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CA Smog Laws

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rm126

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I just picked up a beautiful 77 K5, perfectly straight body, no rust, new motor/trans/x-fer case, only downside is that it's going to need to be smogged pretty soon here.

Right now it's got headers and flowmasters, no cat, and one of those chrome aftermarket air cleaners on the stock carb. The motor runs good and it's tuned right, but are they going to fail me for not having a cat, no pre heat hose on the air cleaner, etc.?

What kind of emissions hardware did 77's come with stock?

I'm just trying to find out ahead of time what kind of a pain I'm in for when I take it in to be smogged.

I hate California sometimes :(
 
Regardless of what it makes emissions wise it needs to be capable of passing a visual inspection so be prepared. Everything from the unleaded only nozzle gizmo in the filler neck,vapor can and vent tubing on the fuel tank, thermostatic controller on the air cleaner and heat tube. More than likely had an air pump as well,also if that year never came fctory with dual exhaust it probably need to be changed back to single cat/single muff setup. Time to find a 75 back K5 and start swappin parts to make it a presmogger. I was stunned to find out recently several areas of Ca dont require biannual smogs but only when its initally retitled to a new owner,guess thats how some of these guys pull it off with built motors and hot rods as long as they hang on to the smog parts for later when its sold.
 
My 76 didn't neet a cat, but it did require the air pump with the risers off of my headers I bought, a carbon canister, and it needs the stock air cleaner with the pre-heat gizmo that goes from under the air cleaner inlet to the exhaust manifold.
 
Desert Rat said:
My 76 didn't neet a cat, but it did require the air pump with the risers off of my headers I bought, a carbon canister, and it needs the stock air cleaner with the pre-heat gizmo that goes from under the air cleaner inlet to the exhaust manifold.
Click to expand...

Are smog stations not very well regulated? One I stopped by said it needed a cat and an 02 sensor :rolleyes:

Next place said the exhaust was fine and all it needed was a smog pump, yet another guy said hook up the preheat hose and put a stock air cleaner on and that's all it should need. I don't get the impression any of them know what the hell they're talking about really.

Since none of these guys seem to have a firm idea of what exactly it needs to pass smog, I wonder if I could find one amenable to a little, uh, persuasion.
 
Most of the ones I have dealt with know their business. However, if one of them is stupid enough to let you pass with the minimum add ons, then go for it. I know with my rig the need for a cat was based upon vehicle weight. As for slipping them a little baksheesh, I would be wary because if they take offense, they can screw you good. Just find the one that required the least and go that route.
 
I just took our old 86 honda prelude in last week and the guy said Ca is now requiring them to pump smoke through all the emissions lines, gas tank, etc to check for leaks. If it leaks, you fail. It took over an hour to smog it.

These days I think it's just better to bring it down to one of those free-retest stations and have them tell you what it needs and then get it retested if jt doesn't pass.
 
I hate Kalifornia smog nazi's. That test you mention is the EVAP system test. Mine had to pass it. I have been trying to smog mine for months now, I have a smog machine at work to tinker with it on. Everything is there on the motor as it was when it left the factory in 87. Its all working properly, truck runs like a champ, yet its a gross polluter. I have no Idea what I'm going to do, the tags have expired in July, I'm taking it to the Vietmanese "guaranteed to pass" in Westminister for $200. IDGAF anymore. These things are only going to run so clean, they keep tightneing the numbers on these things, they aren't going to run cleaner. Like the air ONLY stays over California. Not like the dirty ass air from mexico floats over the border, or it comes down from Oregon, or Nevada.
 
I have several Ford service manuals which cover emissions diagrams,it was either the 302 or 351 for the mid eighties that had and im serious 32 different smog equpt configurations per the engine mfg/ID code. I dont think Chevy is as bad however finding a shop that really can pin down what you need can be frustrating at best. if the one shop say just the heat riser and one other item is needed have him do it but ask clearly if it does not pass whats next. I used to have a pretest done to verify numbers before shooting the info to Sac`s computer data base. if your dubbed a gross polluter I believe a trip to the referee if needed to correct the issue and get things going again,could be wrong as they keep changing things here.
 
Yes, ALWAYS pretest. If it comes up gross polluter (like mine, but I pretested it) then its off to a ref or test only then a recheck every year.
 
It's kind of been mentioned above but your best bet is to find a good smog shop (preferably a small 1-2 man shop) and ALWAYS take your vehicle there to get it smogged. I'm not going to guarantee you they'll pull strings but at the very least they'll be straight up with you as far as the stuff you need to get it to pass at THAT station.
You hit the nail on the head when you said they're not very well regulated. You can ask 10 different stations and get 10 different answers.
My family has been taking our vehicles not only to the same shop but the same guy (he's been there a loooooong time) for over 10 years and he takes care of us.

Oh and pre-testing is your friend. My smog guy ALWAYS pre-tests my k10 and it's saved me more than a few times over the years.
 
I agree with going to a small shop. Go to an area of town that is fairly ghetto, im serious about this, and 98% of the time they will work with you to get it to pass. California laws are so backwards and smog is no exception.


Im dealing right now with my previous car, 72 datsun 510 (presmog) that i got a BAR ref ticket in for modified emissions.

BTW (smog exempt) in california is not exempt. the only thing you are exempt from is the bi annual smog check. I learned that the hard way.
 
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