CA Registration of 1959 SPCNS advice

[payne]

Gents-

In 1959, my grandfather built a homebuilt race car, not too dissimilar to an Atom.  He then registered it in Michigan.  After a few decades of rotting, my uncle found the car, had it shipped to CA, and we are going to restore it.

So we have a SPCNS that was registered in 1959.  Has not been registered in 30+ years.  Any advice on how to frame the car to the CA DMV to be able to drive it on the street?

Thanks,
Jason

[Karl]

From what I can recall, reciprocity does not hold for vehicles that do not meet FMVSS, so officially, this may not be possible. However, if you can somehow produce the original purchase/build documentation, this would greatly help your case to the state. I have heard of people walking into the DMV with an out of state title and walking out with a CA registration, but that to me feels like walking on thin ice. Some other owners who have imported their Atoms to CA may have some additional insight!