Ah, I get it.
Yep, and a lot of us wouldn't pass simply because they expect a 40 year old engine to perform like it was new.
They recently, (well, within a few years), had a bill, (AB 1493?), that would introduce 1954 and newer to the smog check program. Fortunately that one failed, but I'm sure some busy-body in Sac is brewing up another one as we speak...

 

You bet - it is only the part suppliers who are keeping them at bay. It is not popular to speak of, but the current law does not exempt us from smog laws, only from the yearly test.

The smog cops can stop you and make you meet the requirments for your year/model - that is why they are buying sniffers for the major freeways!

 

Man, I am glad that North Carolina stopped inspecting vehicles from 70 back. South Carolina doesn't inspect at all, so I've been told.

John

 

Last year my buddy stuck my '63 390/C6 F100 on the sniffer and it ran as clean as the 2000 Cadillac in the stall next to it. Not bad for 86,000. It depends on how it's tuned, how many miles, etc. but they can easily meet smog requirements.

 

Another FTE member PM me and stated Arizona has the Co down to 3.75% to get older vehicles off the roads. They were never made to run that clean 35 years ago. I disagree with your statement that it's easy to pass, unless you install a short cam without overlap. Years ago they had alot of overlap with a slow inital lift.
.....=o&o>.....

 

We all hate the smog laws - but, but - in the late 60s I spent several weeks at a Navy transient barracks on Treasure Island - the island in the center of San Fransico's Bay Bridge. I was assigned temporary duty as a watchman on the access road off the freeway and onto the island.

The traffic was always bad, pollution so heavy that your eyes burned and you couldn't exercise without running out of breath. Even though 4 hour watches were standard, the Shore Patrol would switch us around every hour so no one had to spend to much time next to the freeway.

A couple of years ago I got trapped in heavy traffic which stopped near where the guard shack used to be - it was sort of nice, no problem breathing and no eye burning pollution. We actually rolled down the windows and enjoyed the view while we were waiting for traffic to start to move again.

I know that I can smell someone running down the freeway with a too rich mixture - something we would have never noticed in the 60s.

I hate the smog laws, mostly the idea of having some stranger inspect and test my vehicle and the way they are applied across the board with no modifications allowed, even if the mods make your engine work better and produce less pollution.

But they do work and that is a good thing!