[chopper]

When I moved to AZ from Pennsylvania three years ago, the PA title listed the car as a 1991 "Specially Constructed Vehicle." I talked with the friendly folks at the AZ MVD office, and they told me to bring it in with all of the current paperwork, and that the car would be registered as the year of the car it replicated. In other words, since it's a replica of a 1966 Cobra, it would be registered as a 1966 Cobra. There was a little confusion between the actual folks doing the inspections outside, and the paperwork ladies inside, apparently caused by the fact that their list of available choices for cars didn't display any reference for a "Cobra." The lady kept checking her computer screen and asking me "What is it again?" She even called the central MVD office for about five minutes. She finally came back and asked me "Are there any major parts from any common car?" I told her the engine was from a 1966 Ford (it is), so that set the year. When the final title came back, it was listed as a 1966 Cobra.

As stated earlier, the primary advantage is that, if it's listed as anything prior to 1968, you're exempt from having to comply with the emissions tests. Not all of AZ requires emissions checks, but Maricopa and Pinal counties do, and that encompasses about 80% of the population in AZ. Also, in AZ, the registration fee is tied to the age of the car, with newer cars being assessed at a fairly heavy rate. If I recall correctly, I think I paid something like $42 for the first year registration fee on the Cobra, and about $600 for the (then new) Saturn station wagon.