Re: California Emmissions Help

I'm not from Kalifornia, but I have read quite a bit about the emission rules regarding engine swaps and here is what I know:

The engine must be of the same or newer year than the vehicle it is going into,

All smog equipment that was present in the configuration the came out of must be present in the swap vehicle.

The CARB exemptions for aftermarket parts must be for the year and make of engine that you have swapped in.

The vehicle must pass emission ratings for the year and make of the engine, not the vehicle is was swapped into.

Here are some references for you:

Edelbrock has CARB legal shorty headers:

Chris

What to you think her chances

That isn't going to happen until the motor gets 1995 Smog equipment installed.

I was told that smog equipment had to meet the requirements of whichever is newer - the vehicle or the engine (I suppose to keep you from putting an older engine in a newer vehicle to by pass smog laws). But the thing to do for the headers, I would think, is to call around & see if you can get headers with a CARB number.

When i installed the 74 Buick Electra's 455 into the Jeepster I installed everything from the donor vehicle. The car was a 49 stste, so it has a "low lead" engine, (hard seats and valves), but had no Catalytic converter, like the Ca models. The smog pump outlets into the intake manifold, allowing the use of any exhaust, I found some nice iron manifolds that fit, and dont leak, like headers always do.. The referee was amazed, it passed without a problem. Now, it's exempt, so when the smog pump's bearing failed i took it out.

My suggestion, find an old Chevy smallblock, pre 87, and install it. make sure and verify the block's age through the ID #. After the test, install the FI unit, till next time. Here in Calaveras County, there is no bi-annual smog, so it could be converted back.

Apparently it hasn't got all of the stuff because it can't pass with the headers that it has, and the headers are home to the O2 Sensor -- or at least they are supposed to be. We already know the headers are trouble, I am guessing the trouble is because they can not house the O2 sensor.

Do the headers have to have a CARB # or can you just have a bung welded in for the O2 sensor?

It surprises me that fuel injection would need the air injection tubes.

What happens with a carb is that the fuel mixture is not always burned completely, so we have to inject air so the Cat can collect the heat needed, combine that with the unburned fuel, and the newly added air supply, and combust the fuel. If the fuel went through the cat without any fresh air, there wouldn't be enough heat to get rid of the fuel. With fuel injection, the O2 sensor is supposed to regulate the fuel mixture to keep the unburned fuel in the exhaust to a minimum, if this works right, there is no need for the fresh air from the smog pump.

I have a Borla header that is CARB certified, and there are no air injector ports.