Hi:

I'm from Wisconsin, and am graduating from college on Sunday. I have a job prospect for Union Pacific. I am worried about CA emissions laws. I have a 92 F250 that can be emissions legal. Will it pass in CA if it passes in Wisconsin?

I also have a 1977 F-250 that has a 500 HP 460 in it. It will not pass emissions in any state. It gets by in Wisconsin due to a loophole we have.

Anybody have specifics on emissions requirements for California. I'm thinking I might just have to sell the 92. The 77 stays, regardless of emissions laws. Might just have to go full drag it I can't drive it on the street.

Thanks for the help.

Ryan

 

Boy oh boy,
Well where to start....Ok chances are that your 92 might pass California emissions tests but you have to make sure that it has all of the required emissions control parts specified for that year make and model of veh. Your best bet as far as a list is gonna probably be the Califonia DMV's website which you should be able to find pretty easy on any search engine. The 77 wouldnt be exempt from smog and if you plan to drive it on the strret would have to pass smog as well unless you green sticker it (off road use only) then it would only need a muffler or spark arrestor.
Just keep one thing in mind when it come to emissions standards.. there are 49 state vehicles and there are 50 state vehicles. California has some of the strictist and best enforced emissions standards around....much to the dissmay of many auto enthusiasts.
-Chris
PS If you want I can PM you their 800 number so you can call em and ask what youd need to do.

 

I have another question: I've heard of a 30 year rule where a vehicle goes exempt after it is 30 years old. Is that true? I haven't been able to find it anywhere on the Cali DMV website. Thanks.

 

Yeah bout that,
Up untill recently that was the case where there was a rolling smog exepmtion for cars 30+ years old, but thanks to our famous govenor.... that came to a stop and now its fiixed at like anything 74 or so and older.Theres been quite a bit of talk about the whole thing but very little has been done about bringing back the rolling exemptions.
-Chris

 

The '92 is no problem, Federal emissions certified are perfectly ok, as long as they are not new, which yours is not. I have a '92 BMW originally sold in Canada and it was no big deal. A "referee" smog station makes sure it meets Federal standards and affixes a sticker under the hood.

What UP base are you likely to be assigned? I have a good friend who works for UP in Dunsmuir.

Jim

 

The cutoff is 1976, not 1974. So anything '76 and newer will need smog checks in California every 2 years.