It looks like my job may be taking me to San Diego soon. I'm wondering if my '79 has any chance in hell of passing (sneaking by) emissions there. Currently, in Texas, I've had no problems finding a place to pass it. It has no smog equipment whatsoever. No cats, no charcoal canisters, no vapor return, etc. I've removed the A/C and the engine specs are as follows:

383 LT1 (modern) w/ 11.7:1 compression
Holley 750 DP
CC306 w/ 1.6 RR (230/244 duration @ 50 on a 112)
Aluminum Heads "Stage II" ported w/ large valves
Hooker LT Headers
Dual Flowmaster Exhaust

Is there anyway this could "pass" in CA? Are there any 25 year exemption laws like there are here in Texas? Can you find "helpful" inspectors if you look around hard enough?

If they only do visual inspections, could I wire up a charcoal canister and a few vacuum lines and look OK?

I'd hate to have to sell my 'Vette, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jason

 

Need an EO on the headers (and AIR)... go with hedman 68301 headers... that'll do the trick. You'll need EGR, heat riser, hot air stack all hooked up and functional _appearing_.

That'll get you by as long as you still have 2-1-2 exhaust and pass the sniffer.

-Steve

 

Don't forget the cat! (And yes, that's singular "cat"...gotta be the 2-1-2 system, as original.) CA exemptions end with the '76 (or so) model year -- perhaps permanently if their legislature has its way.

 

Do the inspectors in California actually know what was original on these cars?

Most of the inspectors I've seen look under the hood with this perplexed expression, shut it, and say, "Is that the 350?". I say "Yep!" and they reply "Sure don't make 'em like they used to, huh?" and send me on my way.

Once, an inspector looked under the car and found that there were no cats and asked about it. I said something like, "Oh, those were an option back in the 70's". Sounded good to him and off I went.

Do the inspectors in CA actually bother to decode the VIN, pull out some book, and inspect off of that?

 

Yes, they sure do. I can't imagine any inspector not knowing that every gas powered car built that year had a converter. The first thing they do before they even hook up any test equipment is verify that all emission control devices are there and funtioning. If anything is missing, they don't go any further.

 

I'm sorry to tell you this, but your car will definatly not "sneak by". And from those specs it looks like it will cost you alot of money to get it up to code. When I last took mine in they said I had to have the factory air intake and filter. Luckily I still had it. You will need all original smog hardware and it will need to be correctly installed and working properly. The sniffer they put in the tailpipe will tell them which components are not functioning or missing.

 

If you end up at a State certified "smog only" station for some reason (who knows what DMV will ask for) you are dead for sure. To be honest, I think you may be better off selling the car in Texas before you move. If you have to put all that stuff back on, it doesn't sound like it will be the same car anyway.

 

Having just gone through this with an out of state car, I'm afraid that both of the above points are probably correct. I say "probably" because of a few specific differences.

As. R. Bruno above says, the Smog Only facilities will look up your car specs and check it under a microscope. Your car as described would not survive this scrutiny. you are not, however, required to go to a Smog Only facility for transfers into the state, but you will almost certainly end up there every two years (this would be specified on your renewal form from the DMV).

The (only) good news is that there are some more "flexible" smog facilities out there, but I'm not sure how you find them. This Forum may be as good of a place as any. These sites either don't know or won't notice that your smog pump, cat and EGR systems are missing. Even these sites, though, shouldn't have to look too hard to find out that basic emission controls are missing.

I hate to say it, but you may be better off selling and using the proceeds to replace it with a pre 1976 model. 1975 may be the last exempt year and there is even some talk about rolling this back. I think that this will cause more than one mid 70's owner a little lost sleep.

Sorry for the bad news.

 

Definitely won't pass as is, they put it under load so you can't just lean out the idle. There is one other potential possibility. There are some places that test, but give you a pass anyway. Very illegal and they could be fined heavily, but I hear guys talking about "a friend" who does testing. I never pursued it because mine's exempt now, but if you hang out at the hot rod/classic car shows and talk to a few people, you might get a few leads. Now, I'm not saying you should do anything illegal, I'm just saying there may be some people who could point you in the right direction.

 

Can't be done like that anymore. Car is hooked up to a computer that decides pass or fail. The person giving the smog has no say in it. The computer is hooked up to a state server that says what your emissions should be and what the averages are for your year/make/model. You would have to trick the sniffer to give the computer false readings, and good luck trying to do that.

 

77Dream - Having emissions equipment disconnected won't necessarily cause you to fail the sniffer, but it certainly doesn't help. You can still pass the sniffer without AIR, EGR, EFE, and all the other smog-related acronyms.

-Steve

 

Not so fast. I used to know of one shop that would sniff one car while the test car was on the machine. Unfortunately, the owner died a few years back so no more free passes there.

 

Hmmm...I should have said they test "a" car, not necessarily yours. They punch in your info, put their car on the dyno, and send those numbers. Not legal at all, but I've heard that's what they do.

 

So in other words, there is a slight chance I could sneak it by for two years if I find a "cooperative" inspection station.

Otherwise, I'd basically have to rebuild the 'Vette to stock. I'm not sure I would consider it a car worth driving if I did that. I can't imagine downgrading to only 225 HP after building this one up to 440HP. Besides that, I don't even have any of the original emissions equipment to begin with.

Seeing that most vehicles manufactured in the '70s had smog equipmient, is it even feasible to have a quick car in California post-1969? I'd imagine even a cam or head change would put you at risk for failing the smog test. What do the late model (C4/C5) 'Vette guys do if they want to tune up their cars?

It sounds like my best bet would be to sell the current 'Vette and buy one that's not smog controlled. What's the latest year that didn't have any significant emissions controls? 1973?

Is this my only route or do I have any other good options?

Thanks,
Jason

 

Current California law exempts all cars from smog check 75 and older.

 

You are correct, if a different car is put on the dyno and your cars info is entered you can pass that way. The catch is that it has to be a very similar car to yours. If you try to test a Honda and pass it off as a vette you will get cought. The software looks at the averages of all the cars like yours and if your imissions are too different it triggers a red flag. If that happens you will be required to go to a state run inspection center where your car will go through even more tests. And there is no cheating with those guys.

Man, they spend alot of resources on smog inspections. I would rather see my tax dollars go towards keeping raw sewage out of mission bay, but what do I know.