Ontario safety inspection question

That Guy

That Guy

Member
😏 I bet you saw the title and thought I was going to ask where I could get a fudged safety... didn't ya?

😐 No, nothing like that.

I am currently elbows deep in a '57 Coupe de Ville. The car came from California, and suffered some neglect in its life. One of the things that was left to die was the heater system...because California.

The hoses from the water pump to the heater core basically turned to glass, and are no longer there in some places. While I haven't tested it, I am willing to bet the heater core itself is probably toast as well.

I was looking over the safety inspection form on the Ontario website, and it has a section for heat, and being able to blow hot air on the windshield.

Obviously, my car cannot do this because the system is incomplete. The blower motor works, and it blows air on the windshield, but its not heated air. Does that cut it? Do they use a thermometer? I have seen other vintage cars and hotrods without HVAC systems installed. The really old ones don't even have vents. How do these cars pass the safety inspection in Ontario?

Do they make exceptions for vintage/antique/classic/hotrods/recreational summer only vehicles?

Eventually, I'd like to get all of the ancillary systems working, but at $770US for a new heater core, I'd like to put it off till later (unless I can find someone who actually REBUILDS them. I'm open to recommendations on that in the GTA/Southern Ontario if anyone has any).
 
When I got my safety done all they did was turn it on and off. Didn’t even put their hand on any vents. Just wanted to hear the motor work. Try it with what you have. If they say it’s no good then you will have to fix it. Nothing to loose ..good luck.
 
Many moons ago the regulation didn’t include the “heated” wording but that was added to capture VW’s with rusted out heat ducts – they would only blow cold air once they rusted out, thus no defrost. Under O/Reg. 611, your Caddy is a “historic vehicle” and everything has to be “in functional condition relative to its design, construction and operation.” It had heat to the windshield originally and will require heat again to legally pass the safety.
 
When you bring the car in for inspection and I assume it is on a trailer , the car has not been started . I would assume the only thing they need to start it for is to test your NSS and even at that they only need to see if the starter turns in gear. So if you turn on the fan to defrost it will naturally blow cold air. That should convince them you have a working defrost .
 
The inspection station has to have the motor running for more than just the neutral safety switch. The defrost has to emit HEATED air according to the reg and just having air flow from the vents isn't enough. Also, the station has to do a 40 kmh road test for brake performance and parking brake hold, they must test the power brake booster and power steering, the speedometer and odometer, the exhaust system for leaks, and the accelerator pedal for engine response. The handbook actually says “with engine running” for most of these. All of this is for a “legal” safety, anything less and you’re not getting your money’s worth.
 
TIME TRAVELLER said:
The inspection station has to have the motor running for more than just the neutral safety switch. The defrost has to emit HEATED air according to the reg and just having air flow from the vents isn't enough. Also, the station has to do a 40 kmh road test for brake performance and parking brake hold, they must test the power brake booster and power steering, the speedometer and odometer, the exhaust system for leaks, and the accelerator pedal for engine response. The handbook actually says “with engine running” for most of these. All of this is for a “legal” safety, anything less and you’re not getting your money’s worth.
Click to expand...

Burning 40kms worth of my gas, and being paid to cruise around in a 1950s cadillac, sounds more like they are getting their money's worth out of me.
 
Buy a cheap cigarette lighter heater unit , they are like $40ish----problem solved . But I would suspect inspection mechanic wouldn't even check

heater.jpg
 
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