Police stop in a Speedster replica

I registered my Speedie as a '69 VW as that's how the title had it on the original Lousiana title. Has anyone ever been stopped while driving your replica and was there any issue with the registration showing the car was a bug when it's really a Speedster replica? Oh--on the registration the space for the model (bug, etc) is blank---same as it was on the LA title.

Likewise--I insured it as a '69 vw. The insurance papers came back as a '69 vw bug --I asked the ins co about that and they said they go by the VIN #. OK by me. Has this been how others have insured theirs? Any problems seen by anyone doing it this way?

Thanks for any insights. Jack, Hot Springs

Hi Jack
I got stopped while test driving with a new 2110 motor. The CHP guy asked me about the wording on my registration ('72 VW) slip and insurance ('57 Porsche) slip , but in the end, really didn't seem too concerned. He just kept writing the speeding ticket.

Ernie--I guess all you can do is to explain what a replica is , that it's built on a VW frame and the vin # comes from the frame.--Right?

How fast will your Speedie go?

Anybody else had an experience about getting stopped? Thanks---Jack, Hot Springs

Ya, I got nailed down in here in South Florida. A couple of kids in a rice burner with a fart can asked me if my Spyder (69 VW) was fast. When our light turned green I hit it, laid rubber and two blocks later was flagged down by a cop who said I was doing 65 in a 45 zone, I was slowing down. Nary a word said about the registration saying it was a white 69 VW. Had to go to traffic school to avoid getting any points.

What I have learned, in my discussions with CHP, Local Police, Sheriff's etc., is that they are only concerned with the reason that they pulled you over in the first place, and any items relevant to that reason.
If it

Jack...
I hammered it out on a country road: then I saw a tell-tale black sedan parked under a shade tree on the side of the road. The CHP said: "Boy you sure got that lil' car up to 85 quickly, then you saw me and brought her down pretty quick to." He gave me a break and wrote me for 70 in a 55.
I too am now a certified traffic school graduate. Since this was my 1st ticket in 23 years, I knew nothing about internet traffic school. The classes and test turned out to be pretty educational IMHO.

...don't EVEN get me started about being pulled over by the cops!! LOL

Ernie, where you hiding at? Cabanaboy ~ be on the 3-D run! That front end on that Hummer is UGLY !!!

Desi: That's the new model, it's called a "Bummer"!

As a 34 year veteran of California law enforcement let me clear the air and put a muffler on some of the things said here.

It was stated that CHP had better things to do than worry about license plate color. That may be the opinion of one CHP. Most CHP officers take their traffic enforcement very seriously.

When I worked patrol (No I wasn't a CHP officer) I used the Vehicle Code as a tool. I'm also a car guy and recognize license plate combinations and colors. It's a crime to mess with a Calif. License plate, it's color or to have one reproduced and use it on your car. (Most of the after market license plate reproduciton companies won't send a reproduced plate to a California address.

Registration problem usually are associated with tube frame cars and the owners attempt to graft on VIN from an old VW. If the car is a re-body over an existing VW pan then usually no problem but as stated , the tube frame cars have to go through quite a bit of Special construction paperwork to become legal this includes the hopes of getting a SB100 exemption.

The bottom line here is don't let your guard down because it was posted that CHP has better things to do. There's always that one that will enforce the law as written.

Jack-

Email me off-site.

I've owned three of these. The first was titled and insured as a VW, the second one I went through a "title service", and had it titled as a Porsche (which was REALLY illegal, and not what I asked for), this one is done "by the book".

The issue isn't really whether or not a cop will look the other way. The issue is doing it right. You'll sleep better doing it right. Nearly every state has some provision to title and register a replica.

I have registered and titled my car in three states, now (Massachusetts, then Rhode Island and now South Carolina) as a white, 1969 VW Convertible.

Massachusetts was first, when I first got the car on the road, and I told the nice lady at the DMV (she really was nice, too) that the original, red, sedan body rusted out (which it had, all I saved was the central tunnel) and I replaced it with a convertible body. Her only comment was; "Oh! My brother has a body shop and he does that sort of thing all the time!" OK......cool....filled out all the forms she gave me, answered all of the questions honestly, and they (the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) re-titled it from the previous owner as a White, 1969 VW convertible. Their only beef was that I didn't re-title it and pay sales tax when I originally bought the Sedan seven years previously, so they assesed me a $25 tax penalty (and I only paid $300 for the original car!!)

Moved to Rhode Island, where the local police dept. has to personally inspect the VIN of any car older than 20 years prior to registering it. The VW VIN is still there on the central tunnel (I'm no fool), nobody found anything wrong, so it was re-titled (again) in R.I. as a White, 1969 VW Convertible.

Moved to South Carolina ("How Y'All Doin?") and they accepted everything from Rhode Island (as did State Farm Insurance) and it's still registered and insured as that same, White, 1969 VW Convertible. I pay a slight premium on insurance to get a bit better coverage than an "original" '69 VW convertible, but that's not much, either.

Seems to work for me.....but I also understand that many other cars are not in the same boat (IM's and Becks, with their tube frames and new VIN's come to mind there).

Yeah, Becks are different, even in SC, but they're pretty easy as long as you get someone on the local office who knows what a replice/kit car is. That took a while. The lady in the state office eventually had to walk them through it. The local office thought I had to have a 16 digit VIN when my 9 digit chassis number was all the state required. Spent two months filling out the same form used to generate VINs for mobile homes (!?) three times before the state lady finally stepped in and told the local folks that they were looney.

My Texas registration says Special Construction Vehicle, 1967 VW rebodied as a 1957 Porsche. Pretty logical. The only problem I had was when every clerk in the DMV went to the back room to discuss the paperwork before giving it the OK. With the looks I was getting, I thought the people in line behind me were going to lynch me.

My #1 son asked me what do other people think about #2 Asians driving a Tub (this includes Mr.policeman) either we've stole it or maybe part of the www. new money group. Cabanaboy ~keep them wondering!!

My thug-mug and the high-end cars I've owned have always seemed to be a 'magnet' for those officers who are 'diligent' (and then some) about their traffic code enforcement.

Although I've been the victim of many police stops, as in "...what-is-that-guy-with-the-'afro' -doing-driving-that-911-Turbo-through-this-affluent-neighborhood-he-musta-stole-it-I-better-pull-him-over"..., they have a most difficult and often thankless job.

Peace - Out!