Tom,

Did a DPS officer or anyone else do a visual inspection under the hood when you originally applied for the Antique plates?

Even though cars older than 25 years are exempt from the tail pipe test, they are not exempt from the under hood visual. Depending on whether or not the inspector wants to look under the hood he could fail you for a missing emissions part. If I can get an antique plate in a few years without any inspections I'm going that route.

Mark


[Modified by 81vette, 2:36 PM 1/22/2002]

 

No inspection of any kind. I used the correct year plates, '73, so had to take the plate to the regional tag office for their approval, and submitted paperwork to them. In about three weeks got call from local tag office that my registration was in and to pick up. Went down, paid my $50.30, and got my registration "tag" (small metal tag that attaches to correct year plate. It has a registration # on it that is your registration and not the number on the correct year plate.) No one ever saw the car. If you do not use a correct year plate you just submit the paperwork and they issue you an antique plate.

Now my car had already been registred in Texas so don't know if registring a car for the first time will make any difference. But considering the intent of the antique registration, I don't think it would.

tom...


[Modified by Tom73, 3:01 PM 1/22/2002]

 

Suggest you boys move to Oklahoma.No emissions, no inspections and the football teams are better.
:jester


:cheers:

 

[QUOTE]Suggest you boys move to Oklahoma.No emissions, no inspections and the football teams are better.
:jester


Yeah, but that whole thing about having to sleep with livestock to be a real okie just seems a little too much. :jester (That's a joke, son. We sleep with livestock down here, too).

Seriously, though, if I ever start to fail inspections because of the ZERO emissions gear on my '78, I'll probably go the antique route, too, and hope it doesn't matter much that I rarely roll in parades or go to club events. Right now, the inspection station I use pops the hood, looks around, and doesn't seem to notice the lack of air pump, EGR, etc. underneath that nifty non-OEM edlebrock air cleaner I use.

JB

'78SA

 

Just wait.......in a couple of years you'll have a post entitled "Oklahoma Inspections Revisited". :lol: :lol: :lol:


Mark

 

I wish the Texas would exempt the inpection process also. If you have to drive, you will. If your stupid enough to drive with no brakes, then you need to be banned from driving. It simple. My inspection sticker on my 97 truck expired in 99. I've been pulled over twice for speeding and not once has it been mentioned. And yes I got warnings for the speeding. No tickets.
I will be so glad next year when I qualify for the antique plate. What a relief to only pay $10 bucks a year.

 

Budman, I don't know how that enforce it, but you sign a paper stating you agree to:

I was also under the impression that you drive your car more than what would be allowed above.


[Modified by Chris A, 4:00 PM 1/22/2002]

 

Hey Buddy;

You really don't mean that about not needing inspections. 25% of the people
already don't have insurance and leave you to foot the bill. I want people
to have good cars - I don't want to be rear-ended because someone's old car
has bad brakes. It's bad enough to have absent minded people rear end you...

We spend enough time with our cars to keep them within reasonable inspection
standards. One just needs to comply for a while...

 

The main problems is that they are just a point in time. Yes the car passes on that day but what about one month or eight months later? Are they still safe? Most states that don't have safety inspections give a very wide authority to law enforcement to deadline a car for safety problems. May be better to have the ability to take a dangerious car off the road at any time then to have a point in time inspection.

tom...

 

It isn't inspections that drive me nuts & make me want to get rid of them--it's the truly STUPID crap that often has to pass & will drive you absolutely nuts trying to get it working. Brakes, okay, headlights okay. But last year my truck failed because the little purple light on the dash that indicates the high beams didn't work. And don't get me started about the uselessness of parking brakes on an auto transmission car, and what I had to go through to get the damned things working on my vette so it would pass.

JB

'78SA


[Modified by JB, 2:41 PM 1/23/2002]

 

That light has to work? Awww damn, it just stopped working on the Intrepid this year... grr... :mad

 

Last year, I spent three weeks getting the parking brake and the horn to work so it would pass. Would you believe that they checked neither. :rolleyes:

 

Y'all really need to move to a small town, man.... The pay here sucks. There's no entertainment or great restaurants, no big sports teams, not a lot going for it. BUT nobody gives you any grief about inspecting your car and there's always a cruise-in on the first saturday of the month at the local (non-franchised) hamburger joint.

I got a buddy who drove around here for 5 years without an inspection sticker, registration or driver's license. He said, "The only reason you'd need a driver's license is to cash a check and they know me at the bank... Why do I need a license?" When he finally went down and got a new one, there was a problem with proving who he was.... Can't remember how they resolved it.

 

I have a 71 with a 383tpi with no AIR or EGR. It has Classic (OE 71) plates.
Am I exempt or not? I cannot tell from the TxDOT site. It covers antique but not classic.
Thanks,Will

 

Will,
Your 71 is exempt from emission testing due to being over 25 but it is not exempt from the safety inspection.

tom...

 

OK, as I read it... I should be in good shape because:

"except where the purpose of removal of the exhaust emission system or part thereof is to install another exhaust emission system or part thereof, which is intended to be equally effective in reducing atmospheric emissions from the vehicle or engine."

and my criteria is:

Engine Swaps
Rules regulating engine swapping are not make/model specific. The simple rule is that a vehicle must have all emissions components that were present when it was manufactured.

So, as I read it, the LT1 and accompanying exhaust (with a single cat) should meet the 1980 requirements. Or am I wrong? Wouldn't be the first time.
:)

Those dual cats are looking attractive now.


[Modified by 1980LT1, 9:36 AM 1/24/2002]

 

1980LT1
Check out this page: http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/air/ms/tampering.html

Quote:

You may remove an emission system or device at any time if you are replacing it with one that is specified for that vehicle and is equally effective in reducing emissions. For example, it is acceptable to replace the engine of a vehicle if:

1) the replacement engine is certified by the EPA;

2) the replacement engine is compatible with the vehicle chassis and all applicable emission control systems and devices are properly installed and operable; and

3) the resulting vehicle is identical, with regard to all emission-related parts and engine design parameters and calibrations, to the same or a newer model year vehicle, as originally equipped.

A damaged or missing catalytic converter may be replaced with an original equipment manufacturer's catalytic converter certified for that vehicle or an aftermarket catalytic converter that meets the emissions requirement for that vehicle. However, all aftermarket converters must be certified and assigned an EPA number. The EPA number should be visible.

An older engine may be installed in a newer chassis if all emission control systems and devices are connected, including the exhaust system and catalytic converter, and the resulting engine-chassis configuration conforms to the engine configuration of the model year of the chassis or newer. It is illegal for anyone to change a vehicle into an older configuration.

A catalytic converter may not be removed from a motor vehicle that is currently being used only for off-road driving. This is considered tampering. Tampering provisions pertain to all self-propelled motor vehicles orginally designed for transporting persons or property on a street or highway.

A single exhaust system may not be replaced with dual exhaust unless the vehicle's manufacturer certified an identical engine-chassis configuration for that model year of vehicle or newer that includes such an exhaust configuration. The exhaust system configuration is specified by the vehicle manufacturer because engines and some of the associated emissions systems are generally affected by the exhaust system backpressure, which in turn affects vehicle emissions. Therefore, the installation of a dual exhaust system with two converters in the place of a single exhaust system would be considered tampering.

Unquote

tom...


[Modified by Tom73, 9:56 AM 1/24/2002]

 

:cry

:)

 

The worse part is that it does not have an exemption for older cars. The emission test exemption is only an exemption from the testing for licensing purposes. There is no exemption on removing emission equipment or changing out configurations. :cry So it would appear that if you installed an L98 TPI engine out of a 90 Vette into a 69 Vette, the 69 would have to have all the 90 emission equipment installed and be able to pass emissions at the 1990 level. :cry

tom... :cry


[Modified by Tom73, 10:01 AM 1/24/2002]

 

Who says politics and regulations have to make sense? ;)