Oh gawd! Here's the story:
My buddy Petri (1964 OG paint, rat-look slammed air-ride beast) met me at my place. We rolled out bout 10:30. I got about 2 kms from my place and Babylon put on the flashers and pulled us over. Our lucky day, he awarded us with a complimentary government vehicle inspection. The MTO (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario) lanes are right there (he stopped us 100m from there). We had to follow him in. Ontop of that, I didn't have proof of valid insurance with me, but he issued me a caution and not a ticket.
We got out of the vehicle and waited out turn for the inspection. I had just put the safari's in the beast, so there were no wipers on the bus. When no one was looking, I got the wipers from under the seat and slipped them on...
.
I was up first, the cop driving the bus couldn't figure out the parking brake. And they call themselves professionals.... Well, they pulled it into the garage (I was asked to wait outside so I couldn't witness the inspection). When it pulled out 15mins later it had no plate....oh no!
They got me on a bunch of things:
1)no front marker light (they are in the headlight like stock, but apparently not good enough ?)
2)no brake lights (this one is right, I only have one switch and I guess it quit on me, next time I'm doing what the factory did and put two in parallel)
3)broken lower hinge on the drivers side (no complains from me here)
4)steering box was wet with oil (not sure if that constitues an unfit vehicle?)
5)power steering system leak (I have NO idea where he saw a power steering system in a 65 bus, but hey?)
6)Tires touching the wheel well ( thats what happens with 17's and low buses I guess, I'm gonna tub that thing)
7) hole in the passenger dogleg (it's about a quater big)
8) no defrost system ( I have no fans or heater box).
I'm not complaining too bad, but it is very fustrating. I bet the inspector must have been a little surprised to see the 4 wheel disk system on that ol' bus. They pulled my plates and the bastard tow driver charged my $80 to tow me 2.5kms home!
My buddy had 2 things, his left front indicator didn't work (loose contact, a gentle slap and it comes back to life), and no defrost system. They pulled his plates. While the cop was waiting for a lift to clear out, he was in the drivers seat hittin the switches, calling all his buddies over to see the car go up and down! At the very least the whole occasion was mildly entertaining.
So, I guess it's a hard way to learn, and to all the other guys out there keep them in shape!
To spite the cops, next year I'm gonna make the bus ever grungier, nastier and dirtier. I'm thinking about stripping some paint and letting it 'patina', then clearcoating the whole thing. I want to get pulled again and have the car pass. Imagine my nasty bus driving away from the inspection? It'd be hilarious. If I keep it, ofcourse...