kimbo305 posted:

Insurance and registration

I arranged to go get the Europa a couple of Saturdays ago. Muffinpox would drive back the spares in the Charger. On the way there, I realized I hadn't gotten insurance to drive on the Europa.
I called up Amica, and luckily got an answer. However, they said they don't deal with vehicles of this age. I remember asking them about this when I got the Boxster insured, but must have mixed up insuring kit cars vs vintage. They transfered me over to Hagerty, who asked a ton of meaningful questions about usage, what normal cars I drove, how it was garaged, and even trim -- "ok, a 1974 Europa... is it a Twin Cam Special?" Never thought I'd hear that specific a question from an insurance agent. Hagerty was ok with everything -- the seller was already a customer, which seemed to speed things along, including having on file the non-17-digit vehicle identification number: 743650R.

We got a big box of spares along with an NG3 (not stock, but compatible) transmission. The spare windshield glass is not that big, but it was in a huge box that wouldn't fit into the Charger.

We drove to my apartment and I parked the Europa, expecting to get the RMV-1 registration form by Monday, when the agent told me that specific department would process the form.
When Monday afternoon rolls around, I call Hagerty up. Apparently, they physically mail out the form, as "it needs to be physically stamped." All the other insurance companies I've used simply use a digital stamp on the PDF they email me.

I get the RMV-1 form in the mail Wednesday and have to fill in a bunch of stuff that Hagerty already asked me, but whatever.
Thursday, I go to the RMV and turn in all my paperwork. The only thing I'm slightly nervous about is the old VIN. I'd be way more nervous if I wasn't holding the previous MA-issued title, so I know it got through the system once before. The clerk doesn't ask me anything about the VIN -- must have gone in just fine. She does remind me that tax is based on book value, which works out to $15570. Not that far off from the auction price of 16750, though higher than what I expected.

Inspection

Ok, on to the last step -- inspection. As I've watched various cars pass by on BaT, I've familiarized myself with what you need to pass state inspection in Mass:
- horn
- lights and turn signals
- wipers and sprayers
- working parking brake
Oh, and installed license plates.

When I stepped out of the RMV, this is what I saw affixing the license plate to the car:

I couldn't seem to back the plastic screw out with my minitool, so decided to have the inspection shop help me out.
I show up, and explain to the tech the shift pattern. He gets nervous about getting it into gear, and has me drive into the inspection bay.
From there, the shop (rightly) puts up a fuss about needing the plates installed. I figure that since the screw just spins and spins under a screwdrive, it must be affixed from the other side somehow, not using metal threading bonded into the fiberglass.

Verifying my guess is where the extremely spare construction of the Europa comes in handy. And is probably the reason the plate is installed this way.

The trunk area is simply a fiberglass tub that sits on top of a crossmember and around the lip formed by the fenders. It's only affixed by those two big bolts, which bolt into brackets off the air filter housing:


I borrow a socket wrench and 12mm from the shop, unbolt the bolts, lift out the tub, and spot the back side of the plate screws -- they're plastic (nylon) nuts. No shot of the nuts, but here's the tub hanging out by itself:


The tech unbolts the plate and I help him put the new one on -- there's some washers and rubber spacers that make it a bit finicky. As he's buttoning up, I got some shots of the rear suspension, shown later.

Anyways, we have the rear plate swapped, so I put the tub back in and bolt it secure. The shop manager puts up a minor fuss about the front plate not having any mounting solution before leaving it be.
I turn on the lights for the tech, and that's it.
No test of the parking brake, horn, wipers, or sprayers, which all do work.

I pay my $35 and get outta there.


Have you ever wondered how you could trim some weight off a wiper fluid reservoir? Well, how bout making it a bag?: