Lawson's 818C

Lawson's 818C

The Complete 818 Coupe Documentation
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Registering an 818 or Kit Car in Georgia

So, I cannot speak to the titling process in other states or countries but this is the process I successfully did to get my 818C registered in GA as a 2020 Factory Five 818 ES Roadster. It’s a daunting task when you’re starting it, but mine went surprisingly smoothly.

The Build

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How to Pass the Georgia State Vehicle Inspection

Items required to pass state inspection

  • Working lights- this is the most thorough check they do. Make sure brake lights, blinkers, headlights, and hazards all work.
  • Brakes- They didn’t check mine but they’re supposed to.
  • Horn
  • Mirrors
  • Wipers
  • Seatbelts
  • No leaks or other safety hazards
  • Odometer needs to read what you eventually want it to have on the title. So if you’re going to clear it, clear it before the inspection.
  • The thing generally needs to appear complete. Keyword there is “appear”. I slapped my dash on, hadn’t done side windows, hadn’t done exterior door handles, wheel liners, and many other things. But you want the inspector to get the feeling this thing is road worthy.

Tips:

  1. Salvage vehicle inspectors can be found on the DOR MVD website.
  2. Register the car as a [Current Year] Factory Five Racing 818ES Roadster.
  3. When you call your inspector to arrange the appointment, get a feel for them and how lenient/accepting they will be of the kit car. Most are fairly relaxed. Almost none of them have done non-replica kit cars so you’ll have assure them it’s possible sometimes and stick to the procedure I’ve outlined.
  4. Documentation is EVERYTHING. I did not have a title to my donor, but I printed literally every receIpt I had and made a whole little booklet to hand the inspector. They scan these documents, along with FFR’s certificate of origin and the donor title if you have it, when they do the inspection.

Steps To Road Legality With A Factory Five 818 or Other Kit Car

Officially listed process from the DOR: https://dor.georgia.gov/assembled-and-unconventional-vehicles

  1. Get the items completed in the inspection list I made above.
  2. Contact a DOR-approved salvage vehicle inspector. You can find the contact info for all of them on the DOR website. The fee is set as $100. A lot of them do this as a side-gig so you may have to call a few.
  3. Bring your certificate of origin, donor title, MV-1, MV-100, T-129, and receipts to the inspection. The inspector will make a copy of these.
  4. Feel free to ask the inspector questions, but know that many of them DO NOT know how registering a non-replica kit car works. So take their advice with a grain of salt.
  5. Call the police department and get an officer to come look at the car and fill out a T22-B form.
  6. You have to show them the serial number on the frame which is up on the interior driver side of the firewall tubing.
  7. Get 2 3rd party appraisals on the value of your car. They’re supposed be notarized with a company logo. GA will use this to base your Ad Valorem tax on.
  8. Once you have all the paperwork and inspection completed, you need to mail or bring all of it in to the DOR.
  9. Write a letter explaining that this is a non-replica kit you built from parts and that you’ve attached all the associated documentation. This may help the DOR person understand what you’re submitting.
  10. Mailing Address: Attn: Salvage Unit Dept of Revenue / Motor Vehicle Division, PO Box 740384, Atlanta, GA 30374-0384
  11. Include a copy of your license, pictures of all angles of the car, and all the documents to brought to and received from the inspection.
  12. Also include $168 check for the titling fee.
  13. Wait 3-5 weeks for the DOR to process your paperwork. You can call to check but sometimes you just have to wait and hope it gets out of the void…
  14. The DOR will mail you a packet saying you need to pay your Ad Valorem tax and have a VIN plate and T-22 form included. Attach the VIN plate to the driver’s door sill.
  15. Call the police department to come out and sign the T-22 (not T-22B) form indicating that you have successfully mounted the VIN plate.
  16. Once the T-22 is complete go to your county tag office and pay the tax.
  17. Call your insurance company and get the car insured. This was a massive hassle for me being under 25, but for some this no biggie.
  18. Mail your tax receipt, tax letter, and complete T-22 to the DOR or bring it in person.
  19. The DOR should mail back a title in another 3-5 weeks.
  20. Mine had a strange hold on it at one point that the DOR could not explain. I was able to call them a few times and get it resolved.
  21. Once you have your title, go register it like a normal car!
 

All of this worked for me and I based my process from a write-up by forum user Hindsight here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jQvGmaj8k9Y6jH4fv9mzufQG-4xrYAVz/view?usp=sharing 

Sending in your appraisals before they ask for it does indeed save you one round trip of DOR communications.

General Tips For Handling the Vehicle Registration

  • Make copies of EVERYTHING. I have copies of all the receipts I submitted, every form I filled, every letter I got from the DOR. I have needed them on several occasions.
  • Don’t immediately believe anything anyone that hasn’t done the process tells you about registering a kit car. Including inspectors and DOR employees.
  • Being nice to the DOR employees and inspector goes a long way. There is…some leniency…in the system for nice people. (I had neither a donor title nor a working horn for the inspection)
  • Mail everything certified just in case.
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