Hi Robert,
I also live in CT and will be playing with DMV for a GPW. Which
inspection station did you go to? I would like to avoid that one when Dad
and I finish his GPW (not soon but soon enough). The new emissions station
safety inspectors are, mostly, unqualified and many of the regular DMV
office guys are not much better. The way I went with a CJ2A was to go to
the Torrington (Winchester) office and speak to the head inspector first. I
asked about the inspection, found he was a jeep man and made sure I was
coming on his shift. He freely acknowledged that jeep bodies were meant to
be replaced and said he would be satisfied with one legible number on any
of the plates or parts to use for the VIN. VIN, body #, engine#, whatever
he could read!
The guy should not have cared about the glass body because the law is
specific on that subject. "Older vehicles" (especially those getting
antique plates like a GPW) "shall be inspected only for their original
equipment or functional replacements thereof", or close to that, is what
the law says. Many of the inspectors are not familiar with this little
line. The full statutes are on-line so you can read them for yourself
without going to the library.
The markings are also a bone of contention. The word from Wethersfield
was to just leave them off until after inspection and then finish the
vehicle. Trying to argue that white painted stars and numbers is not
current military practice, that flat black is instead, and they're OK is a
waste of time. The head inspector said that himself! He knows which is
correct, and said we could refer the inspector to him for clarification,
but that he wouldn't always be around to answer the phone. Lots of small
problems caused by misinterpretations.
Also, the stolen car unit does not make VIN policy. Just because the
guy he talked to isn't familiar with data plates doesn't mean your cause is
lost. Call and keep talking until you get to someone familiar with the
situation or is willing to become familiar with it. If you can point out
that they have made an error they will have to change it back for you. You
can also do this in a letter with supporting documentation (like manual
pages) sent to the commisioner. There is an appeals process and you should
make use of it. The last ditch is you state senator and representative,
they ought to be good for something other than spending your tax dollars.
Put them to work for you.
*********STORY WARNING**************
The only other "trick" we use is to send the oldest person, Dad, to
take the vehicle through. This has worked like a charm more than once. I
had a '69 GMC pickup that failed for a missing "donut" between the exhaust
pipe and the manifold, and one taillight being "dimmer" than the other. Dad
stopped by the shop on the way home and asked how it went, swapped his car
for the truck, and went straight back to the SAME guy at DMV. He took one
look at the fail slip, saw it was my Dad (in suit and tie) and didn't even
ask if it was fixed. He just said "Oh, Mr. O'Connor, I'm sure you're going
to take care of that bad bulb when the stores open in the morning so here
you go" and punched the ticket. Didn't even mention the exhaust! That was
in Danbury and he didn't know the guy at all so it was just the facts of
him being older & neater dressed than I was. So we finally learned it's
know the law, send the old folks, and first strike by meeting the head
inspector. That way you can drop their name later if they've gone home.
Fight it, I'll bet you win.
Good Luck,
Dennis O'Connor
doconnor@sikorsky.com
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