suchak@mediaone.net wrote:
>
> Steve Witt wrote:
> > I'm almost positive that the laws in California are as stated by Darrell
> > Leach. I believe the purpose is to prevent circumventing the smog
> > policies here, which are pretty strict. One could get older blocks with
> > an "old" serial number and build up an "old" engine to completely get out
> > of smog testing altogether. I've got a few friends that have imported
> > "gray market" cars (not exactly the same thing) and gone through a pretty
> > painful smog certification process. On the other hand I brought in two
> > "49 state" cars when I moved here in '86 and prepared myself for a major
> > battle with the smog testers when I first got them licensed, but there was
> > never any problem. I was worried that they were going to test them to
> > California standards when they were built to non-CA standards, but they
> > typed the VIN numbers in the machine and tested them to the "as built"
> > standards.
> >
> Ummm, if they typed in the VIN number and tested "as built", that would
> seem to contradict your statement about being able to circumvent the
> emissions laws with the "old" motor you describe.. Think about it, the
> VEHICLE has to meet the emissions standards for the date of manufacture,
> regardless of whether you have the original motor, a later or earlier
> version of the original, a small block, two squirrels in a wheel....
> Whats under the hood makes no difference, provided it has all of the
> equipment (cat converter, air pump, vapor recovery etc) that was called
> for in the year of the VEHICLES manufacture.
>
> (My '77 has a motor out of a '76, but it's tested as a '77... My buddy
> has a 350 tuned port motor from an '80s Z28 with all of the modern
> engine controls in a 68 GMC pickup and he's exempt from emissions
> testing...))
>
>The Emissions laws were designed to keep down pollutants in cars that were
>manufactured after a certain date. As we all know (in the US at least) we
>can't legislate Ex Post Facto. So, it stands to reason that older cars are in
>most cases (and should be in all cases) exempt from Emissions Testing.
>However, when the government gets involved in our lives, there is no rational
>thinking involved in what they come up with. Therefore, some states (or
>countries) may in fact require the engine to be the determining factor. Worse
>still, the newer of both engine or Car may take precident over the other.
I guess we all find out those things for ourselves. So fat, Mine is
still exempt.
Shhhhhhhhhhh! Don't spread it around that my engine is newer than the
car.
Joe Curry '63 Spit (working engine but alas still no doors)
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