oldguy668

Download and print this form:

http://www.mass.gov/rmv/forms/20176.pdf

Go to any RMV office and pay them the $50 fee. Be sure to get a receipt for the payment. If the clerk does not know what to do, ask him(her) to call the Title Division. Remember, all they have to do is take the money and give a receipt (plus the original form).

Get ALL your paperwork in order. You'll need the MSO from Factory Five, and receipts showing sales tax paid for all major components. If you bought a used component, you will have to show the VIN of the vehicle it was originally installed in. I brought invoices for engine, trans, tires, rear end and kit. You will need the originals and 2 copies of each document. If you bought lots of parts at swap meets and Ebay, you might be in for a long ordeal. Although the state law says otherwise, the State Police assume EVERYTHING is stolen until you prove otherwise. If you bought a completed car from out of state, you will have to show the title or a registration certificate if it was from a non-title state.

Decide which Salvage Inspection station you want to use and try to find some time for a visit to have the paperwork checked. Some require appointments and some don't, but I never got an answer on the phone number they list for making appointments. I ended up walking in to Haverhill and after a few minutes of abuse, the trooper said the paperwork looked okay. I brought the car in a few days later and got the state issued VIN sticker installed. They'll stamp the receipts and return the originals to you.

Go to your insurance company and get the RMV1 form filled out by them like this:
Model year: 2012
Make: REPLI
Model: Cobra (or '33 Ford or Daytona or GTM)
VIN: Whatever it says on the BLUE state police sticker next to the FFR number
Go to the RMV and wait in line for 45 minutes. You will have to pay sales tax on any components that were invoiced without it (I had to pay $42.00 for my mailorder Nittos). They might have to make a phone call to get clearance for the tax thing, but it shouldn't take more than another hour or two.

Now you can go to your neighborhood inspection station. The computer will take the process through about 15 steps and then spit out a sticker with a big red R on it. That's a reject for emissions and it is good for 60 days.

Next, you can call the Motorist Assistance hotline (866-941-6277) and they'll give you the number for the nearest MAC. Call the MAC and make an appointment. This is really a formality and the tech will get your VIN into the computer as exempt. I did this today and it was no big deal.

Return to the inspection station that gave you the reject sticker and they'll now be able to do a safety only inspection and give you a real sticker.

Happy motoring.

Remember, this is only for cars REGISTERED by April 30. This procedure was worked out to help all the guys who got caught up in the Oct 2008 regulation change. After May 1, it's a whole new game and the rules are still in process.

Also, if you have one of those "1965 Cobra" titles that we all know is false, you have two options. You can either re-register it correctly (as I described above), or leave it as is and risk getting caught. The registry is actively cross-matching their registrations and anything that looks like a mis-described kit car will be flagged. If they nail you after May 1, 2012, you will have to make the car emissions compliant.