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Removing Avanti "cow catcher" bumpers
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Not gonna debate the interpretation of 30+ year-old Federal regs that are no longer applicable anyway, but the cowcatcher bumpers were adopted in 1972 because the original Avanti bumpers were determined to NOT meet the "no functional damage" standard. I believe the original 1972 reg actually called for no functional damage in a 2.5 mph front-end collision, though the latter speed provision may have been deleted later. It is also true that low production vehicles were later exempted from these provisions anyway -- though the bumper requirements DID apply at the time that the mid-1970s Avantis were built.
It is also true that the Feds exempt vehicles 25 years old from many safety and emissions standards on the grounds that they are presumed to be collector's items. However, many states have interpreted that exemption to apply only to those vehicles that have antique/historical license plates. In many states, all vehicles registered with regular passenger car plates, regardless of age, are expected to comply with all safety and emissions standards that were applicable when they were built. Converting to antique/historic plates removes that burden, but usually also restricts the use of the vehicle.
My congrats on finessing the situation, but I'm not sure it would necessarily apply to those living in other states.Skip Lackie
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You can always do what lots of rodders do. Register the car with the bumpers and then take them off.RadioRoy, specializing in AM/FM conversions with auxiliary inputs for iPod/satellite/CD player. In the old car radio business since 1985.
10G-C1 - 51 Champion starlight coupe
4H-K5 - 53 Commander starliner hardtop
5H-D5 - 54 Commander Conestoga wagon
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Originally posted by RadioRoy View PostYou can always do what lots of rodders do. Register the car with the bumpers and then take them off.
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Originally posted by RadioRoy View PostYou can always do what lots of rodders do. Register the car with the bumpers and then take them off.Skip Lackie
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Originally posted by Skip Lackie View PostI used to do that with loud mufflers, and also did it for many years with (then-illegal) Halogen headlights. But it gets old after a while, especially if you have several cars so equipped. Every time you turn around, one of them is due for inspection and something has to be swapped out.RadioRoy, specializing in AM/FM conversions with auxiliary inputs for iPod/satellite/CD player. In the old car radio business since 1985.
10G-C1 - 51 Champion starlight coupe
4H-K5 - 53 Commander starliner hardtop
5H-D5 - 54 Commander Conestoga wagon
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Originally posted by RadioRoy View PostWe don't have those type of inspections in California, thankfully. Would the OP's state inspector catch something like a non-standard or missing add-on bumper?
In states where a local garage does the inspection, inspectors can be accommodating over minor infractions. My parents lived in the same town in New York state for most of their lives, and had all their car repairs done by the same garage. When it came time for inspection, the "inspector" just put a new sticker on the car without checking anything -- they already knew the car intimately.
But in DC and a few Eastern states, the inspection stations are run by the state/DC govt, which is both good and bad. Good, because they presumably should know the rules, but bad, because a failing grade can ground your car -- and you have no recourse. I have had plenty of fights with the DC vehicle inspectors, and they usually won -- even when they were wrong. In one case, they were wrong, but I chose not to fight. I had added some fog lights to a 70 Camaro. The standard for auxiliary lamps that was in effect in 1970 was that the tail lamps and parking lights had to be illuminated every time they were turned on. But some time in the 1980s, the standards were changed, and now stated that auxiliary lamps had to be wired though the low beam headlight circuit, so they could not be used while the high beams were on. Around 1990, the inspectors flunked the car because the fog lights didn't go out when I switched to high beams. I argued for a long time that that standard did not apply to vehicles built before it became effective, but in that pre-Internet age, getting a copy of the FMVSS, including all its amendments, would have required going to the central library and making copies of a bunch of documents. So I just removed the fog lights and got my sticker.Skip Lackie
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Originally posted by Skip Lackie View PostNot trying to respond for the OP, but the answer is "it depends". It depends on both the knowledge of the inspector and whether he is a self-important bozo who wants to demonstrate his power.
In states where a local garage does the inspection, inspectors can be accommodating over minor infractions. My parents lived in the same town in New York state for most of their lives, and had all their car repairs done by the same garage. When it came time for inspection, the "inspector" just put a new sticker on the car without checking anything -- they already knew the car intimately.Gary L.
Wappinger, NY
SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer
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