According to http://smogcheck.ca.gov/,
Per the Governor's Executive Order issued on July 31, 2008 concerning the state budget, Referee and Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) Repair Assistance, and Vehicle Retirement services have been suspended until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience. Consumers may call the Department of Consumer Affairs, Consumer Information Center at (800) 952-5210. Also, please check our web site periodically to confirm when both Referee and CAP services will resume.

So apparently all ref stations are temporarily closed, and I heard though the grapevine that all smog check stations will serve as referee stations during this suspension.

Does this mean that if you get a modified exhaust ticket, you take it to the smog shop instead of the ref? Does this mean that LTH's are on the horizon as long as it passes the sniffer??

 

This is temporary.

 

IMHO...It ALWAYS shoulda been...Put the sniffer probe in...Pass or fail. Who cares what's under the hood....Who cares if it has a carb'd big block...Who cares WHAT the owner did......

If the real goal was cleaner air, that's all it ever shoulda been. Clean #s=pass....Dirty #s=fail.
Plain & simple.

But hopefully your right. LTHs & without AIR tubes legal would be nice.

I'm in a non-emissions county in TX anyways, so it REALLY doesn't affect my car. But as we all know, CA is at the top of the proverbial "dung heap" & dung rolls down hill!

 

They use the visual as a way to prevent increase in things not generally measured like NOx although they are requiring that in a lot of places, and stuff that operates differently at startup, cold idle, etc. I do agree with you though, if it runs clean... who cares???

 

 

Instead of going to the nearest station, I always drove a minimum of 15-20 minutes & made sure my car was up to operating temperature. Hotter is better for testing purposes.

 

That works when they arent busy and will test it right away.

 

The real reason for the visual inspection has NOTHING to do with smog control. The CARB in CARB EO# stands for California Air Resources Board. When a company spends thousands of $ to get a CARB EO# for their parts, guess who gets a cut of the money? If the visual inspection is dropped, where is the incentive to get a CARB EO#.

 

I'm gearing up for an engine change soon-- I can't yet tell if this will help or hinder me when it comes time to get it ref'd.

 

They did visual inspections way before CARB EO numbers came out Russ. That isnt why. I remember they used to have to test things like vacuum advance cutoff valves at cold and warm to make sure they were operating properly. They cant realistically check all situations that the EPA certifies a car for, so they just make sure the devices are all installed.

 

The part of the visual inspection that is actually relevant to a vehicle's emissions is that of verifying there are no breaches to the closed fuel system, that is, no gasoline vapors escaping to the atmosphere. Other than that, just sniff the exhaust. If they could take a sample of the air surrounding the vehicle, to check for fuel vapors, there would be no reason for a visual inspection, I believe. Thoughts, ideas?
Bill

 

I'm presuming that when you put a new engine in it won't be another carb'd 305. Any fuel injected engine you put in will require a ref to pass on it. We have members who have converted pre 1985 cars to tpi and had them smogged without going to a referee because the techs didn't know when tpi systems came out, but there might be problems down the road. Whatever engine you select, do your swap in 2 stages. Fist put in a bone stock motor with stock exhaust manifolds and all of the emmissions gear. If you go with a motor with a lot of aftermarket speed equipment installed, expect to have to show part #'s and CARB EO#'s for every single non stock item. Once you have the bar code sticker, you can then mod the car. Most smog techs don't know what is stock and what isn't on our cars, but the refs will tend to open the book to whatever engine/year you select to install, and go through everything with a check off sheet.

 

^ I understand that, but if they suddenly grant the smog techs with referee power, I wonder if it'll be a good time for me to get the swap done. Ultimately I think it'll create a mish mash of scenarios where one smog tech will pass it and another won't. But if there's a chance that some smog tech out there can dish out bar codes ***** nilly, then maybe I should jump at this rare opportunity that's opened up.

 

If they grant smog techs the power to issue bar code stickers, go for it. You can always find another tech if the first one is too picky. When you go to a regular ref, the one you get is the one you are stuck with. I think it is still a good idea to go in with a stock looking conversion to get the sticker. If you are going to convert to a tpi motor, it might be wise to put in the new ecm, wiring harness, and a tpi syustem on your 305, and then get it signed off. Then do your swap for a built engine with headers, etc.

I just saw your other post about the L98 for sale that has been removed. I'm presuming that you are installing that motor. If you are swapping it in stock, do it and go for the sticker. If you are going to do a bunch of mods that will show up on the outside of the engine, like headers, heads, etc, put the tpi on your 305, get your sticker, then do the swap.

By the way, you are going to have to remove your fuel tank and replace that fuel pump/gauge sender/fuel line assy anyway, so do yourself a favor and get a new fuel pump before you start. It is too much trouble removing the tank to take a chance on either the pump not working, or having a failure 6 months after the work is done.