Yikes, last post was almost a year and a half ago and I'm still on the first page! Guess I need to be more active.
Well, I took a "shortcut" on getting legal and was caught. It was pretty disheartening to get over it, but I did, and here I am. Long story short, in 2021 I decided I wanted to take my almost competed car to a local car show. I had my binder containing all my receipts and my VIN inspection paperwork. I went into the local registry to get a 7 day transit permit so I could drive it there and back. The lady didn't know what she was doing, and ended up giving me my full registration. I was elated! It potentially saved me hundreds of dollars as I didn't have to get the out of province inspection (OOP) and install stuff I didn't want to install, like bumpers. I took it to the show, life was good. About a week later, I get an e-mail from a vehicle safety officer. He saw my car at the show, ran the plate, found out what happened, and immediately cancelled my registration. I was ticked. We've got some guy, on the weekend, cruising car shows writing down plates to run when he's back in the office. Like, really!?! The car was parked, in a parking lot.... With a total of 11 km on it, I was back off the road. Then, to make matter worse, buddy said if I got an OPP, and the mechanic didn't discuss the car with him prior to issuing the paperwork, he's immediately cancel my registration again if I got it. So, any chance of finding a mechanic who sees the same gray areas as I, lack of bumper, wind screen vs windshield, was immediately off the table as I was on the provinces' radar and buddy can't risk his business. I 100% felt like I was in the crosshairs of a power tripping vehicle inspector who wanted to be a cop but didn't make it in. So, besides getting over that blow, we fixed up and sold our house, moved, doubled the acres we farm (still not alot, but doubling makes it seem like a lot...
, having the biggest team at work ever, starting a new business, and the place we moved too not having a heated garage, I essentially haven't touched the car in two years.
I decided I needed to do something with it, as I've invested too much time, energy, and money into it for it to just be sitting. I dug deep, and first step, "forgave" (if that's the right word), the inspector. I then went and chatted with him, and it turns out, since he'd issued the order and now, I've found out or social circle overlaps a little bit. He said I for sure, 100%, need bumpers at the time of inspection and there is no regulation on the type of bumpers, just that it needs them. Kinda sucks, but I can take them off as soon as he's gone. I asked specifically about the windshield, as, technically, if it has a windshield, as per Alberta, it needs wipers, washer system, and defrost (which some inspectors argue must be connected to the cooling system of the engine and can't be electric). I don't mind installing a windshield but wasn't too keen on installing wipers and washer system. He wasn't sure as I said I'd like to install a windscreen. He recommended I reach out to a "expert" in the manual, Bob, and get clarification from him. So that's what I'm in process of doing. He also said, once I get everything together, he can just come out and look at the car, and if it looks good, reverse the order, bypassing the OOP. That would be huge!
If I'd have known I wouldn't have this thing on the road 13 years later I'd have likely just bought a Caterham.
Don't have a picture, but guess I did make a bit of progress. Got a tonneau cover put together. Goes a long way in making the car look complete.
So, hopefully:
-Build and install bumpers;
-Install windscreen;
-Install tonneau cover; and,
-Get buddy to come inspect the car.
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