I have owned my 74 C3 for for about a year now. When I purchased the car the tags were good till this month. Now I got my notice in the mail to get it tested.

Is there a way around getting your car tested. I'm almost certain it will not pass. I have regular insurance but really only drive it a few times a month. If I get classis car insurance will I be able to not go through the dreaded test?

Any help on this subject will be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Oh yeah I live in the city of Tucson, Arizona.

 

antique(sp?) plates

 

Check your state DMV. Each state is a little different. Here in PA, if you get antique plates - not testing at all. With Classic plates, we still have to get an annual inspection. If you drive less that 5000 miles - no emission testing on any car.

 

In North Carolina if the car is 35 years or more no inspection at all.
PM sent also.

 

Good luck....here in WA state its 25 yrs old and no inspection. Also requirements vary by county. Most metro counties require it, whereas rural counties do not. I believe that antique plates are exempt, though not sure...

 

Here in NY, if it 25 years or older it is just a safety inspection. no emissions at all

 

I used to live in Sierra Vista while stationed in the Army. Thats about an hour south. We had no emission testing of any vehicle down there. Maybe take a nice drive and get your car inspected down there???

May not work, but worth looking into.

 

Pull your distributor vacuum advance and your emmissions will drop to almost 0.

I had a tech show me this on an analyzer with my old 78 Camaro back in my poor days. I was high in both HC and CO and he pulled the vacuum advance and the guages almost dropped to 0. I was amazed.

He said, "Do you want to fix it or do you just want to pass?"

B...

 

Emissions standards for '74 vehicles are pretty low. If your car is in a decent state of tune, you should be able to pass. At least your absence of catalytic converters isn't a concern, since it didn't come with them.

 

I just acquired an 87 Cherokee that has a history of not passing emissions. I was advised to run a couple of cans of Sea Foam and Octane Booster thru the engine (gas additive)... or there are a couple of products out there, one called Guaranteed to Pass, that "guarantees" you to pass emissions. Well, I didnt do it because I needed to get the inspection done and didnt have time to go thru a couple of tanks. It didnt pass, but next year I'm going to try it!! Just a thought!

Good luck!

 

Good point. The Transmission Controlled Spark (TCS) did the same thing and killed vacuum in the lower gears.
Hurt fuel economy and performance but definitely lowered emissions.

 

Wow, thanks for all the info, will keep updating this post and let you know how everything turned out. Thanks!

 

Why are you sure it won't pass? I don't know anything about AZ, but here in NJ, my car only had to pass "original specification". That was 700 ppm for HC. When they hooked it up to the machine, it blew over 3000 ppm of HC, and the mechanic said he thought it was running rich. I checked the tailpipes and sure enough, there was some soot back there. The guy seemed to know what he was talking about, so I paid him to do a complete adjustment on my carb. The car runs and idles better than before, and blew just 300 ppm of HC. I now have a regular sticker to go with my regular registration, so as far as NJ is concerned, I can drive my car whenever and wherever I want without worrying about the hassle of town cops pulling me over and asking me where I am going. Unless your car is burning a significant amount of oil, I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it won't pass with a few adjustments thrown in there.

If I knew more about your specific test, I could give you some pointers on passing as I have a fair amount of experience getting antique age cars through regular emissions. One that is kind of general for Corvette: most of us like our idle around 800 rpm. Generally, the higher the engine speed, the lower your HC emissions. In NJ, the test allows an idle speed of "up to 1250 rmp", so before the test, turn your idle screw until your tach says about 1100 at operating temp idle. Also, make sure your engine is all the way warmed up before the test, and make sure that your choke reaches the fully open position at operating temperature.

 

in ny: its 75 and older... ive got a 79 that was gonna need it. had to.... find ways around that.

 

retarding timing a few degress will also *ahem* help

 

Well great news, it PASSED!

All I did was rebuild the carb. I did have it tested when I first purchased the car and it failed, but figured I would deal with it later. I guess all it took was a good cleaning. What can I say sometimes I see the glass half empty.