in hawaii,
the special interest vehicle thing is 1949, not '68, so 1950 and after have to get "recon"
technically, you can't have different lights than what your car was equipped with stock, if your car came with HID's then fine, but you can't add non OEM stuff. doesnt matter the color, even if it was pure white, he can still cite you, if the cop was M.H. then he's old enough to know what came on cars in the 60's and 70's. the whole impersonation thing he wrote up sounds like him.
the DOT thing doesn't matter, i tried to fight it once and was asked by the judge "who's DOT" "not the Hawaii State DOT"
Reconstruction was started in the 50's, it was to deter theft, if you had rims, headers, different engine, etc. anything different on your car you had to show recon the receipts, otherwise your in big trouble. Somewhere along the late 70's early 80's theft wasn't that huge a deal anymore, but i guess they didn't want to fire all these "inspectors", so recon stayed and became a nuisance.
you need recon if, rim diameter changes by 1" or more (so if you got a 16 you can go 16.5, but 17 or 15 you need recon), lowered and lifted vehicles, theres a 2 page thing on roll pans, so unless you want the hassle of them nitpicking you, no roll pans, no hood scoops, cowl hoods, or blowers sticking out, cuz it blocks your view, technically cops can give tickets for hanging your sunglasses on your rearview mirror, you have to have fenders no matter what, unless your a "T" bucket or something, then see special interest vehicle, exhaust has to exit so many inches(i forget) behind "last operating window", so no exhaust in front of the rear tire, unless your 60's-70's vette came like that, or a few years of the F-150, etc. etc. etc. theres so much more crap, i mean rules. recon is also based on population, so only oahu has it for now. i knew a guy that brought his 65 stang from the big island, with a huge roots blower and bug catcher sticking out of it, he was told to remove the blower, and get another hood cause you can't run without a hood, and you can't plug the hole with a scoop, or ship it back home.
you cannot get recon if, you have a full cage, especially the side impact bar, even if yours is a swing out (this may have changed), because it would take too long for the fireman to cut you out of a wreck, no 5 point harness, cause the fireman might not know how to unbuckle you, no shaved door handles, cause the fireman thing again, etc. etc. etc. this one goes on and on too. oh yeah, they don't want guys changing their ride height after they get recon, so they outlaw coilovers, but in the book it says "no adjustable suspension" arent all suspensions adjustable???
i learned most of this being in the hotrod scene my whole life, and though i havent personally read every page of these laws, one of my friends used to work recon, and another one still does, and my brothers a cop, so i'm usually pretty accurate with my car laws.
i wish i could go back to the states(CONUS), but the wife will never leave the island, and you guys got emissions.
