First, the project is described at http://www.carcentric.com/SpitTrike.htm for those not already familiar from the previous thread in Locost Related.

Second, a Q&A excerpt from the official website of my state (Washington, USA): "Do all powered three-wheeled vehicles need to be licensed as motorcycles? No. If the vehicle qualifies as a motorcycle as defined in RCW 46.04.330 or 46.04.332, it will be licensed as a motorcycle for street use. However, if the vehicle has a bench seat and a steering wheel as defined in RCW 46.04.330 or 46.04.332, it will be licensed as a passenger vehicle or truck."

The donor Spitfire is already registered as a car, and there will be no bike parts or parts from any other car added (except maybe a double row timing chain and cam sprockets from a 4.5 MBenz for the final drive). So I'm thinking I can just do the surgery (convert one drive wheel to a spare), add a minimal Morgan-esque trike body, and continue to drive with the car license it has.

A local VW triker, however, is trying to convince me I need to have a state inspection (after conversion) by the State Patrol. "Why," I ask? "Because you'll have converted it to a trike," he says.

Since by the state's definition I'm not converting it to a motorcycle, seems to me that I'm just doing a little automotive "customization" - like chopping the top off a coupe to create a roadster. No inspection's needed for that. What say you, arbiters of all that matters?