Tim240z Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Just wanted to get an idea of how many of you guys (particularly CA residents with pre-74 car) have actually gone through the legal way of registering you hybrid (ie. told DMV about the engine swap and then gone to a referee station). Or are you guys just running around with the DMV (and CARB) thinking you still have a I-6). Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Oh, I donno, I may have accidently forgotten to report that my engine was different to maybe a few agencies... Let sleeping dogs ly I say. Mine will be legal eventually where I'm going (until then it'll remain a calif plated car ). Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Mine is a '79 that I have certified with a referee. The process is not as painfull as it sounds. It is more like an extra careful smog check. As long as you have everything you are supposed to have, and it runs clean, you get the sticker. If not, they crush your car right there on the spot. Just kidding about the crushing part! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted April 3, 2002 Author Share Posted April 3, 2002 Greimann, Please expand...I've never had to smog any of my vehicles. What exactly did the process involve... details PLEEEEZE! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oltmann Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 I'm interested too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 By far the most important step is to research carefully and make sure you have your vehicle configured the way it is supposed to be. Pick the year and model of your installation and at least get the Haynes manual or the factory service manual for it. When I bought my salvage motor, I specified I wanted a '79 Chevrolet passenger car complete setup, so the picture was painted already. All I had to do was make sure all the spaghetti was connected correctly, and in '79, there was pleanty of it. Any aftermarket equipment must have a CARB approval and you should have the paperwork that came with it. Tune the motor to factory specs, i.e. timing and idle speed. Look in the yellow pages for a referee station and make an appointment stating that you have an engine change that you need to certify. When the guy looks over the installation, he checks every vacuum line and every piece of equipment. I had two vacuum lines swapped and the guy told me how to fix it, (but I had to make another appointment to get re-checked). After the visual inspection, then they give it the sniffer test. If all passes, then you get a white and gold sticker on your door jamb that proves that the car has passed the inspection. After that, you go to a regular smog check station every two years like normal. Just be sure you do all of your homework ahead of time, because there is no slipping something by these guys. The refs are pros and they know their stuff. You have to be equally prepared. Otherwise THEY CRUSH YOUR CAR RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES!!! (I'm sorry, I just had to do that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted April 3, 2002 Author Share Posted April 3, 2002 Greimann, Thanks for the info. Did they only do a visual check of the engine bay, or did they also check the fuel tank (evaporative stuff). Also, I understand that since yours is a 79, you are required to have your car checked every two years anyway. What is of particular interest is if that requirement would carry over to the pre-74 vehicles after they are certified. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 They check engine and fuel system so make sure evertyhing is up to snuff. As I understand it, '73 and older are currently exempt from inspection, but you had better point that question to someone from the BAR or DMV. The question also remains is that if you install a '99 engine in your '73, do you now need to get back into the bi-annual inspection?? What year of Chevrolet motor are you installing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted April 3, 2002 Author Share Posted April 3, 2002 Greimann, That is my concern. I don't want to get sucked into getting smogged on a regular basis. If that is the case then I will just yank all the smog crap off this 94 LT1 and do the conversion without telling DMV. If it's a one time affair, then I will leave all the smog stuff on, get it certified, then yank it all off. My other concern is the fuel evaporative emissions check. I am running a fuel cell. I will most likely fabricate an aluminum 'tank' with activated carbon to vent the cell to, which will probably be adequate to pass smog, but I don't know if the filler opening on the fuel cell is going to be of the correct design to allow the Phase II vapor recovery system on the fuel dispenser to function correctly (read:capture 95% of the fugitive emissions during a fillup), which is the CARB standard for a phase II VRS. I think I may just go and talk to a couple of reputable smog testing stations to get the lowdown, failing any reliable info there, I will phone my contact at CARB for the final word. Worst comes to worst, I will just do the conversion and say to hell with the State. (only problem there is the fines that can be levied are as much as $1000 PER DAY of violation, and that's only the State...the Feds are worse!!) Sorry to ramble..... Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 "If not, they crush your car right there on the spot. Just kidding about the crushing part!" NOT funny, my heart stopped a milisecond when I read that! Do they actually check the block too? My block is about 4 years older than the chassis, which I think is unacceptable. I'm hoping to just not have it inspected and let it slide by.... Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 Yep, they check the date code on the block. My inspector knew that my block was from a '78, but was savvy enough to know that all short blocks are identical and it is the total package that makes up the installation. If I had a '73 or older, I wouldn't even open up that can-o-worms by contacting the DMV or BAR. But that is just my humble opinion. It's your car, and the crusher man, he don't care....hee hee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted April 4, 2002 Share Posted April 4, 2002 I'll pull the block, grind off the numbers and either weld or JB weld new numbers in before they take my baby to the crusher! But total package-wise, I'm fuel injected and catalylitic converted so I should have no problems from the tail pipe end of things. It's just all that charcoal canister junk I don't have. Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted April 4, 2002 Share Posted April 4, 2002 i have a ca smog license.if its a 73 or older it doesnt need a smog test-so dont tell dmv you changed engine.i have a 77z with 81 zxt motor.it has been to ref and is certified.the bad part about this set up is i cant hop up the zxt engine.i might sell this car and build a pre 73 car.i have 2 separate exhaust systems -a cat exhaust and a 3" mandrel bent system.most people can guess which system is on the car most of the time.some parts of ca have road side testing but i dont think they will test a pre 73 car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony240ZT Posted April 4, 2002 Share Posted April 4, 2002 I've never seen or heard of any road side testing here in CA. I guess I've had good luck, the `87 Surpa Turbo is usually running a test pipe, and block offs for the EGR. As for my `72 with the 7m-gte, and the `73 with the L24ET (they'd go wtf is this mutant?) I'd rather not have to go through the dmv stuff. My japanese low milage imported engine didn't come with emissions, and I'd rather not pay to have to clutter up my engine compartment. It'll be running cleaner than the L24 with SU's on it, that's for sure, with the crank fire sequential FI system. Even if I wasn't running EFI and had a V8 with a carb I'd probably be running cleaner than some of these people that don't know how to tune their SU's, or just have a warn set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 4, 2002 Share Posted April 4, 2002 I've seen roadside testing first hand. I believe its was a study that CARB was doing last summer. They had a portable rack and were inviting ugly cars that looked like they'd fail for sure, no doubt to skew the results in they're favor so they can get they're way and smog everything. Of course this is a bias'ed opinion too. Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted April 5, 2002 Share Posted April 5, 2002 hey randy, if or when you decide you want to sell it let me know, ill pick it up almost for certain for a reasonable price of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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