Dnaught14 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I'm 99% sure that I am going to be the owner of a 78 280 with a l28et and 3 inch exhaust....no cat to my knowledge. Currently I live in Michigan, where we don't care what goes into the air. But, I may have to move to San Fransisco around may. Being that they changed the law again, unless I can get one of the first 500 registered custom car titles handed out every year, my car will have to be registered as a 1978 thereby making it subject to emissions testing. Does a l28et with 440's and 3in exhaust and no cat have any remote possibility to pass that test????? I'm sure the biggest thing is getting the afr correct, but without a cat i dunno? Also, are there any cali guys out there that know a way around this? Could I register the car as a custom car in Michigan, and then have the title transfer over as a custom built car in California? I really don't want to have something as dumb as emmsions keep me from owning my dream car.... HELP!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) Searching found this in the FAQ thread http://forums.hybrid...gine-swaps-bar/ Edited February 17, 2011 by Miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 if they catch you with no cat thats an autofail and a fat fix it/pollution ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 car has to have cat and ALL oem emissions for the zxt motor you used installed+evap system from fuel tank correctly plumbed.the kit car 500 car exemption would not apply to this car.car will be registered as a 1978. car will have to goto the referee station to get a swap sticker affixed to drivers door frame list the year of the engine and all equipment that was factory installed (egr,evap,cat,o2 ,ecm)and that is not the last of it.every 2 years you will have to get it tested at a test only station.i used to have a smog license in ca and have ran a few swaps through the referee station.if you dont have a good working knowledge of emissions systems(how EVERYTHING worrked when the donor engine was new) you very little chance of this car passing.its not just about the tail pipe results.even if you get all oem stuff working then you have to worry about tail pipe results.car will be run on a loaded dyno at 15 and 25 mph.if for some reason you egr is working correctly you will get failed for high nox output.the specs are more stringent than when the car was new.i have complete exhaust with cat made for this car laying around plus lots of parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayaapp2 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 It must be equipped with a cat when you bring the car in for its first smog test. If its tuned right and has a cat it should pass. They arent going to be looking at injector part numbers. They WILL be looking for aftermarket parts, so if you have an aftermarket fuel rail or other parts it may tip them off that they should be looking for non-stock parts. There is a label under the hood that says exactly what the car should be equipped with. For your swap it should be addressed as if it was still in the ZX donor. So what ever the ZX emission label says is what you should have. If its all there and in working order they wont fail it for visual. You just have to worry about the emissions part of the test. The cat and egr will be listed on that tag under the hood. I think it should be affixed to the hood itself. You will be sent for a ASM test at a local test shop and then more than likely sent to a ref station where it will be inspected. If everything is in place and working they will give you a "BAR" sticker to place in the door jamb and your good to go get your car tested. While your at the testing station the first time have them run it anyway as a pre-test to see if the emissions are within range as well to give you an idea if it will pass when they put it back up there. Most of the time a pretest is free, but some shops charge for it. They probably wont do a pretest at a "Test Only" center. You will need to take it to a gold sheild or test and repair facility for this. If you are automatically sent to a "Test Only" you can go to a gold sheild facility anyway. They are fairly laxed about car entering the state from other states and will not automatically ding you for no cat as you have not been driving around the state all year without a cat. They wont just nail you with a fine for being non-compliant. They will still make you become compliant though. When you do be sure that you purchase a "OBDII Certified" compliant cat specifically for Ca. It will have a serial number laser etched into it. Keep the receipt for the install and have it done at a legitimate shop and they wont hassle you. When you run your pretest make sure you dont see "gross polluter" on it. If you do get the car tuned. If you get tested and the outcome is "gross polluter" you will be sent back annually for inspections for the following 3 or 5 years and further is the "gross polluter" status continues instead o bi-annually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 You need a catalyst IF THE CAR HAD ONE. Federal Cars didn't have a catalyst until 81 (?) In the door sticker on S30's the Federal Cars have a sticker that says in big letters "NON CATALYST"... Now, if you swapped an L28ET into the car it becomes a grey area, as Randy stated you have to utilize all the components for emissions that came with the car. The strangest thing is that a catalyst is considered a 'chassis' component and technically you don't have to retrofit one to a 'non catalyst' vehicle. In a 280 that becomes strange as they actually all had the same chassis with the wider tunnel, and since some models were avaible with catalyst, they may make the assumption all are capable of the retrofit and force compliance with install of a catalyst. As for '500 car exemption' dream on, those are gone in minutes after the new years opening of the first DMV in the state.... There is a tailpipe-only criterion on some vehicles, but it only applies to 1977-older vehicles currently.Come Jan 2012, it will apply to 78's as well. Passing on a well-tuned car is not that difficult, but not as easy as it once was mainly due to the 'moving targets' Randy mentioned. The advice about pretest, and 'gross polluter' is advie well heeded. Then again, if you still have an address in Michigan a license registration, and insurance there isn't that big of a stretch. It only matters if you blab about it when you get stopped. And then, they really only can nail you the second time as without your spontaneous admission of the car entering the state, they have no useable proof to enforce the '10 day rule' for registration in California. They can't prove you were here longer... I can think of two other possible routes, but the Michigan Plate seems the most practical. It this a daily driver? Weekend racer? What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calpoly-z Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 I lived in Cali for 6 yrs with my 77 registered in texas. Of course I still had my texas drivers license too so on the rare occasion I did get pulled over the cops never even brought up the issue. If you're planning on moving there permanantly I would try to find a pre-75 car to avoid the hassle altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnaught14 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Love the feedback. I posted fairly regularly on this site several years ago, but then life got busy didn't have time for cars. However, I love the community here and the willingness to help another member out. My update. I talked for an hour to a interstate title specialist from the Secretary of states office in Michigan. After a bunch of analysis of law and title talk, she simply asked me where I went to college. She then reminded me that most college students spend anywhere from 4-6 years living out of state with out of state plates. They also tend to be horrific drivers. Point being, I should maintain my license and registration in Michigan, and then not drive like an *******. Another fairly simple excuse she offered up was that my job requires me to spend months at a time in California, but that I maintain residency in Michigan. Then every year I should try to be one of those lucky 500 cars, or cross my fingers and hope the law gets fixed. So I feel much more at ease. It's not tough to maintain an address in Michigan, which I suppose makes me one of the lucky ones. I do think it would be awesome to have a section/sticky on emissions requirements for the different states, and ways to pass the specific tests. Lets try to keep as many of our cars on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Oh, I missed that... Michigan won't renew your license if you get one in CA. But you simply go in and renew at the SS office. Same in CA. Having to work outside the USA for 247 days last year, 'residency' gets sketchy. In the end, having an address in Michigan, and a driver's license in California can lead to a 'Garaging Address'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) In the end, having an address in Michigan, and a driver's license in California can lead to a 'Garaging Address'... Nooooooo my plans!!!11 Edited February 21, 2011 by BLOZ UP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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