Doug,
> I have a 74 that will be heading to the tester for the first time in
> about 5 years, and am curious as what to expect.
> If there are any tips you would like to provide off-line....
The FIRST thing to note is that you are entitled to a "dry run"
through the smog test. Ie, you can run your car through the hi/lo
rpm tests without being hooked up to DMV in Sacramento. This will tell
you if you are going to pass, or need to do some work. This service
should also be free, though the smog station will try to insist that
they carry out post-test corrective work. If that station wont do the
pre-test for free, find another station.
Another thing is to try to have all the smog gear attached and
working (so as to pass "visual inspection"), unless you know that the
smog tester is unfamiliar with your car and will assume you are an
honest guy ;) ;) say no more....
Replace your air filters, oil, plugs (gap them wide, and I hate to be
religious, but stick with Autolite/Motorcraft), dizzy cap, rotor and points.
Adjust the carbs so they run lean, and get the engine HOT (and free of
carbon) before the test (ie a 30-60 min fast drive). Run a higher grade
gasoline through the tank a few times before the test. If your carbs
are pretty old, rebuild them. At the very least replace the diaphragm
in Strombergs and replace the main jets. Ensure there are no vacume
leaks. Make sure the advance does not come on too fast; too much
vacume advance will kill you. If you can, plug it for the test, and
set idle RPM as high as the spec allows. Make sure there is no wobble
in the distributor shaft; rebush it or replace the points with a EI
module (like a Pertronix Ignitor).
Perhaps the more mechanical guys out there can help me on this one -
advance the static timing a few more degrees.
Drive straight to the station from the freeway, dont let your engine
cool down.
If you worry that your car may run too hot while it is sitting in a
hot bay idling for 20 mins, bring your own fan, plug it in and run it
in front of the radiator.
If the car fails the pre-test, re-examine for vacume leaks and
consider a full carb rebuild. If you still fail, you have a gross
polluter and nothing short of an engine rebuild will keep this car on
California roads.
And people with new SUVs ask me why all the bother about smogging.....
Shane Ingate, smogged off in San Diego
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