The MIL-STD-1180-B describes the vehicles included as tired (not tracked) up to and including 5-ton variants, so it applies to a deuce. It gives the equivalent FMVSS for each MIL-STD.
http://everyspec.com/MIL-STD/MIL-STD-1100-1299/MIL-STD-1180B_22183/
The court case acknowledged the correlation between the MIL-STD and FMVSS as "demonstrating" FMVSS compliance.
Initial appeal:
http://165.189.64.94/Documents/DHA/Decisions/DOT/2011/110016.pdf
Re-hearing and overturn of appeal:
http://165.189.64.94/Documents/DHA/Decisions/DOT/2012/110016.pdf
You might show them those.
Also point out that they willingly register thousands of other vehicles that never met FMVSS, namely: everything pre-1968. At most, these vehicles pass an inspection for compliance with state equipment requirements. If your truck meets the state equipment requirements (or could be modified to do so), they may reconsider.
If they are stuck on FMVSS compliance, here are a few talking points:
One issue with proving FMVSS-compliance of an individual vehicle is that testing for it is near-impossible. Parts of the testing are destructive: at what psi does the brake hose fail? By the time you've tested the vehicle, it's damaged. This works for a manufacturer who can afford to sacrifice a couple test cars, but not so well for individual owners.
Finding proof of compliance with FMVSS also has problems. The manufacturers who built the stuff don't keep documents around for long; far less than 10 years. So finding documentation is like unobtanium. Discovery of the MIL-STD document was exceptional luck. (Thanks Mark P.)
Since 1969, US vehicles are required to have Certification Labels showing FMVSS-compliance, but this is not foolproof either. The label certifies that the vehicle met FMVSS
at the time it was manufactured, not that it meets FMVSS at the current date. A vehicle can go out-of-compliance merely by the failure of a headlight or seatbelt -
the label doesn't prove compliance.
While the presence of a label suggests FMVSS-compliance,
the absence of a label doesn't prove non-compliance. Whether the labels get damaged, painted over, or the whole door gets replaced, the label can be gone, but the car is still the same car. Your truck lacking a label does not prove non-compliance, but the MIL-STD does prove compliance.
Ask that your vehicle be held to the same (not higher) standards as all other vehicles of that model-year. Do they check for labels on other 1971 vehicles as a condition of registration? If not, are there any other equipment requirements that apply to a 1971 vehicle, such as within Louisiana state statute? I'd ask them to deal with your vehicle like the other pre-1969 or non-FMVSS-compliant vehicles: to require that your vehicle meet all of the Louisiana state equipment requirements that apply. If an inspection is part of that routine, then so be it.
