Newcomer and assistance requested (1 Viewer)

[Atticus]

Hey all:

I've recently moved to the DC area. My wife and I split a commute between Baltimore and DC, so we live in Columbia. I have a '97 FZJ80, 40th Anniversary. Some of you may have seen my thread in chat, called "Fxxx Maryland." Anyway, the short of it is that I failed my initial inspection, and am in the process of doing some repairs. The one thing that I don't have, and don't really want to buy, is an OEM bumper. I have an ARB, and the tech at the inspection center says that I need to take it off (but, inexplicably, that I can put it back on after the inspection - awesome).

Anyway, Felix has offered to let me borrow his bumper, but I'd like some more irons in the fire, so if anybody has a factory bumper lying around that they are not using, I'd love to borrow it for a week or so, or buy/trade for it.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Jay

 

[Blue77FJ40]

Jay, welcome to our traffic congested piece of heaven. There are a number of 80 owners in the area, hopefully we can take care of your inspection needs. Sorry to hear our inspectors gave you such a hard time. Gotta love our excise tax too.

 

[greytandy]

Welcome to MD. The MD safety inspection can be a real scam depending upon the place that "inspects" the vehicle. I've seen folks go to two different places and get two different opinions about what needs to be done. If you can afford it, try going to another inspection station and see what happens.

- Dave

 

[Atticus]

The law in Maryland is that you've got to go back to the same inspection station.

Anyway, I spent about two hours this morning at the Maryland MVA until I found somebody who could help me out, and the State of Maryland is now officially "okay" with my ARB bumper. I appreciate everybody's help. This site is a great resource.

As far as scams go, the guys at the Columbia Sunoco wanted to charge me to spray my hood latch with something because "it felt kind of sticky". I'm going to do all of the required repairs and get it passed, but I'm putting the word out: Columbia Sunoco is a scam.

 

[John Smith]

Glad to hear you found someone to help you out at the MVA. It sounds like you found one of the scammer inspection stations who use it as a revenue source.

 

[Atticus]

Glad to hear you found someone to help you out at the MVA. It sounds like you found one of the scammer inspection stations who use it as a revenue source.

No question at all.

 

[laxman33]

Jay , I live in the Historic Ellicott City area ( my wife works in Baltimore and I work in DC - sounds familiar ) I have a couple good local sources to get stuff done. Let me know , Jay - 1976 FJ40

 

[Atticus]

Jay , I live in the Historic Ellicott City area ( my wife works in Baltimore and I work in DC - sounds familiar ) I have a couple good local sources to get stuff done. Let me know , Jay - 1976 FJ40

Thanks, dude. I'm going to tighten my wheel bearings and replace a broken stud and some brake pads, and I should be good. When they tell me that there's something else they forgot to tell me about before, I'm going to shoot each and every one of them.

I assume you take the Marc. Which station do you go to?

 

[laxman33]

Jay , sorry to hear about all the issues. The crazy part in Maryland is that if you are registering a historic vehicle ( my 76 ) you don't even need a inspection. You can run around like Fred Flintstone and be good to go.
I don't take the MARC , I'm in sales so I'm on the road quite a bit.
Again , if you guys are new to the area and need any help please let me know.
Jay

 

[Atticus]

Jay , sorry to hear about all the issues. The crazy part in Maryland is that if you are registering a historic vehicle ( my 76 ) you don't even need a inspection. You can run around like Fred Flintstone and be good to go.
I don't take the MARC , I'm in sales so I'm on the road quite a bit.
Again , if you guys are new to the area and need any help please let me know.
Jay

Thanks again.