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I bought my Pantera back in 2005 and have had it registered and safety checked every year as needed. However, this past year the safety station started a new system in 2014 where they take pictures of your vehicle. All good its a nice ride! However going back to the same station this year. They told me they almost lost their license for safety check because of me!? And I need to put bumpers on my car! (car was redone in 1993 and the previous owner took off the bumpers and filled the holes to give it that clean look! It's the white pantera (1wild1)on the opening page. So I immediately bought replacement bumpers from PI Motors (Carbon Fiber) had them drilled on as if they were the originals. And now the state inspector is telling me that those are NOT bumpers and when we go to the statues of what a bumper should be, it falls in line. But now I sent him a pic/copy of a page out of the Ford Pantera Chassis and body parts catalog P9230/9231 showing the bumpers are bolted onto the body, so now he is telling me the bumpers have to be attached to the frame! My argument is this replaced original equipment and is superior to it (carbon fiber vs metal) And I'm not the only Pantera in Hawaii, but the only one on this Island with an state inspector that doesn't know cars!
I'm working on a small claims trail now. Thinking the Judge will define the bumper dilemma!
Any suggestions?
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Federal rules required that your car meet FMVSS (U.S. safety standards), which include needing bumpers, when it was mfgr'd., sold, or imported in the U.S., but those requirements have expired as of the car's 25th birthday. [49CFR30112], IIRC.

However, you must also meet the state's equipment requirements, as specified in state law (statutes?). This may dictate a certain bumper, or it may not. I'd recommend you read over the pertinent section of the law, comply as needed, and appeal the cop's decision if appropriate. The cop can only enforce existing laws, like it or not.

In Wisconsin, such an appeal can be done (with or) without an attorney through our Dept. of Administration.

Good luck with this.
Seriously I would just drop it with this guy, this guy is only arguing with you out of principle at this point and won't backpedal because this is the only job this nitwit does all day. I would think it would be less hassle to ferry it to another island than deal with this idiot who will never be satisfied honestly.

I ran into bureaucratic smog shit growing up in CA. I bent over backward to run my supercharged fox mustang with California Air Resource Board (CARB) Executive Order Exemption Numbered parts. I had everything in hand listed at the smog station and they still hassled me and made me take off my radiator shroud so they could check timing. He marked the distributor so I could go home disassemble, drive back without overheating, let him check timing without running it on the rollers again, then drive back and put it back together. The guy claimed he still could not check the timing and finally just gave up after all that.

The dumbest part is I could have run a hotter cam vs the e303 and they wouldn't have known anyway as long as it passed the tailpipe sniffer test. Multiple ways to fool that thing anyway. The whole thing is a joke and was obviously enacted to fail cars that clearly are not maintained and are gross polluters. The ppm numbers for each vehicle type are averaged in a range over time as they became older anyway. So I could be running a hot motor and it would still pass while most vehicles of that age with their stock motors were deteriorating. My supercharged car was running cleaner than the stock examples tested the previous year. They should have paid me and not the other way around.

Just another way for gov to make a buck, otherwise they would have had the foresight to write legislation that doesn't penalize people who take care of their vehicles. I registered my car out of state after that experience.
The inspection station almost losing their license because of "your Pantera" sounds like an over-blown statement. Its an excuse for nit-picking the bumper issue this year.

Tim, I like the suggestion of going to another inspection station if possible. One that is not going to nit-pick. The fellow at the current station is not going to back down.

Is there a historic vehicle program that would exempt your Pantera from the inspection?
Hawaii instituted a new safety check program last year that negates any discretion on the part of the local gas stations doing safety checks because each station must use an app on an IPAD provided by the state to send and store the info in a central database. So, if you try to go to another station, they will pull up the same information on the vehicle, if it passed or failed, pictures and remarks if any. The state inspectors also reviews the data to try to catch stations letting cars slip by.
Do you know what law is being cited? They must have decided you are in violation of something, and it would be helpful to know what that is.

Here is a link to a 2013 Hawaii PMVI Manual for Inspectors of Passenger Cars and Light Trucks: http://hidot.hawaii.gov/highwa...ht-Trucks-9-2013.pdf

On page 3 you will find BUMPERS listed. It gives a description of the characteristics you very likely need to meet. It references meeting [291-35.1, HRS], and here's a link to that: http://law.justia.com/codes/ha.../chapter291/291-35-1

Frankly, unless you've got the car mounted on a truck chassis and exceed the maximum bumper height of 22", I'd argue the rest of the language. Come on, how much more ambiguous can you get than "moderate impact" and "adequate protection", etc.

I ain't no lawyer, but maybe one's called for. (??)
As mentioned above, my car is now flagged all over the state, so can't go to any other station. And I've emailed back and forth to the"head guy" on Oahu, but he never gives me answer he just gives me this link of the definition of by Hawaii code as here
"Bumper", for purposes of this section means a horizontal load bearing protective system installed on a motor vehicle which is constructed of sturdy materials that will not shatter or split upon moderate impact and provides adequate protection.
And with that I figured we are good with the new carbon fib or bumpers from PI motors (carbon fiber is 5 times stronger than steel)
But of course now he says they have to be attached to the frame?! With monocoque body, I do not believe bumpers were never attached to the frame?
My question to him is…Why can another Pantera pass any where in the state, but now my can't. Consistency is necessary for creditability!
And now my pride and joy and investment (that is what I tell the kids & wife)which I drive about twice a week went from being worth$$$ to zero$
I plan taking the inspector to small claims court
and sue him for misguiding me into buying this bumpers $1600 installed, And hoping the Judge will side for him claiming that they are bumpers!
I lose the case, but get the definition correct!
I already told the inspector that his job was to enforce the laws and not modify/change them!
I can't believe my taxes pay for these clowns!
That statute seems to render any pre 73 vehicle unfit. Bumpers were indeed attached to the frames but even at the lowest speeds didn't protect much.

Maybe you could search somewhere else in the statutes for a statement of original equipment for the model year or equivalent being sufficient.

That's the rule here, if wasn't as OE, it's not required.
I'd take it to that inspector's boss (or the "head guy's" boss, if necessary), and request clarification as to exactly what law you have violated. Panteras aren't the only unibody vehicles out there, and they did pass FMVSS requirements for their year of manufacture. I do not believe that they can force you to modify the structure of the car so as to tie in with the "frame" (such as it is in the rear of the car).

Maybe contact your elected state representatives and plead your case to them. Your car getting thrown off the road is a hardship to you. Being non-roadworthy would devalue it, which may constitute a "taking". Your representatives may have some pull with your DMV, since they control the purse strings that feed the DMV. At least, they should be able to demand DMV answer the question of specifically "what law is being broken". You deserve that answer, at the very least.

I would not file a claim against the inspector, as I'd expect him to respond by doubling down on things to cover his rear. If he gets his superiors going on this too, then you'll be facing an even bigger hurdle, as they'll all be trying to defend their inspector's decision.

I'd try and take the stance that the inspector made a mistake that simply needs to be corrected.
This sounds like it would preclude most if not all classic vehicles from being driven on public streets. Does Hawaii have classic or historic vehicle code?

You may want to make an inquiry to SEMA. They've really done a tremendous advocacy job on behalf of street rodders and have been successful with the introduction and passage of legislation for alternate construction vehicles and customs. They would take interest in any state legislation they felt threatened such and at minimum, may have good information on just exactly what the law in your state requires.

http://www.semasan.com/page.as...ent=titling&g=semaga

Best,
K
FYI, SEMA's page only publishes info they get directly from each state's DOT, so it can be somewhat biased IMHO, but it is a pretty decent overview.

According to that info, Hawaii apparently considers your car to be a "reconstructed vehicle", since it was modified "by the removal, addition, alteration, or substitution of other than original replacement essential parts, including the vehicle's... ...bumper system...". This would justify their denial.

Curiously, bumpers are considered "optional equipment" on street rod vehicles and street rod replica vehicles and pre-'69 vehicles. (So much for consistency.)

It may be simpler to buy and install some "original replacement" bumpers on your car, and be done with it. (I'm assuming the aftermarket ones are not DOT approved.)
I would suggest you take the "road more simple" and find an older model rubber bumper with shock mounts. Install it, pass inspection. And then simply change it back to whatever you want. Do the same with any other "problem" parts. It's a hassle but easily the less complicated solution to getting back on the road. No policeman will ever do a tech review if you get stopped in future.
In the US, technically speaking you cannot change the bumper configuration from how the car was sold.
Why this particular situation happened in Hawaii is really just a matter of what that particular inspector saw.

I think though that even if the car was a 71 with original bumpers, you still might have failed because it's apparent he never saw a Pantera before and simply does not know what it is SUPPOSED to look like?


I can envision a scenario that if the inspector was comparing say a 74L to a 71, by comparison because of the bumpers, the 71 would look like it didn't conform. Bring your lawyer with lots of pictures and a lawyer who knows about Panteras.


On these cars here in NY now, all the inspector is required to do is walk around the car and look at it.

It doesn't need to be run, the lights don't need to be checked for operation, just visual.

That's very difficult to fail here if the car LOOKS like it conforms.


My '73 has got fiberglass L bumpers on it. No crash cylinder assemblies but the entire car LOOKS stock. Crash testing the car here to see it they work is not required. Not yet and frankly the entire state inspection thing here has been relaxed to the point that as long as the car has no broken glass, lights or bald tires, you are going to pass.

For $12.50, they "ain't going to do a lot". Wink

Best advice is bring a portfolio of pictures with you so that if there is a discussion with the inspector that at least you can have a discussion with him and show him the pictures. Hopefully you also pick a station that the personnel actually like cars as well.

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