Question about Utah Emissions Requirements

[jkh2cpu]

I've got a 1973 911 that will soon have a very fresh 1974 911
carbureted motor. Right now I'm in Michigan, so there is no
problem, as there are no emissions requirements here. But
in Utah there are. Can anyone here spell out what I'm going
to have to do to get this car on the road in Utah?

TIA.

John.

[RNajarian]

Not exactly sure but this link may help. It looks like your car qualifies as an antique/classic but since engine is post 1967 it will require emissions testing.

How to Register a Custom or Antique Vehicle in Utah | DMV

[IS300]

Depends on what county you will register the car in....( the other is leave it registered in Michigan)..... It won't be hard I can help you... I have a guy....
anthony

[darrin]

dmv.com is not affiliated with the Utah government/dmv and frequently contains misinformation -- here's the official government website Utah DMV - Inspections -- as IS300 correctly states above, only certain counties require emissions testing, so that's the first issue to be resolved . . . . here's a link to a page from davis county that will let you know the values they're looking for on your particular car/year -- should make it easy (with an exhaust analyzer) to tune carbs for compliance before they test http://www.aircheckdavis.com/whatWeTest.aspx

[ddubois]

I live in UT and have my 71 911T registered as a vintage vehicle. There is no safety or emissions required regardless of the county you register in. The only downside is you have to look at that goofy buggy on your license plate.

Utah DMV - Special group plates

[jkh2cpu]

Thanks so much, Darrin. If my 'new' engine cannot meet those requirements,
I'll be really amazed. You've just made my son happy, as he'll be the new owner.

John.

[darrin]

John -- Doug raised a really good point I wasn't aware of -- since your son's car is over 30 years old, it is a "vintage vehicle, as defined in Utah Code 41-21-1, [and] qualifies for an exemption from safety and emission inspections." So, as long has your son only uses it for "occasional transportation," he can get vintage vehicle plates and avoid emission testing altogether.

[jkh2cpu]

Thanks, Doug and Darrin. Heh! I think my son is going to want to
blow doors off on occasion, so he'll need a regular registration, and
I would want that car to meet emissions. I lived in Los Angeles
for 20 years, leaving in the early 60s. I know what pollution controls
have done for the basin (vast improvement), and SLC has the same
potential for inversion and smog. Not a good thing.

John.

[darrin]

John:

I hear you -- however, a few thoughts --

1) As a Denver resident that works in an office looking down on the denver basin, I'm all-too-familiar with brown clouds. However, I suspect that in order for the carb'ed engine to generate smog-passing values it will need to be leaned out to an extent that would compromise drivability and then readjusted to a more appropriate tune to drive until the next smog test -- so, in this case, tuning the car to meet emissions for a brief period once a year would do almost nothing to limit smog.

2) A few years ago, Colorado severely restricted the applicability of collector car registration, but allowed cars already so registered to be "grandfathered" in. This was a result of the new car dealer's lobbyists and their desire to push folks into new cars . . . .

3) Unless your son's planning on using the car year-round as a daily driver (if so, I highly recommend nokian wr-g2 tires during winter months), there should be no issue with the "occasional transportation" limitation for a classic car.

Bottom line, registering as a vintage car offers a lot of benefits and helps insulate from potential goofball changes to the law. Better (imo) to avoid the need for annual smog tests and keep the car in tip-top shape (performance and emission wise) than to find your son in a situation down the road where the state decides that only a complete, original emissions setup is acceptable.

[jkh2cpu]

Here's what I'm thinking... The 1973 MFI 911 T was OK to run carbs
in California. The Utah standards for the 73 and 74 911 motors is
exceedingly generous in my estimation. I'm putting together a 'new'
911 2.7 motor, and I'm pretty sure it will pass emissions testing once
it is broken in.

As for smog and the 'brown cloud...' I'm remembering back to the days
of 'gross emitters' (mosquito abatement cars)... Heh. A big improvement
was obtained just by recirculating crankcase gases rather than venting
them to the environment.