Question for you Albertans
 

Hello, from Nova Scotia!

I am being transferred to Edmonton next year. I am a little bit concerned whether my 92 F150 4X4 will pass the out of province inspection or if it will fail. I want to get your opinion.

The truck is actually in really good shape. The front end is tight, new radius arm brackets, bushings, ball joints, new brake cables, the body is even good believe it or not. It is in really good shape overall. What I am worried about is, the truck once had a plow mount which was welded on to the frame at the front of the truck. The plow mount has since been cut off but there remains bits of plow bracketry welded on. There is no front sway bar either, if it had one (which I think it did because there is one in the rear) it was removed to make room for the plow gear, and the brackets cut off.

So what do you guys think, is this going to cause me problems when I try to get my truck registered?

If you are really concerned about it, sell it and buy a differnt truck when you get out here.

Digger6 that is what I would like to do, but this truck is my mode of transportation. I am either going to drive this truck to Alberta or sell it and drive a different truck to Alberta. I am trying to get an idea of how feasible it would be. The last thing I want to end up with is a vehicle that I can't register. I have spent a fair bit of time and money getting this truck to run the way I want. I'm hoping someone reads this who has had a few of these inspections done or works at a shop that does them, so I can get a good idea.

I am from Alberta and when I lived there I had bought used cars from out of province and had to actually scrap one because it wouldn't pass. From what I remember the required inspection was very very thorough and cars that were in good shape weren't passing due to seemingly minor things.

You could probably upgrade for cheap. Things are tough right now, people are selling almost brand new stuff for what they owe on it just in an attempt to save there credit rating. I was talking to a guy about a 2007 Suzuki quad for $3000, just so he could get out of it.

i think you should be okay with the plow brackets. the inspection is mostly to check for mechanical damage such as missing parts, bent or damaged frames, properly operating components (such as neutral safety, back up lights, heaters, etc).they also check that all the hidden VIN numbers match the main VIN number to make sure you are not bringing a stolen car here for resale.

as long as the plow attachment didn't damage the frame or cause any cracks at the attachment point, you should be good.

the front sway bar on the other hand might be an issue as it is a safety item. if the new trucks come standard with a front sway bar, then it might not pass and you will have to attach one (is not a bad idea anyways especially if you have one on the rear as it will cause some handelling issues without a front bar is some cases) to re-pass the inspection. i know the older trucks (at least the 70's and 80's) trucks never came with front sway bars as standard so they would pass. might want to look into that one as that is a way out if they didn't come standard on the truck.

had to get my 60 ford inspected after i Hot Rodded it as it was originally from Sask. even with all the custom work i done to it (mustang II front end, 460 installed, disc brake rear end, custom interior) they were more concerned with no sun visors and no heater in the truck and i didn't have a nuetral safety installed (has to match the safety equipment offered on the engine/trany installed not year of truck). installed some sun visors and shown them that the heater was an option on these trucks and not standard and they passed it. so i don't think they will say anything about the plow brackets.

as long as the truck is in good mechanical shape and has never been written off and everything still works (power windows, seats, etc) then shouldn't be a big deal.

rgds
Mike

Thanks for that reply Mike.

Edmonton is where I am headed. Can you recommend a good shop?

As far as dealerships are concerned, I go to Koch Ford on Gateway and 51 Avenue. Good people, easy to deal with. Denny Andrews is good if you need work done later in the day and they have staff on - I had balljoints popped and pressed at 9:00 PM this past summer.

The only smaller independent shops I go to are out of town. Some good ones out there. I'm certain there are many in Edmonton.

Welcome back to Alberta. :)

i got my inspection done at Dalzells Automotive. they just opened a new shop on 127th ave between 97th st and 82nd st.

they were real good.before they even looked at the truck they told me all the points and procedures they go thru for an out of province inspection to make sure i wasn't wasting my money by bringing in a half finsished truck. they did the inspection, told me all the problems, kept the file open until i made the repairs and then checked them off and passed the truck. that way you don't have to go thru the whole process again if they fail it and submit the paperwork to the government.

it cost me i think $176 all told, but i was very happy with the professionalism and the service i got from them. i would highly recommend them.

rgds
Mike

Dalzell's, wasn't that in an old husky service station on 97 St across from the schiezuan restaurant? Memory's a little foggy but I did have some work done there, once, if it's the same guys. Thanks for the tips guys.:-drink:-drink