Yes, I passed inspection!!!
The facility was in Asbury Park, about an hour away. The appointment was at 9 am so I left the house around 7:30 am to allow a little extra time.
I was up at 6 to load the car with all my tools, paperwork, tape, glue, etc. hoping that if there was a problem with something, they would let me correct it on the spot. I later found that would have been ridiculous -- the regulations don't work that way. I was a little worried about getting the car on the trailer because it was cold and the trailer was covered with a thin sheet of ice, but no problems. The drive was uneventful and since I was going against the traffic, I made it there 15 minutes early. Good, I thought, maybe I can get through the inspection earlier, but no, the regulations don't work that way.
The facility appeared empty from the outside, but there was one guy sitting on a plastic chair outside a door. OK, I'll try that door. As I approached, I noticed the 23 signs that all said, "DO NOT ENTER", "RING BELL ONCE", "DO NOT RING BELL MORE THAN ONCE", "WAIT OUTSIDE"... So what did I do -- rang the bell once and carefully stepped back from the door. I had a feeling the doorknob might have been electrified. I wasn't sure what was going on in there, but it must be important, maybe it had something to do with national security. After a few moments, I heard footsteps approaching from the other side, locks unbolted and the door cracked open. "Yes", the mustached man said. "I'm here for my inspection" as I pointed my thumb back over my shoulder at the car on the trailer. "Someone will be with you shortly", and the door closed.
That went well, I thought. I looked around at the outdoor waiting area and decided to go back to my car since it was still below freezing. 25 minutes later, another employee came out to see me. It was Joe, the guy who I had spoken with on the phone and who's house was destroyed by the hurricane. He was friendly and put me (somewhat) as ease. He told me unload the car as he opened one of the large garage doors. I drove the cobra in and got it lined-up on the vehicle lift and then he had me open the hood. Fortunately, he commented "this is a nice one". Joe explained that this part was going to take about 45 minutes and I should wait outside. So back to the car I went. "This part?" I thought. How many parts are there? By the way, I don't have any pictures inside the facility because it clearly would have been a violation of the regulations. Let's just say it was a very big garage with a couple car lifts, two guys working, some files cabinets, lots of OSHA signs and a giant safe like you'd see in a bank from the 1800's. I figured the safe is where they keep all the important forms.
Presumably Joe was inspecting the underside of the car to see where all the wires, fuel lines, brake lines, etc were run and that none of the moving parts were close to any parts that aren't supposed to move. About an hour later, the garage door opened again.
As Joe came out, I was looking for some kind of indication how "this part" had gone. Nothing. Is that good, or not good, I thought. Finally, he said, "everything looks good", and I was able to exhale. Then he had me demonstrate that the headlights, high beams, turn signals and brake lights all work. They did. I showed him a sensor that checks for brake fluid leaks. But he didn't bother to check for other things that are required like a horn, flashers, windshield defroster, wipers and other sensors/indicators. I had them, but I guess he had gotten comfortable that the car was properly constructed. He asked me a couple questions about other design/construction details, but never bothered to confirm what I was saying. "That's it" he said. And then came the dreaded, "oh, just one more thing..., we have to do a brake test".
The car doesn't have power brakes or ABS so I wasn't sure what it would take to pass. I know the brakes work, but do they work well enough? Joe had me move the car to another area where you drive the car forward and slam on the brakes while the car is on sensor pads. After having just settled down, I'm more nervous than ever. As I was waiting for him to give me the signal to drive forward onto the pads, he told me to turn the car off because the computer had frozen. I looked over at the computer and saw that it was a Gateway computer from about 1997. I hoped the system had broken and he would just waive the test. But no, he restarted the computer and I saw it slowly reboot. After waiting about 10 minutes for the computer to reload, I saw that the system now seemed to be working. He had me run the car through the test three times and finally gave a thumbs-up. I was a little unsure if I should ask what the test showed, but I decided I should know and he said that everything was within specs.
Want to know what was in that big safe? After the brake test, Joe said he had to take a few pictures of the car for the file. He went over to the safe, turned the dial a few times and spun the big wheel. The door slowly swung open and sitting inside was a digital camera (probably as least 10 years old). He took the pictures and I drove the car outside to load it back on the trailer. He said he would fax the forms back to the main office and they would issue me a title.
I loaded the car and got out of there.
I should get the title in about a week and then I'll be able to get my plates. On the road just in time for Christmas.
