however make sure you get the license plate attached to the forward-most part of the bumper in order to steer clear of cheesy license plate tickets.

4. EXTRA*** make sure you have proof that you paid tax for the car when you bought it, otherwise DMV will charge you CA tax on the vehicle.

Kiro1968

Thanx "I2aine" and "CaliDrifter" for the information, much appreciated.

So now i'll have to look for a s14 seat belt harness system before i head back to cali, that sux i've been driving around houston with a 4point harness only

l2aine

You mean to say your car doesn't have the stock seatbelts anymore?

Kiro1968

ya i took out the entire system, the automatic seat belt track and system, already swapped my seats for generic racing seats and i gave my old oem seats away cuz they were rusted and had tons of animal hair stuck to it (previous owner)...it was gross, i even replaced the carpet and removed the NVH material from the floor pan.

i wanted to get rid of the automatic seat belt, found a pair of used 4point cam-lock belt harness for pretty good deal...so i've been driving around with that here in houston.^_^