Toyota Stalking, er...um, SPOTTING with Charlie™ (Land Cruiser and Lexus LX/GX Edition)!

I'd like to do that too, wouldn't be overly hard really.

 

Is it easy to do a manual swap on a North American FJ80 or FZJ80?

 

Yeah, guys in Japan that junk 80 series with messed up bodies with palletize all the parts you need and ship em over for about 3k. Thought about it before. It's all bolt in

 

What I would love to do is put the guts of an FZJ80 in a pre-1975 Toyota. It would have a modern drivetrain, but be totally exempt from emissions testing, even in California! In Pennsylvania, where I live, gas-powered vehicles older than 1975 do not require emissions testing if registered as a passenger vehicle (as opposed to an antique/classic); In California, all vehicles 1976 and newer must pass smog every two years, and there is no antique vehicle loophole. California sucks!

 

I live in a free state known as Washington, we have no emissions or yearly inspections. Wanna register? Just have a title in your name.. done!

 

Maine is the same way; People in Connecticut use a loophole to register their vehicles in Maine for the sole purpose of avoiding Connecticut's annual property tax on vehicles. Connecticut and Maine both require emissions testing, but my research shows that the property tax irks Connecticut residents a lot more than the emissions testing!

So, all I have to do is show my truck's Pennsylvania title, and I can get a Washington title and license plates?!?!

 

No but you could get Vermont plates like that. In WA you have to show proof of some form of residency here. Even if it is just a water bill with your name and address here. In VT you just have to tell them you want a plate from them, don't even need a title haha.

 

Something I forgot to mention the other day Charlie. FYI, Branford is on Long Island Sound, not the Hudson River. Wouldn't want you to sound less than authoritative should the topic ever arise at a cocktail party.

 

LOL, I was told it was the Hudson River by a relative, and I could see the Manhattan skyline from the beach!

 

That's how @BartMaster1234 circumvented like $1,500 in DMV fines against the California title on a Tacoma he bought at auction, and I believe when got the Vermont title he just applied for a new California title!

 

Is emissions testing required statewide in Connecticut? Do you have to get your truck tested, or is it new enough that it is exempt?

 

The reason I did that is because I didn’t have a title at all. I registered it in Vermont, and sold it to a TW member in Nevada. The truck is in Arizona now, three owners later. It’s about to roll over 500k from what I’ve heard.

 

I thought there was a title, but there was like $1,500 in DMV fees against it and California wouldn't give you a new title until you paid them...?

 

@Red Alert

Here's a Land Cruiser that I spotted in Branford during that family vacation almost seven years ago!

 

My previous vehicles registered in CT were required to pass emissions, every 2 years I think. I was unaware of emissions exemption, but looking at my Taco certificate there is a line item "Emissions 4-Year Exempt Fee" for $40. IIRC emissions testing was $20 a shot biannually so that's a wash. There are also line items for "Clean Air Act Fee" - $15 & "Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fee" - $10. So it's all a bunch of shit. Anyway they'll never get rid of all the hot air & toxic gases spewing out of Hartford & Harrisburg.

 

California charges a fee to electric vehicle owners solely for driving an electric vehicle and thus being exempt from smog testing! Safety inspection in CT or no?

 

No my man, just emissions or so I thought. Sometime I'll look up details of that emissions exemption. Can't be arsed ATM. Thanks for opening my eyes re this. 90% of your encyclopedic knowledge isn't useless at all.

 

Your state actually has the audacity to charge property taxes on vehicles; Virginia and South Carolina do as well, but Connecticut seems to be particularly expensive from what I've read!

 

This is when I tried to take the Vermont paperwork and obtain a California title. They can see the vehicle still in the DMV system and said I owed those back taxes.

 

So you got a Vermont title and circumvented all that nonsense? So, if someone attempted to register that truck in California, would they have to pay those taxes?