I've called/visited five different Smog Stations in SoCal and...

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

nomadsurfer said:
And yet another reason I bailed CA. In the very near term future fuel base vehicles will be pushed out of CA; it is part of their master plan.
Click to expand...
I see you're in AZ. When I lived there, passing emissions in Maricopa county was a major PITA. I had to replace the smog pump each time I headed to the testing station. I finally punted and registered the truck in Montana. No emissions test required.
 
Nostradamus said:
I see you're in AZ. When I lived there, passing emissions in Maricopa county was a major PITA. I had to replace the smog pump each time I headed to the testing station. I finally punted and registered the truck in Montana. No emissions test required.
Click to expand...

That's true. I lived in Phoenix until 2002. I moved to Gila county, no smogs tests, and don't miss the smog dogs. The problem for me was you I pass a tailpipe test and still fail visual. In 1990 I swapped a TBI 350 into my 78 Land Cruiser. Even without a CAT or air pump it passed the tailpipe test by a factor of five but because it didn't have the OEM factory emissions, it was failed and I had to get a waiver. At that time you had to make a certain dollar investment in repairs before a waiver would be granted. They've changed a lot
of the laws since then. Swaps have gotten easier as long as the donor motor is newer than the one it's replacing and the emissions
for that motor are intact. The emission laws that allowed the sale of a late 70s FJ40 changed so by the late 80s the FJ40 had trouble
passing. The original tests only involved an idle test. They were factory tuned to comply. It the late 80s in AZ they added the load
test with a dyno. Mine repeatedly failed the load test year after year until I did the TBI swap. Unfortunately it didn't pass visual
and was actually threatened by DMV with being cited for tampering with smog equipment, a federal violation punishable, at the time
of 20,000.00 per infraction. Luckily it was an idle threat. Our DMV agents were poorly trained for the task which turned out to be
a blessing once you figured the system . You learn how to mock up fake air injection and hollow cats real fast. Such a waste of time
when all they should worry about is what comes out the tailpipe.
 
IslandJ said:
www.hotrod.com

Pre-1983 Vehicles could be SMOG EXEMPT in California! - Hot Rod

California Assembly Bill 210 would amend current 1976 smog exemption by changing the year to 1983, giving enthusiasts eight more years of cars to modify.
www.hotrod.com www.hotrod.com
Click to expand...


Interesting read.

I like the 1983, but think it should exempt all carbureted vehicles.

As lcwizard knows, common sense ain't common! If the smog police really cared about smog, it would just be the end result - tailpipe emissions that would count. Way too easy, and that would not result in their real goal...

IMHO, the smog police really want to get rid of every petroleum fueled vehicle!
 
Last edited:
It's always a good idea to find a smog test shop in a cruddy area of town. They're used to dealing with older cars that are not well maintained - cuz that's what a lot of people (without a lot of money) drive in those kinds of neighborhoods.
 
There was a guy at my nieghborhood smog shop who, after 8 years of me testing, failing, and then testing again, said "I don't give a sh!t what's happening under the hood, it just needs to pass at the pipe." That was about the most he ever said to me in all those years. I felt like a great weight had been lifted from my back.

Went down there for my last test and found out that he quit and moved away...
 
lcwizard said:
That's true. I lived in Phoenix until 2002. I moved to Gila county, no smogs tests, and don't miss the smog dogs. The problem for me was you I pass a tailpipe test and still fail visual. In 1990 I swapped a TBI 350 into my 78 Land Cruiser. Even without a CAT or air pump it passed the tailpipe test by a factor of five but because it didn't have the OEM factory emissions, it was failed and I had to get a waiver. At that time you had to make a certain dollar investment in repairs before a waiver would be granted. They've changed a lot
of the laws since then. Swaps have gotten easier as long as the donor motor is newer than the one it's replacing and the emissions
for that motor are intact. The emission laws that allowed the sale of a late 70s FJ40 changed so by the late 80s the FJ40 had trouble
passing. The original tests only involved an idle test. They were factory tuned to comply. It the late 80s in AZ they added the load
test with a dyno. Mine repeatedly failed the load test year after year until I did the TBI swap. Unfortunately it didn't pass visual
and was actually threatened by DMV with being cited for tampering with smog equipment, a federal violation punishable, at the time
of 20,000.00 per infraction. Luckily it was an idle threat. Our DMV agents were poorly trained for the task which turned out to be
a blessing once you figured the system . You learn how to mock up fake air injection and hollow cats real fast. Such a waste of time
when all they should worry about is what comes out the tailpipe.
Click to expand...
That requirement to have the original emissions equipment in place for any vehicle 1967 or newer was crazy. IIRC the waiver was allowed once per vehicle (after spending $400 in repairs). I live in Washington now and my 1HZ swap wont require emissions :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom