Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) 2020 Plus 4 won’t pass vehicle inspection in US/MA

From what you have written I am assuming you bought it from Dennis, my first port of call would be to contact Dennis and I am sure he will assist in trying to resolve the issue.

I wish I had bought it from Dennis. In fact, I bought it from a private party that had consigned it to a non-Morgan dealer south of LA. I did communicate with Morgan-Spares (the Morgan dealer in New York) and they said that there’s no way the component cars can pass inspection in Massachusetts. I’ll call Dennis tomorrow and see if he can help.

It looks like there’s another very complicated route I can go if this doesn’t work out. In digging in further, the laws in Massachusetts are crazy, but there is a difficult and convoluted way to get this registered.

The car is considered a “replica” of a 1965 Morgan Plus 4 (that’s how it was imported and then put together), similar to a kit car.

First, the car has to be registered as “Replica” instead of “Plus 4.”

Then when taken for inspection it fails the emissions test because of OBD communications incompatibility with the State machine readers. At this point, you’re supposed to take it to a single designated State center for visual inspection. There are further checks on engine & transmission compatibility, gear ratios, etc., which are typically next-to-impossible to pass without replacing the engine and transmission with a certified configuration. Morgan-spares says it’s impossible to get component Morgan’s to pass this in MA.

However, there’s a loophole! A vehicle can obtain a lifetime emissions inspection exemption by permanently retiring an older vehicle (of any make and model as long as it was registered in the last 5 years) in Massachusetts, and then using that vehicle's inspection status in place of your own. This is typically referred to as the "crush" car method of obtaining an emissions waiver. Literally, you have to purchase an old car of any kind that is older than 1974, have it crushed at a junk yard, and get them to sign a certificate that the old car has been destroyed.

You can now receive a lifetime emissions inspection exemption for the Morgan. To be clear, the Morgan would be titled as "replica", not "salvage".

You can’t make this stuff up.

Sorry to read that, the problem over here is each State has it's own regulation with no overall standardization. When moving to California from the UK I brought my 1964 4/4 over with me, importing was no issue but registering at the DMV in Pasadena was an absolute farce; in the end I used skullduggery tactics with the CHP. My other joy was with the Colorado DMV getting the M3W registered is it a car, is it a bird, is it a motorcycle I tell you what lets have a debate between this office and other offices and the State; 4 months later it was registered as a motorcycle. Every two years my 1994 +8 has to have a Colorado Emissions test which is rather like a Monty Python sketch, in the end I tell the staff what the procedure is and do half the test myself, I always pass

Success! I now have what may be the only legally registered post-2005 Morgan in the State of Massachusetts. The process is byzantine, but it is doable. It is the process to register "Replica" or "Kit" Cars (applicable for the small number of Morgan Plus 4s imported into the United States between 2005 and 2020). If there is ever another person trying to do this in Massachusetts, the steps are as follows:

1. Obtain a Massachusetts VIN (a "jurisdictional VIN) by having an inspection done by State troopers (it'll be a non-standard VIN with the prefix MA followed by five numbers).
2. Register and title car with the new MA VIN.
3. Purchase an old car (any pre-1974 off of Craigslist with engine at least as large as the Morgan you're trying to register) that has been operational and registered at some time in the last 5 years. Have it "junked" or destroyed at a junkyard (the junkyard will pay you for the car thereby offsetting some of the price of purchasing it). Have them sign the requisite state form that the vehicle has been destroyed. This serves as a sort of "carbon offset;" which is legally allowed to be used to get a lifetime emissions waiver for a "replica" car (the Morgan).
4. Get an inspection of the Morgan with the Massachusetts Motorist Assistance Center (MAC) bringing them the signed form that you have crushed an older car. They'll issue the lifetime waiver for the Morgan.
5. Get the annual inspection done at any MA vehicle inspection station: Now and for the lifetime of the vehicle, no emissions test will be done. They'll do the annual safety inspection and issue you the requisite sticker.

Crazy, but doable.

Well done. Sometimes bureaucracy is created to make sane men more ingenious.

Well done that is complex but I guess a bit logical.Though my brain hurts just reading it.

Well done, Ktabb, and I always thought that German bureaucracy was the worst in the world...At least the procedures here are not as "creative" as yours😀

Nice to see this turning out well for you! .... that's a fair old process you have to go through .... filling a field with giveaway pre '74 junkers to be auctioned off to desperate future 'special' owners will be someone's 'get rich quick' scheme before long! 🙂

"Only legally registered 2005+ Morgan in Mass" you'll draw attention ... and never have trouble finding your car in a parking lot.🙂

Happy miles

K