California and a 3.8 Carrera

[expat]

I Cali, can you have a car pass testing like Bill V.'s 3.8 '76?

(You have smog tests for post '73 correct? How does this affect getting a car like Bill's past the inspections or can't you?)

Just wondering and thinking about the possibilities.

Thanks,
Mark

[DByers]

Mark, Not sure if you got an answer yet. As it stands 74 and earlier cars are excempt from smog checks. We are on a rolling excemtion law. So the 76 would be excempt I tink in 2008. MikeZ would know for sure. Possible a Google search would turn up something also. Hope this helps.

[expat]

Thanks Dan.

[Jon325i]

The CARB exemption rules apply to cars 30 years or older. So as of now (early Dec. 2003), any car up to a late '73/early'74 model would be exempt from the rigors of the sniff test.

And when the new year rolls around, any car up to the 1974 year model will be exempt from the smog rules. I'm pretty sure that's the short-n-sweet version of it.

Can anyone 'in-the-know' add to this?

Jon

[expat]

Thanks for that Jon. From what people have emailed me, thats the status.

Cheers
Mark

[emcon5]

Technicly, the answer is no, regardless of the year of the car. According to the law, "All exhaust emission controlled vehicles with engine changes must be inspected by an official referee station". The fact that a 1974 car doesn't get an anual inspection does not change this rule, it just makes it highly unlikely that the state will find out. It is possible to get a engine swap certified, Thom Fitzpatrick did it on his car. You can read some of the swap rules Here

Regarding aftermarket parts, like a 3.8 kit, from the same link:

No internal or external engine modifications (cams, pistons, intakes, etc.) may be performed unless the parts are ARB-exempted or EPA-certified for use in the installed engine.

If the manufacturer hasn't jumped through the proper bureaucratic hoops, it isn't legal.

That being said, generally speaking, if the only change is a displacement increase, you are probably fine. The tech doesn't have any way of knowing what the actual displacement is, and if the Motronic system is working properly it should pass the tailpipe without difficulty.

If you want a early lightweight hotrod, there is always this one:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?threadid=131641


Tom