MD safety Inspection 1964 Imperial rant

64Imperial

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I'm just throwing this out there but I wanted to get regular tags on my 1964 Imperial because the state cops around my town are really cracking down on people driving their cars with historic tags...

I put my car through a safety inspection and it failed for a neutral safety switch, car starting in gear, and that the parking break did not hold...

Well to say the least my car operates perfectly normal and I tried to explain to the inspection station that when my car was created the park lever had to be down in order to engage the parking brake. Once you lift the parking lever the parking brake will release.

The other is the claim it starts in gear, but it only starts in neutral pushed in and the park lever down, the way it was designed! I'm just frustrated. I'm thinking of taking it to another inspection place that will hopefully understand and actually look at how my car operates...

Does anyone have any tips on what I should look for in an inspection station? Thank you in advance!
 
Bring a manual or something that says all that. If they still fail you, write a nice but assertive complaint letter to whoever is boss explaining that they fail your car for what is normal operating procedure.
 
I'm just confused. How could they say it starts when in gear if it actually doesn't? Seems like that would be easy enough to demonstrate. And the parking brake thing is not that unusual. Heck, my 1983 Ford LTD had a vacuum release for the parking brake. The parking brake would automatically release if you moved the lever out of park. This isn't rocket science. I think a lot of pre-1970 cars would crank and start without pushing in the clutch. When our old cars died at an intersection we used to use the starter motor to get off to the side of the road!! I am of the understanding that cars only have to meet the standards applicable to the year they were sold. Am I wrong?
 
Bring a manual or something that says all that. If they still fail you, write a nice but assertive complaint letter to whoever is boss explaining that they fail your car for what is normal operating procedure.
That sounds like a great idea! I definitely will!
 
Do you have any relatives in a less complicated state? I’ve known others to register the car with a family member’s address in less complicated states that are friendly to classic cars. Just a thought
 
I'm just confused. How could they say it starts when in gear if it actually doesn't? Seems like that would be easy enough to demonstrate. And the parking brake thing is not that unusual. Heck, my 1983 Ford LTD had a vacuum release for the parking brake. The parking brake would automatically release if you moved the lever out of park. This isn't rocket science. I think a lot of pre-1970 cars would crank and start without pushing in the clutch. When our old cars died at an intersection we used to use the starter motor to get off to the side of the road!! I am of the understanding that cars only have to meet the standards applicable to the year they were sold. Am I wrong?
You're definitely correct! I took it to that inspection station because they said they deal with older cars... I even showed them how it worked when I went to pick up the car... I'll definitely take it somewhere else
 
Ask around at car shows and cruise-ins and see where other people are taking their cars. Then tell them about the idiots at the place you took yours.
 
Operation should be outlined in the owners manual. Bring it with you and educate them. Do you have a factory service manual. It will help also.
 
Do you have any relatives in a less complicated state? I’ve known others to register the car with a family member’s address in less complicated states that are friendly to classic cars. Just a thought
Well I do but PA and west Virginia require either yearly or 2 year inspections. MD is only one for the lifetime of your ownership
 
Operation should be outlined in the owners manual. Bring it with you and educate them. Do you have a factory service manual. It will help also.
I do! I tried to show them and the guy just walked off! I was so mad!
 
Ask around at car shows and cruise-ins and see where other people are taking their cars. Then tell them about the idiots at the place you took yours.
I definitely will! I'm honestly just mad because you pay $100 for the inspection and you either have it repaired at their shop, a shop you choose or yourself in 30 days and bring it back to them to inspect... ridiculous
 
Keep us updated. I'd like to know how this all works out for you.
I definitely will! I know if you disagree with an inspection in Maryland you can take it to the state police to preform an inspection and override the original or if there is issues they missed and passed, they will investigate them.
 
I'm just throwing this out there but I wanted to get regular tags on my 1964 Imperial because the state cops around my town are really cracking down on people driving their cars with historic tags...

I put my car through a safety inspection and it failed for a neutral safety switch, car starting in gear, and that the parking break did not hold...

Well to say the least my car operates perfectly normal and I tried to explain to the inspection station that when my car was created the park lever had to be down in order to engage the parking brake. Once you lift the parking lever the parking brake will release.

The other is the claim it starts in gear, but it only starts in neutral pushed in and the park lever down, the way it was designed! I'm just frustrated. I'm thinking of taking it to another inspection place that will hopefully understand and actually look at how my car operates...

Does anyone have any tips on what I should look for in an inspection station? Thank you in advance!

Find an inspection with a mature tech who understands older cars.

Dave
 
Having had the displeasure of living in MD for a number of years, you should move.

aznstreetoutlaws-photo-2021_07_26_18_44.jpg
 
As far as the parking brake issue, I imagine you could temporarily unhook the vacuum line, and somewhere under there there's a manual release FSM shows where its at
I also own a 64 Imperial, no seatbelts for the rear passengers, and no hazard flashers would be more of a safety concern in my book, but that's the way she came
,we used to have e- check here in Ohio, went to get a Ford Pinto e-checked one time, sat in line about 20 minutes, the tech noticed a couple drops of oil under it and failed me, I told her "lady, this is a Pinto, it dripped oil on the showroom floor when it was new"
I went back on a rainy day and passed LOL
 
Pa antique auto tag is lifetime with no inspection ever. One saving grace to this state. Inspections suck, your kidding yourself if you think it prevents accidents. Like the trucker meme that goes around, "we need to inspect your truck to make sure it is safe for our roads" well their roads suck.
Good luck.
I piss my mechanic off every time I take a car in because I do not look at a single thing, it's his job, make a list, and then that's all I'm repairing.
State inspections, especially Pa and it's measuring and disassembly of my vehicle is exactly why my truck and trailer are not registered in this state.
 
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