my curiousity was peeked when another forum member said my '74 would be exempt from emissions testing as of 2004...he was right...follow this link.

http://www.recarbco.com/technical/smog/sb42summary.html

i am thrilled! my car will be 30 years old the next time testing comes around! hope this helps any of you CA forum members out there.

 

Keep in mind, though, your car won't be "30 years old" for DMV purposes until the 30th anniversary of the first time it was registered.

The reason I know this is because I attempted to get Historical Vehicle plates for my '76. You only need to be 25 years old to get those, so I went down in January, 2001 to get them. Turns out my car wasn't showing up in the computer as being 25 years old. Why? Because even though it's a '76, it wasn't FIRST REGISTERED until July 1976.

You may have to pass one final smog test in 2004 before you're finally free and clear. Or not. Good luck to you.

 

That is great news..... Only six more years of B.S.'n it.

WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

 

Don't forget that the exemption is only from the testing. It allows you to register the car without emission certification, just makes it easier to get the plates. The emission standards still apply.

tom...

 

the way i understand this is that i will be "exempt" from emissions testing when the state of CA considers my car to be 30 years or older. (2004) -- CA has no saftey inspection rules so no State mechanics will be looking at the vehicle for liscensing. my buddy has 2 pre '73 cars (1963 studebaker hawk & 1970 VW van) and all he has to do is pay for the tags, no smog...that's the way it should be for me, i hope.

 

A friend of mine with a 75 got a letter recently from the California DMV. They said they would pay him $500 to remove the car from the road and register it as non-operational. It is optional but the idea was to get the bad gas mileage / no cat cars off the road based on the theme of the letter.

My friend passed on the deal.

 

eleven79 - you have it correct (I think Texas has some sort of safety inspection) Once that car is 30 (or has had its last smog before it turns 30) you are done. I am counting the months (years?) myself. My next smog is 2003 - then 2005 - so I figure right after the 2005 smog I am free and clear, at least this is the way I read the exemption law. Of course, you are still required to have all emissions equip. in place but you will not have to go through smog check- I KNOW you as a conscientious Vette owner will set a good example and keep all the equip up to date and remember, no true-dual exhausts, headers, crossover pipes, etc. unless they came on your car originally. Big Brother is watching :D

 

Correct, you are done as far as the testing requirement to get the tags. But there are things such as road side sniffers and spot check road blocks that can still get you.

Emission standards are Federal law (and Calif has it own special subset). It is up to the states to enforce the law and some elect to not test cars over a certin age. But the state does not have the right to exempt someone from Federa law. If it appears that too many are taking advantage of the exemption to remove the emission equipment it could screw it all up for the rest of us when they repeal that ruling.

tom...

 

i've never heard of roadside checkpoints in CA to see if the car has emissions equipment installed...roadside sniffers? even if that is the case, my car passed emissions without the smog pump anyways.

 

I can't wait for my '75 to be exempted. Everything that I have done so far has been smog legal. However, I have yet to find a set of headers that carry a CARB certification. I have a brand new set of headers sitting in the garage, ready to be installed. However, I can't do it until they exempt me from the smog test. This one I really don't understand. Headers do nothing to increase the amount of noxious emissions from an engine, as long as all of the other components are in place. It makes absolutely no sense at all. I don't mind running original smog equipment, as long as it makes sense from the standpoint of reducing emissions. I run a straight through design cat, AIR pump, EFE/heat riser . . . all of the original stuff. I run a CARB certified cam, intake manifold, heads, etc. Makes great power, but it suffers from the cast iron manifolds. Does this make sense? Certainly not to me.

 

I don't trust the legislature as far as I could throw them... the current law is kind of a gimmick based on the timing of the thing...

Correct me if I'm wrong but I was under the impression that currently, pre '74 Cali cars are not checked. Fine, in fact, that one reason should make '73 and older cars more valuable because you can hop them up to your hearts content without Big Brother looking other your shoulder.

Now - look a the timing - 2004 is finally just around the corner, and the law will finally be tested... has'nt been tested in the past because the only cars that were 30-years old were the ones that wer'nt tested anyway... Now, in less than two years, the state will actually see cars drop off the test list if the interpretation of the law stands...

I'm still screwed by the timing because of the way the system is set up... they test every two years and I had to test earlier this year... I still have four more years until the 30-year rule would kick in for a '76 model whichs means I'm stuck with TWO MORE VISITS to that dam* test machine ($50 I might add!). Believe me... if I did not have to pass visual test last year and for the next two visits... I would have pitched the carb and gone with aftermarket fuel injection during last years rebuild.

Will the state actually let people walk away from the testing program... I would not be surprised if they amend or change the law to keep us going in forever.

 

Also, California still requires emissions inspection to transfer title. Be sure to save any smog equipment you remove so it can be put back on when you sell the car.

 

I can't wait to put new pipes on my car. In two years when my smog check rolls around, my car'll be exempt. Just to be safe though, I'm going to keep all the old smog stuff in my garage.