depends on state laws, year of car, how the registration/inspection process works, etc. Minimum is usually horn, headlights, one tail/stop lamp, working brakes, muffler, speedo, and wipers. This is for old HAMB vintage cars. You might be able to get by with less. In AZ there is no inspection for registering a previously AZ titled vehicle. But the law changes, used to be an inspection was required.
It might depend on the state but I would guess: drivetrain (duh ...), other than the obvious brakes tail/brake lights turn signal ?. mirrors ?. headlights ? Ed
also if you really want to know for sure, you could just read the state motor vehicle laws for Iowa.... http://www.legis.state.ia.us/IACODE/2003/321/
In Texas, the vehicle needs to have at least what it came with when it was new. Don't get me wrong... I know A LOT of guys (me included) that just breeze through the inspection with less than working equipment because the inspector has no idea what to do with a 50+ year old vehicle... but if he's a real serious cat... he'll look at (and test) tread depth, lights, horn, brakes, leaking components, missing factory safety equipment, bumpers, fenders, headlight alignment, blah blah blah... I have yet to see an inspector actually test those things but have heard from other guys who weren't as lucky as me. The inspectors i've run across are usually just happy to look at something other than a Kia or a minivan. They always just slap a sticker on it and say "cool truck, have a good one."
when I first got my 55 registered they still inspected here, and I got the dickhole guy as the inspector for mine....anyways, the car had no sideglass, only one bucket seat, no hood, stripped interior, etc and the blower motor in it. Car was on a trailer. He took one look at it and said "you want to register this for use on the STREET???" I said sure, everything works. I honked the horn. He just shook his head, inspected the VIN, and gave me my tags.
LOL... The Willys has three shifters coming out of the floor (a fourth one soon for the OD)... I made it a point to not be out there when the inspector tried to pull it out of the bay. He couldn't find reverse and ended up monkeying up the tranfercase so bad he thought he broke the transmission. All he did was put the transfercase in neutral then tried the transmission again. Ofcourse with it in neutral you could put it in gear and let the clutch out with nothing happening. The look on his face was priceless... "Uh... sir... I think I broke your old truck..." I taught him how to drive it and how the four wheel drive worked. He was pretty cool and thanked me for letting him cruise it around. He slapped a sticker on it and let it roll out with... no working horn... no worky-worky vaccum wipers... no park brake... bald tires... leaking a 6 inch round oil puddle in his bay... and a few other things i've forgotten by now LOL... Needless to say, i'll be bringing the truck back to him next year. Before anyone says anything about how i'm a nuisance to society (which I am) I fixed all of the above things asap. In Texas you have to have the vehicle inspected before you can finish transfer of ownership paperwork. New law.
Thanks for your input. I'll have to dig through the code as it doesn't seem to have a place where it comes right out and says. We don't have annual or even time of sale inspections in Iowa anymore, so I'm not entirely sure how to go about getting a car certified as roadworthy. We used to have a "red title" provision, where a car could be junked or sold as not roadworthy, but put back on the road after an inspection. I actually brought back 2 red title cars. No big deal, just a basic safety inspection to make sure the tires had tread, brakes would hold, no leaking fluids, etc. That was done away with also, however.
If there is no inspection, then just get the car running and registered and drive it. If you piss off a cop you might get pulled over and get an equipment repair order or something if the car is missing something.
One Iowan to another- you're a lucky SOB, we're totally lawless! Once the vehicle inspection system was eliminated because it "discriminated against the poor", suddenly the police realized they lacked a certified inspection infrastructure that was easy to use and stood up in court. So if you challenge an equipment ticket with any level of complexity, the judge will likely throw it out. The police, recognizing the pattern, essentially stopped issuing equipment tickets. Obvious stuff is enforced. Bald tires. Burned out lights. No front plate. Now that departments have light meters, tint is ticketed because they can write a specific number on the citation to shoot down your challenge. Even blatantly loud mufflers are technically legal, as long as the system is sealed and mufflers are present. Been up against that one a few times. One of the secrets to avoiding un-necessary tickets is to know the law better than the cops. I've been threatened with many a ticket, but when I politely explain the model year cutoffs and loopholes that make me legal, they're usually cool. They honestly don't know the laws relating to old cars. If it's a scratch constructed car and you're applying for a VIN & bonded title, you have to go to the DOT station for an inspection, same as a scratch constructed trailer. They hold it up to the standards for the model year of the body, and are very lenient on well constructed old cars (or so I've heard) But if you've got a VIN and title, head to the courthouse downtown, pay the $50, and walk out with plates. You're officially on the road!
New York is Safety Inspection only for cars pre-'74) Head Lights Brake Light(s) Signal Lights Windshield (presence) Windshield Wiper Seat Belts (post '64) Good Brakes Good Tires Horn
I have a VIN, but will need to do a bonded title as it was just pulled out of the woods. That's dead easy here as well. Just get a bond for 3 years, then they give you a clear title.
In Maryland that will depend on the year in which it was manufactured. Early 60s and prior cars don't need seat belts but 70s cars do. Of course we can register anything over 25 years old as an antique or street rod and be exempt from the inspection laws but it can't be our everyday driver. If you want regular tags for a 75 El Camino for example, you'll need to get it inspected and it must meet the minimum standards for 1975 cars/trucks including pollution controls like catalytic converters.
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