WOW!!! What an exhausting vehicle inspection list TxDOT has. Planning to relocate to rural TX , and amazed at the vehicle checklist and the lack of exemptions. So it reads like an "Antique" plate exempts you , BUT I can't have my shop name on the door of my '41 truck anymore, or go down the street to grab a burger, unless I join a car club. GA did away with safety inspections when I was a kid. What gives? Should I stock up on reflectors and an Autozone horn? http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/vi/publications/rules/safety_manual/chapter4.htm
Texas has few rules for Antique cars (25) or older. No inspection and there are plenty with shop names on them so dont know what your talking about there. We are limited to 2,500 driven miles a year but don't know any one that has ever been checked out as to miles driven and since they dont ask for the milage they don't know how many you drive. I drive mine weekly since I have several and I have never ever been stopped and if I do its a test drive.
It has been my experience here in Texas, that as long as you don't make a fool out of yourself out on the road, the cops don't bother us at all. In fact, I believe the antique cars & hot rods are pretty much respected & welcomed here.
RAY is right ,no inspection needed with the vintage plate and never got hassled when i ran them .Just make sure if you get stopped and asked where your going to think before you answer .Never got a chance to need to use it ,but mine was gunna be "Im taking it down to have the tires rotated ".Car can be driven to and from shows ,parades ,and can be driven to and from routine maint. or servicing ,thats the part i banked on ...
Welcome to Texas. If you plan to drive your truck daily while running an antique tag please do those of us on the road with you a favor and make sure it is safe for our sakes. If you do not have good brakes, good lighting, a horn and turn sigs then it should not be on the road with any plate. Actually if you are trying to skirt the law to save a few bucks then you might want to stay where you are. The registration fees ($65/yr for my 54) help pay for our roads so you will be cheating us. Inspections for older vehicles are simple. They check the features I noted above. If your ride did not have it as original equip then it is not required but there are some things that should be added just to be safe. The inspection cost is $15. If you can't afford that you are in the wrong hobby. Make it safe for us especially if you use it as your daily.
Texas has two optional license plates registrations. They are Antique and Classic and are available only for antiques, street rods and classic cars that are older than 25 years. The "Antique" registration is special issued state of Texas license plates and the "Classic" registration uses restored or un-issued Texas license plates (front and back) that you can usually find at swap meets. I have a pair of actual un-issued 1963 black numbers on white field Texas plates on my 1963 Pontiac. The black and white plates alternated from numbers to field every year until the window sticker registrations were introduced in 1968. The car is actually registered with a small eight digit number on a little tab that is attached to the upper LH license plate bolt. The Classic license requirements are that the plates must be the same year as the vehicle and they must be Texas license plates. The embossed number on the "Classic" license plate means nothing. You must send a Xerox copy of your classic license plate with your application and fee to the state of Texas for approval. The Classic registration is for 5 years and cost $25 (the last time I paid for it.). No vehicle inspection is required and no liability insurance is needed. The use of Antique and Classic cars is restricted to parades, maintence and travel to car club functions. You may ask how does the state keep track of what you do with the car? It is impossible in a larger city but if you live in a small town where the cops know everyone...watch out if there is a cowboy cop working there. If you get a lot of traffic tickets, that may alert the authorities and they may question the use of the vehcile. The license registration office will tell you to always carry the a copy of the state law concerning Antique and Classic registrations in the car in case you get stopped by a rookie cop. I have been stopped twice in 20 years by rookie cops who said they could not find the license plate number registered on their computer and I did not have a inspection sticker on the windshield. Then I had to show them the law and explain it to them. The little tab is proof of registration and it must be displayed on the rear plate mounted on the upper LH license plate bolt. I have put about 8,000 miles a year on my '63 Catalina 421 HO.
lots of useful info here but one quick question: so if you were building one to be a true daily driver, to avoid any hastle from the state or the police would it be best to equip it with the usual safety equipment and whatever else is required to pass inspection and just plate it as a normal car?
That seems to be the best awnser. On Dads 37 chevy we added turn signals(fronts in the headlights to keep it clean), a horn(any old junkyard horn will do and you can hide them easy), and front seat belts. Its tagged and inspected as an every day car just as you would a brand new on. State farm even did agreed value insurance on it as a daily. No mileage restrictions == more fun. I honestly think he drives it more often than his newer truck when hes not got it in the garage.
Any car over 25 years old just go through the safety inspection, no emissions. If your car wasn't originally equipped with seat belts, they aren't required, if it was equipped with only one tail light, that is what is looked for. A good website http://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/
well i plan being safe with my build it will have seatbelts, taillights, turnsignals, etc. i plan on building it for a daily, so it would probably be easiest to just get the normal inspection and slap the sticker in the window.
If your car is a daily driver, you do not have the option to register the vehicle as an Antique or Classic. Classic and Antique vehicles are NOT daily drivers if the owners have any sense.
yeah i figured as much, i dont want to have any problems with it. i live in a small town and im sure ill have the only car like it on the road around here. so if a cop sees me drivin it daily and i got a antique plates id just be stupid. thats why i plan on just treating it as a normal car and what not. here is a list of requirments to pass for a pick up: Items of Inspection 05.02 Inspect Every Pickup, Panel, or Truck Under 80 Inches Wide For: (Listed in suggested order of inspection) * Check for evidence of Financial Responsibility 1. Horn 2. Windshield Wipers 3. Mirror 4. Steering 5. Seat Belts 6. Brakes (system) Parking - (beginning with 1960 models) 7. Tires 8. Wheel Assembly 9. Safety Guards or Flaps (if four tires or more on rearmost axle) 10. Exhaust System 11. Exhaust Emission System (beginning with 1968 models) 12. Beam Indicator (beginning with 1948 models) 13. Tail Lamps (2); (1) if 1959 model or earlier 14. Stop Lamps (2); (1) if 1959 model or earlier 15. License Plate Lamp (1) 16. Rear Red Reflectors (2) 17. Turn Signal Lamps (beginning with 1960 models) (mea-sure if 1959 model or earlier) 18. Head Lamps (2) 19. Motor, Serial, or Vehicle Identification Number 20. 1988 & newer - inspect for window tinting or coating 21. Gas caps on vehicles 2-24 model years old.
Not entirely correct in regards to the "Classic" You can get "Classic Car" or "Classic Truck" plates for your ride and there are no restrictions on its use as there are with "Antique Vehicle" plates. You have an annual registration period and it must be inspected. Here is the text from the DOT site: Classic license plates are issued to trucks that are 25 or more years old. Unlike antiques, which cannot be used for regular transportation or carry advertising, classic license plates require a vehicle to be fully registered like any other vehicle, allowing it to be operated on any roadway. A specialty plate fee of $15 is charged in addition to the regular registration fee and other applicable fees. You pay a little extra for the "classic" plate but you get the plate number that comes up. If you want to personalize it you get hit for the classic tag plus the vanity plate charge. I have the "Classic Truck" tags on my 54 but will probably change to just regular tags the next time it comes up for renewal. To my understanding, based on a telephone discussion with Texas DOT, YOM plates are handled the same as vanity/personalized plates. I can not find any YOM specific information on the DOT website though.
NO VEHICLE is allowed on the streets, roads or highways of Texas that is not minimally covered by liability insurance, personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage. The uninsured motorist and PIP can be dropped after the first 6 month coverage period, BUT anyone who does that is a fool in this state filled with thousands of scofflaws and illegal aliens without driver's licenses or insurance.
There are two ways to use the "Year of Manufacture" or YOM plates and even the different county offices are confused about this. First you can use a YOM plate and register it as a classic. This is where you use the small sticker on the rear plate and also where you are exempt from yearly inspections. The trade off is that there are restrictions on your use. Just remember that even though you can get away with using the vehicle outside the restrictions you vehicle insurance is likely based somewhat on the intended use also so don't get in an accident using your vehicle inapprotately or you may be screwed there? Second, you can use YOM plates and just register the plates for normal use. I do this on my 61 and the benefit to me is that I am legal with my insurance and with the law and still get to use a YOM plate. The down side is that you have to go through the yearly inspection process but like stated above it is really not that painful as they only inspect for the items that the car came with. One thing I learned this week is that inspection stations are now checking the age of tires and after they are more that 6 years they will not inspect it? I do not know how this will work for old vehicles but if it applies to them it could influence how you go about the process. Scott...
ok so let me just make sure i got this straight...a YOM plate will work for a daily driver, but you still get the anual inspection. got that but aside from that you'd also be paying for vanity plates?
Thanks folks, just wanted an idea on how it all worked. Long article at 3am to filter out. Thanks for the rookie cop heads up too.
Heres some info from the Texas Constitution website regarding Antique plates (a)　　The department shall issue specialty license plates for a passenger car, truck, motorcycle, or former military vehicle that: (1)　　is at least 25 years old, if the vehicle is a passenger car, truck, or motorcycle; (2)　　is a collector's item; (3)　　is used exclusively for exhibitions, club activities, parades, and other functions of public interest and is not used for regular transportation; and (4)　　does not carry advertising. (b)　　The license plates must include the words "Antique Auto," "Antique Truck," "Antique Motorcycle," or "Military Vehicle," as appropriate. (c)　　A person eligible for the license plates may instead use license plates issued by this state in the same year as the model year of the vehicle and approved by the department, provided that a passenger car must bear passenger car or truck license plates and a truck must bear passenger car or truck license plates. The department may require attachment of a registration insignia to the license plate in a manner that does not affect the display of information originally on the license plate. (d)　　License plates issued or approved under this section expire on the fifth anniversary of the date of issuance or approval. (e)　　The fee for issuance or approval of license plates under this section is: (1)　　$10 for each year or portion of a year remaining in the five-year registration period if the vehicle was manufactured in 1921 or later; or (2)　　$8 for each year or portion of a year remaining in the five-year registration period if the vehicle was manufactured before 1921. (f)　　The department may exempt a former military vehicle from the requirement to display a license plate or registration insignia if the exemption is necessary to maintain the vehicle's accurate military markings. The department may approve an alternative registration insignia that is compatible with the vehicle's original markings. (g)　　A person entitled to specialty license plates or to department approval under this section may register the vehicle without payment of any fees paid for or at the time of registration except the fee for the license plate. An owner of a vehicle registered under this subsection who violates this section commits an offense. An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $5 or more than $200. (h)　　Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a vehicle issued license plates under Subsection (a) shall be required to attach and display only one license plate on the rear of the vehicle.
Heres some more info regarding what vehicles are exempt from safety inspections. Note that it incluces Antiques and does not include vehicles registered as Classic. Sec.　548.052.　　VEHICLES NOT SUBJECT TO INSPECTION.　 This chapter does not apply to: (1)　　a trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or mobile home moving under or bearing a current factory-delivery license plate or current in-transit license plate; (2)　　a vehicle moving under or bearing a paper dealer in-transit tag, machinery license, disaster license, parade license, prorate tab, one-trip permit, antique license, temporary 24-hour permit, or permit license;
Next question, GA is 1986 and newer on titles. How do I buy an old project and jump through all these amazing fees and hoops on the TXdot?
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