"Upon initial registration with the Department of Motor Vehicles, a passenger vehicle or pickup truck that is a specially constructed vehicle, as defined in Section 580 of the Vehicle Code, ..."
580. A "specially constructed vehicle" is a vehicle which is built for private use, not for resale, and is not constructed by a licensed manufacturer or remanufacturer. A specially constructed vehicle may be built from (1) a kit; (2) new or used, or a combination of new and used, parts; or (3) a vehicle reported for dismantling, as required by Section 5500 or 11520, which, when reconstructed, does not resemble the original make of the vehicle dismantled. A specially constructed vehicle is not a vehicle which has been repaired or restored to its original design by replacing parts.
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The "not for resale" is a bit worrisome since it implies you can never sell the car but maybe the legal meaning is you aren't intending to build them and sell them as a commercial business ... Now that I think about it, what's the difference. I dunno. Maybe once it's built you can only keep it or destroy it. If someone understand the legal meaning of that, chime in.
I seriously doubt it will pass since it would pretty much allow anyone to make "any changes" to any car and claim it's a SCV. Plus 580's last sentence could be interpreted to mean "no, just because you stuck a 70's V8 in there doesn't make it 'special constructed'". I think there are too many holes here for the legislature to buy into it. But ya never know!
[This message has been edited by TK (edited 03-12-2010).]