1984 AM General M925A1 Registered Historical in California

[Truckoholic]

Well, went in to the DMV this morning and got my truck registered finally. The SF97 came in the mail yesterday, so last night I filled out all the paperwork including the application for Historical vehicle plates. Took it all in to the DMV this morning right after they opened so as to hopefully avoid the cranky tired DMV people you often get later in the afternoon. Oh wait........They are ALWAYS cranky! ha ha

I am a ONE Dmv visit per vehicle person. I do not like to make multiple visits to the DMV for one vehicle, so I make sure I have everything in order, and filled out before I go. I went in there, when it was my turn I went over and sat down, and told the lady "I just bought this truck from the government, and I need to transfer it into my name, and it needs to be registered historical".

At first she was a little overwhelmed by the governments SF97 and their bill of sale and things and wasn't quite sure what to do. Then once she got that sorted out she said "Can you even apply for historical registration on that? Is it even old enough?" I said "Yep! It has to be 25 years old or older and it is a 1984 making it 28 years old". She also said "I think you might need to have it weighed" So I said "Well, the last time I registered one of these trucks like this, I was told I had to go have it weighed, so I did, and when I came back with the weight certificate, one of you guys went to enter it into the computer, and it would not let you since the vehicle was being registered historical. So she went over and spent a few minutes looking through their big book of laws I guess, and after a while, she came over, entered a bunch of stuff in the computer, charged me $98 and gave me temporary registration to get me through til the Historic plates are mailed to me, and said have a nice day!

The DMV is there to serve you, but it's important to go in with confidence knowing what you "Need" and make it clear that's what you "Need" and not that you are seeking guidance as to what you "should do".

We've all totally over and over about this whole historical registration thing. I know darn well what restrictions there are on it, and it is up to ME to use the truck accordingly based on how it is registered since it meets the requirements set forth in the law for a vehicle to be registered that way. It is not up to some DMV clerk to insist that I have to register it commercial when it is not going to be used that way.

Now I must admit, that I don't really feel right about only being charged $98 for registration on a vehicle that I know darn well is going to get driven a lot more than just in parades or car club activities. But it is also not at all right that I should be charged the same amount as a full on commercial truck that is actually working, to pay for it's registration costs, nor should I be held to all of the requirements that a commercial truck is held to when this truck is going to just sit for most of the time, and only get played with on the weekends.

But whatever. That's my story. Now I just wait for the historical plates to come. Last time I was amazed that it only took 2 or 3 weeks when I was told it would probably be more like 3 months!

 

[MyothersanM1]

Congrats on another successful MV registration. Now the ole' truck is officially a civilian. Makes me think back to the day when I officially separated from the Army. Today is like your truck's official retirement day.

These trucks deserve a break when it comes to registration. They stood by all those years ready to serve and serving for democracy. They are our Iron Vets. I love the fact that my 19500lb truck has cheaper tags than my daily driver

As far as HV plate restrictions go, be creative and always have a story. If you drive it to the fuel pump, that's maintenance..."Officer, I just _______*fill in the blank*________(changed the oil, adjusted the brakes, etc.) and I'm taking her for a test drive." If one guy in the Home Depot parking lot looks at your truck and you gave him the nickel tour, then that is a car show. Put a flag on it and drive leisurely through downtown waving at the people...then you got a parade. See where I'm going with all this. Be articulate and you can use the HV law to your advantage.

 

[Truckoholic]

Ha ha yeah, I can totally see ways to be able to keep yourself from getting in trouble with it. A couple months ago a CHP officer saw the commercial plates on my 67 M35A2 and he said "It's too bad they wouldn't let you register that historic!" And I said "Well, actually I could have, but I chose not to because I wanted to be able to use this one to haul stuff and not have to worry about getting in trouble for driving it too much on historic plates". He said "Well, I think you ought to be able to register it historic and haul a tank in it!" So hopefully I don't have to worry about that particular officer giving me grief.

And you make a good point! These trucks pretty much deserve cheaper registration having served our country!

 

[jrod66]

Nice dude, glad you got it all sorted out. Seems like historical is the way to go, your truck is looking good

 

[Truckoholic]

Well, I drove my truck in to town for it's first time since getting it registered the other day. So much fun! Other than the transmission shifting harder than I figured it should, it did great and it was so fun to see all the peoples reactions as I drove by.

After cruising around town for a while, I went to Safeway because I was in need of some groceries. On my way in to the store, one guy came over and was asking me about the truck, and where I got it, and telling me that he wanted to get one but take the third axle off and make it a 4x4. So I got done talking to him, went in the store. Come out to find another guy walking around looking at my truck. So I talked to him for a while. He was quite interested in it too and wanted one for on his property. He said "You're not gonna be able to ever drive this thing anywhere because you will end up spending your entire life talking to people about it!" Boy was that the truth! So the instant he left, this other young guy comes over and introduces himself and shakes my hand and tells me he has a younger brother that has a lifelong dream of going into the army, and he asks me if I could follow him to his house so his younger brother could see the truck. Ha ha So, I had no where I had to be, other than my ice cream that I just bought melting. So I followed him to his house and let his 14 year old brother look at it, and get pictures of it, and get in it as I told them all about it.

Most definitely can't be making personal house calls like that very often, but I was just happy to drive it that much more and happy to show it off to some people that were excited to see it. Ha ha

But yeah, I can certainly tell that it is NOT the vehicle to drive if I am not in a good people friendly mood, or if I need to hurry up and get somewhere. Because I can see this thing with people wanting to spend 10 minutes each talking to me about it is going to be a pretty common occurrence. Good thing I am usually quite people friendly and like to talk about my hobby with people!

Going to sandblast and paint it this week. It's going to be so nice!

 

[lumberjack2]

I just purchased my first M925A1 and I'm trying to sort out insurance and registration when i stumbled upon your thread. I am hoping that GA laws are relatively the same and will allow me to register it as historic when I go. I was wondering how that effected your insurance. Did they put a limit on your milage or anything like that? I tried to get it insured as a recreational vehicle but they wouldn't go for it.

 

[randygk]

Yes, started the registration thing on the M923A1 in April and still waiting. Several trips to the DMV and CHP, but think I'm close to done. The worst part was the sour look the gal at the DMV gave me when she asked what kind of vehicle it was and I whipped out the IPhone and showed her a picture. Do yourself a favor and tighten the bolt with the ground lug on the control protection box that is on the engine side of the firewall. Our truck started to have a no cranking problem, traced to the box and started to remove it. The one bolt was about finger tight, torqued it down and all was good. 73

 

[Gunzy]

I wanted to go HV on mine but couldn't this year. Utah requires the vehicle to be 30 for what they call "Vintage Plates" so I have to wait til next year. That ment that this year I had to have a safety inspection ($17) and standard registration which cost $311, ouch. I was told that next year will cost the same to convert to vintage but should only cost $10 a year after that. I'm hoping and just waiting for next years renewal forms next August.

 

[tmaxxgod4]

when you get HV plates did the DMV need to inspect the truck to mach vins or anything?

also with it HV can you legally drive it with a class c licence?

 

[randygk]

DMV will want it weighed, CHP to inspect VIN and bill of sale. Our Vin was unreadable on frame, so CHP used dash number. Also have your SF-97 stating the year of mfg before CHP inspection (they have no clue and will assign a year based on best guess). You need at least a class B to drive a 5 ton from what I have found. Check for a local truck driver licensing business called "Class A in a Day" to see if one is in your area.