today i had my '77 vette inspected. since it must pass a visual inspection that means it must have cats and smog equipment. i have no cats, a 454 and no smog equipment. the inspector looked under the car, lifted the hood and looked at the engine looked for the sticker that shows the emmision requirments ( which i dont have) and then drove it around the block. when he came back he handed me the keys and said "that a nice car. your lucky its a '73 so you dont have to have the emmisions stuff". i smiled and payed my bill and left. the inspection sticker says it is 73. should i have said something and risk being turned down? or did i do the right thing? having my inspection sticker say '73 shouldn't cause any problems that i can see. right?

 

you're lucky!! It usually costs me a $100 or more to get my vehicles stickers...

 

Did he wink at you when he said that? ;) Maybe he was saying it for anyone within earshot just in case. I'm not sure of what I'd do but I'd probably do the same thing you did, smile- say thanks- and slip away quietly. :cheers:

 

No question, run back ther and tell his boss what he did, maybe you can get him fired and you fined! :lol:

Seriously, who cares...

 

You mean to tell me you guys still have inspections down there in Texas? Still gotta take the longhorns off the front bumper once a year, huh?

:lol: :lol:

 

Hey all you need now is a 70-73 rear clip and you'll get by with that for now on :lol: . Seriously though, If I was in your situation I would have done the same thing.

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

 

Definitely not legal, but ethical?
Hmmmm, that implies right and wrong.
I recently came to believe that there is no known "right" or "wrong".

Given the trouble you'd have to go through to get your '77 to meet the letter of the law; I'd probably have let it go too.

If I was going to worry about something it would be the intent of the law. That is, what do I have to do to make my car "greener". To me, the correct law should be the sniffer test. If you can pass that, then it shouldn't matter what you do or don't have hooked up.

My $0.02

 

I thought texas was 25 years for exemption, am I wrong, is it 30????that would account for inspection guys remarks. :hurray:

 

I have a 77 also and I dont have to pass emmissions but I have to get it inspected. When I took it to get inspected all the mechanics just looked at my car and said nice car. I pay 14 bucks and I drove away. Somehow I passed I dont have cats.

 

Being a '73 has nothing to do with it. In the counties that require emission testing, a car 25 years old or older does not have to be tested. The catcher is that in the safety inspection they are required to verif that the emission equipment is in place. Not required to verif that it is working, just that the car has the equipment. There is no age on that requirement.

Here is the link to the Texas Department of Public Safety web site for the emission inspection requirements: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/vi/insp...ejectsubmit=Go
It states, in part:

Inspect for and reject if:

a. The exhaust emission system has been removed.

b. The exhaust emission system has been disconnected.

c. The plumbing or hoses are loose, broken, leaking, or improperly routed.

d. Air pump (air injection-type) belt is loose, removed, excessively cracked, frayed or has pieces missing.

e. The exhaust emission system has been altered in any manner to make it ineffective.

f. The catalytic converter has been removed, leaking, or disconnected on a 1984 or later model vehicle.


(You will note that they give a pre '84 car a break on the cat converter.)
tom...



[Modified by Tom73, 9:27 PM 2/26/2003]

 

So based on what you thought, you expected to fail. What were you going to do then? :confused: MJ

 

In my opinion If you were at Burger king and the 17 year old gave you back the wrong change it would be unethical not to give back what does not belong to you. At an inspection station you paid for the inspection, you were inspected, You are not obligated to point out to a mechanic where your date tag is on your car. Emmisions laws are stupid. If the goverment really wanted to clean up the air it would be Fedral and all Vehicles would have to pass. They would make every car and truck have cats whether they came out with them or not. They would outlaw Diesels also. It is just a scam by state lawmakers to get more money and justify their existance.

 

I would have done the same. It was their mistake and therefore fault, intentional or not. :cheers:

Per the message above, you should also review the TX DOT emissions site for clarification on the dirty details.

 

I agree with 76RED. Emissions laws dont really make sense and arent universal. Good for you

 

I am concerned that the Feds may make them universal :cry :( :sad: Lets just hope it does not happen.

tom...

 

What is emissions testing, and what is all this inspection stuff about? :confused: :confused:

:D :reddevil :p:

 

What is emissions testing, and what is all this inspection stuff about?

DON'T RUB IT IN!!! Please? :rolleyes:

 

Nice looking '73 you got there son. :lol:

I think the guy was probably being cool about it. I'd keep driving and don't look back. Might want to remember his name for next year's inspection though. :thumbs:

 

As you can see I have a 78. Two years ago I went to get it inspected for the first time as the new owner. I found that it also had no cats on it. I had to have them put on in Georgia in order for it to pass inspection. Funny thing is that it passed the emissions testing with flying colors w/o the cats! The guy told me that after 25 years, at least in Georgia, there was no need to have the inspection. That $25 can go toward a tank of gas!

 

It would be unethical to choke that 454 with smog equipment...
:D