North Carolina inspection, yeah i do have to do it. Options

[tazz9924]

So im new to the carolinas, and therefore i have to get my 914 inspected at least once and i have a couple questions. Will they fail a car for not having those ugly wart lights on the side? And will they fail a car if the pop ups aren’t operational (my right one stopped working and i haven’t fixed it yet, it needs some new wires.) Is anyone here by chance an nc inspector that can help me out or know someone who does them and isnt a super stickler?

ps. side question what is the North Carolina antique plate for? is it like washingtons collector plates where it doesn’t require tabs/inspections but applies driving limits?

[era vulgaris]

Please allow me to clear up some misinformation and speculation that's in this thread. Because importing classic cars into NC is something I do almost yearly.

When you import a classic car (model year 35 years or older) into NC, you have to get it inspected one time by the License and Theft Bureau division of the DMV in order to get your title. You have one year from the time you register it and get your plates to have it inspected. Once the car is registered you can drive it, but you'll need to have it inspected to get the title. You can take it to a DMV inspection location, or you can have an inspector come to your house if the car is not running. When you go to the DMV to register it, they will give you the phone number of the License and Theft Bureau so that you can schedule a time to meet with an inspector. After the car passes the inspection, the DMV will issue you your title.
All they are checking is the VIN numbers. That is it. It is to make sure that 1) the car hasn't been reported stolen anywhere else in the country; and 2) that the VIN is legit for the car.

There was a fraud scandal 10 or 15 years ago here in NC where people were putting real 356 VINs on 356 replicas, in order to register and sell them as real Porsches. This is why NC now requires a one-time VIN inspection for classics imported into the state.
So now that you're an NC resident, you have one important thing to remember when buying a classic car from out of state: make sure that all VIN locations are there, and that all VINs match. If you see a 914 for sale and it's missing the door jamb sticker because someone removed it, or if the A-pillar tag is missing, etc you have to pass on the car because it won't pass the VIN inspection. Or for example, if you have a classic air-cooled VW that's had a pan swap, and the body VIN doesn't match the pan VIN, you'll need titles from the seller for both VINs.

I've imported about 6 or 7 classics into NC. I've never gotten an antique plate. I don't know why you'd want to. Just get a regular plate for your car. There are no emissions or safety inspections whatsoever for cars over 35 years old.

Also, had you gone to the DMV to register your car and get your license plate, they would have explained all of this to you there.