Passing smog in CA

[Steve Toner]

[ QUOTE ]
I think I need to buy property in Nevada.

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FYI, Nevada (at least the county that Las Vegas is in) has many of the same issues as California - i.e. smog by engine year and no SB100 equivalent. I know of people in the Las Vegas area who are thinking of buying property in Utah /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Sandy]

Question for those that have done the SB100 route, what needs to be completed before you go the DMV? Do you have to have CHP do a check, lights, etc?

Sandy

 

[Mike Christian]

I went through SB100 over a year ago with another car. I first had to got to DMV for VIN installations/verification - no one checked lights, wipers etc (I didn't even have wipers).

I went to DMV and filled out paperwork, was assigned a SB number and then went to BAR. They gave me the option of what year to check it against - by the engine type/year it replicated or by the body year it replicated. Mine was a 1955 Porsche with a 1989 new block. It is registered as a 2003 SPCN and smog free for life.

No one has ever checked the function of anything on the car.

Mike

 

[BenL]

[ QUOTE ]
Under the valve cover there should be a date code as well, the casting # you gave "C7ZE is for a '67 289 smog (thermactor) head.

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The previous owner told me it's a Trans Am head (I haven't had a reason to take it apart to check). So it doesn't have the holes drilled for the air pump.

 

[Mitch D]

Dave Harris - earlier in this thread you talked about the different smog equipment needed for different years of engines - can you point me to a source for this info? I'm in CA, and I'm going to go the route of the 'old engine' initially to get it registered. The SB100 is a great way to go, but since I won't have a car ready to register 01-Jan-2006, I don't really want to sit around until 01-Jan-2007.

Mitch

 

[dave harris]

Mitch D,

Boy, I was dredging that crap up from my rapidly diminishing brain cells. What year engine are you thinking about using and I'll see what I can come up with (along with help from everyone else on this site!)?

65 289's are "smog free" with the exception of a PCV valve -After 65, came the pumps and more.
all 302's had at least a smog pump (thermacter pump) and that takes special head (edelbrock makes HP heads that will take the pump inputs), and canisters, and sensors etc - it gets more involved each year - -

So, what year /engine are you thinking about?

 

[Mitch D]

Hi, Dave, I have two plans in mind (I plan to buy from an engine builder with whom I've already been talking)

1. use a 289 of whatever vintage (65-68?).
2. use a 302 and stroke it out to 347 (obviously earlier is better - got to be 75 or earlier to avoid future smog checks.

My understanding is this: even with pre '75 block, I will still have to have BAR inspection during initial registration. However, after successfully registering with that, I should be exempt from smog inspections - correct? (I'm assuming this is providing they register the car based on the 'year of the engine block')


The follow on plan is to upgrade to a new engine sometime after registration.

Mitch D

 

[Mike Christian]

you don't have to wait until 1/2007 to drive it if you miss 1/2006. I got temp operating permits for 3 - 6 months at a time while I explained that I need to complete the car and get through the process. They estimate registration cost, you pay that and they give you a temp permit while you jump through the hoops. I did this for at least a year.

Why not register is using the year the body replicates?

Mike

 

[dave harris]

Mitch, you are correct about the BAR inspection during initial registration - however, if you register it by engine, then even if it is "smog exempt" year, you will still need to go to a station every two years to make sure the same engine is in the car (and pay the required state gratuity for said inspection) - so it just get's you out of a smog test.

Mike C. - - I was not aware you could get "temporary" permits for SB100 intended registration! So, based on what you are saying, I can go in and tell them that I INTEND to register it against SB 100 as the year it replicates - pay estimated fees and get temp tags. I assume that you "renew" the tags after the 3 month or 6 month period up until the next new year registration cycle?

Have I got this correct??

cheers

 

[Mike Christian]

that is what I did Dave. They seem to be more interested in getting money from you than anything else. That was my experience anyway. I got three or four temp permits - it meant that many trips to the DMV. Mine dragged on for several reasons - but they didn't seem to care.

I think they have to realize that you can't just come out of the garage with a perfectly tuned and running car the first trip and that you will need to be on the road to sort it out.

Mike

 

[Mitch D]

Mike C - WOW! I didn't realize I could do this "temporary" registration thing. I may even check with AutoClub to see if I can get the temp registrations from them (I know AutoClub can be used to do the 'normal' registration). Then I can just wait out the next new year and go to the DMV in person on the first day to get an SB100 cert. It makes sense to me that they are most interested in getting the $ as fast as possible from us citizens.

Dave H - I was not aware of the requirement to have the 'visual' inspection. Guess that means I'd get every-other-year practice at engine swaps! Ha! With the accessibility of the engine/transaxle in the GT40, I think engine swaps would be simpler than head/carb/other accessory swapping. I'll have to make some initial decision to proceed from here. My goal was to have a 289 (or stroked 302) with four Webers and some modern heads. I'm not looking for tons of hp; 300-350 would more than be adequate to start. I can always enhance things later.

I wonder if there's any hope in getting the SB100 quantity limit extended. Seems to me we have some lawmakers that are car nuts here in CA. Is it not feasile to get the number changed to 1000 or 2000 or even 5000?

Mitch

 

[David Briggs]

I was able to get certificate #6 this year, I had previously had the Highway Patrol verify the vin on my CAV(it was accepted with no additions), I had a Lamp and Brake certification, and the Smog Exemption all done while I ran the car under a Temp registration from August of 2004. At 8 AM on Jan 2nd my DMV person was on the phone to Sacramento. You must find a DMV person who has done some of these and who is sympathetic to your cause. When it was done I bought the entire office(4 people) dinner and drinks! It worked out well. Engine only has to look like the year you choose to register the car as, mine was all new stuff, but with webers it looks the part. You can't start the process until the car is drivable.

 

[Mitch D]

David Briggs - I've sent you a PM.

Mitch

 

[Ian K]

Dave Harris,

AFAIK, there is no biennial visual inspection - I'll have to
ask some hot rodder friends, but the AB's I have read online
state nothing about biennial visuals, and my '72 240Z, once
exempt, never had to have one. I know the laws changed a little
in 2005, but the visual stuff still seems to be exempted for
'75 and older.

Ian

 

[dave harris]

Hi Ian,
You are correct for your 1972 240 Z, unfortunately our cars are registered as the year they are completed/registered in - aka - 2005, or 6 or ?, but with an exemption from smog due to the engine chosen (if you go that route) or by the year the body replicates (if you get an SPCN number - SB-100.

I think this is where the visual comes into play.

Farhad - what did you have to do with your Cobra before you changed it to SB-100?

 

[Steve Toner]

The California DMV website is clear as mud on this:

[ QUOTE ]
Specially constructed passenger vehicles or pick-up trucks registered without a certificate of sequence are subject to emissions control requirements based on the model-year of the engine as determined by the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) referee.

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[ QUOTE ]
Senate Bill 100 ... allow the first 500 specially constructed passenger vehicles and pick-up trucks presented for original (initial) registration to DMV to have the year model for emissions control equipment and inspection purposes based on the appearance of the engine or the vehicle as a whole.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the key is that they separate emissions control equipment from inspection requirements.

 

[dave harris]

Hi Steve - I think the important part is found in the second paragraph - it's the word in () = (initial) registration. What this is interpreted by the DMV to mean is the first time the car is presented for registration - and then not for subsequent registrations (just send in $$!).

Where in the first one, you are simply subject to the emissions controls ------- it does not say initial,

Hopefully Farhad will wake up and respond as he had his Cobra registered that way for years.

 

[Steve Toner]

(initial) sounds to me like you can't convert to an SB100 registration once you've registered the old-fashioned way...

Like I said, clear as mud.

 

[Mike Christian]

I believe you can - see the last sentence from the DMV site on the subject.

"In 2002, another Senate Bill passed, SB 1578, which allowed previously registered vehicles to be allowed this special consideration by BAR in addition to initial registrations."

Mike

 

[Mike Christian]

here is a nice link to info on this topic:

http://www.nckcc.com/referenceinfo.html