Anyone educated on CA smog laws?

[norcal77]

I have a 77 that's not CA smog legal, and I was wondering if anyone was keen on the latest smog laws concerning years of exemption, rolling 30 year cut-off, etc;? I don't want to have to make expensive modifications to make it pass if it will be exempt next year. It's not a polluter, in fact it's 5.0 efi motor runs cleaner than most, it just won't pass that pesky visual inspection. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, -Andy

 

[bluebroncodrive]

http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/StdPage.asp?Body=/Smogcheck/doineed.htm

hope this helps
I have done smog inspection for 13 years but got fed up with all the changes they make every year and gave up my lic.have not done a smog inspection since 2001

 

[dezertbronco]

When my brother bought his 77 ten years ago it was from nevada and had no smog equipment on it. He had to get all the smog equipment that the 77 bronco had in order to pass smog. I imagine you would still have to do that, and the 30 year exemption may not make it to 77 for you. My brother just recently bought a bare 69 bronco frame and is rebuilding it with his 77 bronco parts so that he will not have to pass smog. The only other way I know of is to find a smog tester who for a little extra will keep his eyes closed during the visual inspection. I have a 73 and have not had to worry about smog for awhile.
dezertbronco

 

[gddyap]

I believe the exemption was cutoff at '75. So 76s and 77s still need smog. No more rolling exemption. A stupid congresswoman from my city was the one who authored the bill to change the law. She was a crappy councilwoman too. You need to smog to either the year of the vehicle or the year of the engine, whichever is newer. In your case, it's the year of the engine. So if the motor is out of a '91 Mustang, then you need whatever smog equipment was on a '91 Mustang 5.0. Then you go to a smog referee who will give you a sticker or something saying all is good after they inspect it. Another trick is to buy the glovebox door of an older Bronco and register it that way.

Gil
GDDYAP

 

[Socal Tom]

That's correct, the rolling part of the excemption was repealed. Now it's just 75s and older.
Tom

 

[Rustytruck]

Just a reminder the socalled exemption is only for biannual inspection. if you get stopped in a roadside check or get caught by one of those roadside infrared guns you are still subject to all the smog laws of passing testing levels and equipment violations. Tru to California form you best keep all your smog parts on a shelf as someday they will be needed again. This is a skunk that rears its ugly head (rear) and blasts you yet again when you least expect it. Remember this is not a state constitutional amendment so it is subject to change at will. and there are a whole lot of do gooders out there to repeal this every year.

 

[ElJefe]

The rolling exemption... whether they re-instate it or not won't make any difference for you. Since you swaped out the engine, you will need to test to the smog requirements of the year of the replacement engine. When California certifies a vehicle for emmisions purposes, they consider the entire vehicle a system. Unfortunately, this means that you have to move over all of the smog stuff that was originally certified for that engine. Since you put in a late model efi mustang motor, your bronco will now be required to have ALL of the original smog equipment of that specific year Mustang, and will be required to test to the pollutant levels that the Mustang would have to test to. Kinda sucks, but that's why I still have a carb.

Hope that helps...

Chris

 

[77broncoguy]

Not that I suggest going this route, but I recently left SoCal, if you're looking for someone to pass your vehicle so you can register it, I have a buddy who can help. However, I don't know anyone at the DMV, so you're still going to have to pass the visual inspection. I bought my 77 from New Mexico and it didn't have any smog equipment on it. I had to put a spacer under the carb to mount the EGR valve, add a cat. conv., a heat riser on the exhaust manifold to the air cleaner, and that's it. This was enough to pass the visual, I still have everything if you're interested, as I plan to never take mine back there.

 

[Desert Thrasher]

Borrow an old 302, swap it in and pass your smog check. Then once you get the cert, swap back in your 5.0.
Or if you can easily swap the 5.0 to a carb setup, I doubt they would know what year it is. It looks like a 302. Even if they check the numbers, engines go bad, a 302 block is a 302 block. Just tell them you bought a reman block because your old one blew up.
All this BS is why I will not buy a vehicle newer than a 70's. Besides my 87 toy daily driver, my hot rod is a 56 and my bronco is a 66. Good luck.

 

[t2jeff]

most inspection clowns don't know what each year motor needs to "pass". I went to a station where the employee parking lot was full of 4X4's. They dig having a rig pull in for a test and understand the stuggles of having these things pass. I suggest getting everything you can for the visual, and selecting a easy to pass station...... good luck!

 

[Sac '68 sport]

I think there is some sort of a limit, like $400, on how much they can make you spend to try and get a vehicle to pass. If it will cost more than that I think you can get some sort of waiver from DMV. Used to be like that when I brought mine in from NV, but that was 10 years ago.
The old glove box door and new pink sounds like it might be the way to go for 76-77 rigs.
Maybe a PO box in NV?

 

[Howdy]

From what I was told when I did my 5.0 swap on my 76 that you will need all the smog stuff from the donor engine. That wasn't too much of a problem as I was collecting it already. But then I was also informed that you will also need to run a T-5 or an AOD, because my C4 was never offered in a Mustang from where my motor came from. Just something else to consider.

If you are serious about keep it as a 77 you might want to start talking to the people that do the inspections and have them give you a list of what will be required in order for them to give you a sticker.

 

[welndmn]

http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/StdPage.asp?Body=/Smogcheck/doineed.htm

hope this helps
I have done smog inspection for 13 years but got fed up with all the changes they make every year and gave up my lic.have not done a smog inspection since 2001

Me as well, my last smog was 03.
Why won't it pass?
You said its a 5.0, did you hook up all the emission equip?
If you did, just find out who your local smog ref is and take there to be inspected.

I would not plan on the rolling year exemption to come back at all.

 

[Socal Tom]

There are guidelines for engine swaps. I think it will be easier to the legal swap of the 5.0, than play around swapping engines. The new engine has to be installed with all the smog stuff from the original car. It should be a lot easier to find stuff for a 91 5.0 than for a 77 302. You will have to go to a referee station to get the swap approved, but they are usually more logical than the normal test guys ( or so I am told).
Engine change guidelines
Tom

 

[broncoman33]

Rolling Exemption

Hey,

Just tuned in here,

just moved to SoCal last year and I knew that my 73' didn't need a smog, but I have a girlfriend that has a 79 Toyota 4x4 pickup that she thinks will be exempt from smog next year according to this rolling exemption.

It doesn't run and she wants to keep it and fix it up since it never passed smog for years before she stopped driving it.

I want to get rid of it, and this looks like a good reason.

Just want to get straight that this 79 will require smog testing for the short term and maybe long term future?

Thanks,

 

[broncoman33]

exemption

Hey,

Don't bother,

did some searching, reading at the DMV and the threads below.

Looks like the Yota is on the way out!!

 

[Socal Tom]

Hey,

Just tuned in here,

just moved to SoCal last year and I knew that my 73' didn't need a smog, but I have a girlfriend that has a 79 Toyota 4x4 pickup that she thinks will be exempt from smog next year according to this rolling exemption.

It doesn't run and she wants to keep it and fix it up since it never passed smog for years before she stopped driving it.

I want to get rid of it, and this looks like a good reason.

Just want to get straight that this 79 will require smog testing for the short term and maybe long term future?

Thanks,

Hell will freeze over before they restart the rolling excemption again. Even if they started it again it would be 2008 before her POS truck would be up for testing. Scrap it!
Tom

 

[73stallion]

make sure you have all the smog equipment for the year of the engine, find a referee station, have them inspect it. they'll give you a BAR sticker saying all is good, and you're done.

i have a friend who's a inspector for the BAR. he put a '89 5.0 in his. he put all the crap on (except for the cat) and he says it's legal. he's even running a kenne bell supercharger on his '73.

 

[wildbill]

%) %) %) You can find a frend with a 77 and use it to pass. Or what I did was pay someone and they just came up with a pass and I didnt ask how. It was running 100.00 at that time then I reg. it in Ks. no rules all you need is vin ck. and the CHP did that for me. I sent the money to Ks. 39.00 and went that way now I live in Ks. now its 17.00 a year. Or find a 72/74 g/box lid and pink and you will also be good to go good luck. %) %) %) Bill %)

 

[72bronco]

I think there is some sort of a limit, like $400, on how much they can make you spend to try and get a vehicle to pass. If it will cost more than that I think you can get some sort of waiver from DMV. Used to be like that when I brought mine in from NV, but that was 10 years ago.
The old glove box door and new pink sounds like it might be the way to go for 76-77 rigs.
Maybe a PO box in NV?

There is a limit on how much you would have to pay in repairs in order to try and get your vehicles to pass smog. But that only applies to vehicles that have all the original equipment in place. Any vehicle that has been modified in any way is excluded from that limit and you would be required to pay whatever cost is necessary to make your vehicle legal.

Keep in mind that there are two parts to the test, the visual part and the actual smog test. Fail either one and you fail the test. Even though you may run an engine that burns cleaner than the original if it is in any way modified you will fail the visual test. As some have said, the only way to get around that is to go to a smog referee and try and have your vehicle smogged based on the engine, not the vehicle. So if you're running an engine out of a '91 mustang you will need to have all of the equipment in place from a '91 mustang plus you'd have to pass the same sniffer test a '91 mustang would have to pass. Easier said than done. My neighbor had to screw around with a smog referee for years to get his modified '79 Jeep CJ5 into compliance. Every time he brought it in they would find a problem and he'd have to go back and do something else. It was like a moving target, they'd give him a list of 5 things to fix, he would make the changes and bring it back, then they'd give him a list of 5 more things. Very frustrating. Sometimes they would tell him that it didn't look right but they could tell him what was wrong, only that it didn't look right and to fix it and bring it back.

The others are right on the rolling exemption. There used to be a 30-year rolling exemption but that was eliminated last year and now vehicles made in '76 or later are permanently included in the smog test program. It is also true that even if your vehicle is exempt from bi-annual testing you are still legally required to have your vehicle compliant with all smog laws regardless of the model year. I do know that Kalifornia has been experimenting with roadside equipment that can check tailpipe emissions as vehicles drive by and then you can be pulled over and forced to submit to a roadside inspection if your vehicle sets off any alarms.

Regardless you have a lot of work in front of you. Sorry, I wish I could give you better news.