Is anyone here from North Carolina that is running a non-stock air filter/carburation?
My brother-in-law has a '70 Beetle that has a stock engine with the exception of the air cleaner. The air cleaner is one of those small chrome aftermarket types. I was over at his house the other day and he mentioned to me that every year when he has his Beetle inspected that he has to put the stock air cleaner back on for it to pass. That seemed weird to me since in NC anything pre-'75 is exempt from emissions testing and I thought we only had to pass the safety inspection. My '72 is bone stock so I've never had any problem at inspection time. Since mine was due for an inspection, I took it in and asked the guy at the station about it and he said it fell under the `tampering' section .... specifically, the `thermostatic air control' category.
It's easy enough for my brother-in-law to put the stock air cleaner back on since he still has the stock carb and manifold but my question is this: what about people running dual carbs? Do you have to swap the carbs/manifolds out for the stock setup to pass inspection? How far back (model years) does this apply?
Don't worry about it, just go to Jiffy Lube and the "J-Team" will HOOK YOU UP. Actually I'm pretty sure that if the vehicle is 25 years old or older in NC that it has to pass a VISUAL inspection for emissions but they won't sniff the tailpipe. Like they'll make sure it looks stock and everything's hooked up that's supposed to be hooked up. They even let my little chrome air-cleaner go on my baja at Jiffy Lube, but they were just ridiculous, talking about Cadillac converters and looking for my engine up front where the gas tank was and all kindsa crazy talk. I'm in the process of getting my '76 Jeep running again now and decided to go with a non-emissions intake manifold, so I'm kinda gambling myself that they won't even look under the hood when they inspect it. I have a feeling it'll pass... ;-)
The J-Team? .... lol ... um, I think not. I remember very well your experience with the brainiacs at Jiffy Lube. That was a classic .... very funny story.
Thanks for the reply. You're right, they don't sniff the emissions but what I'm concerned about is running dual carbs. One of these days, I'd like to run them on my spare engine and I'd like to know if I'm going to have to swap them out for the stock stuff every year to pass inspection.
Mine passed with no problem yesterday in stock form. The inspection guy didn't even look under the decklid but said he would have if I'd had a non-stock exhaust on the car. (Hmmm, that reminds me, my b-in-l does have a non-stock exhaust, so that must be why they look at his.) I specifically waited until he was finished to ask him about it just to see if he would even look under the decklid. But being the scatterbrain that I am, I failed to think of asking him about the dual carb situation.
On 9 Apr 2004 08:50:56 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Anthony) wrote:
I swear he said that more than once. Here's the whole story from a couple of years ago... LONG read...
My Inspection Adventure
So after working miracles on my 39 year old VW Bug, it finally was running well again. Time to take it somewhere to have it inspected. I called a Jiffy Lube that's just a few miles from my house and explained to them that I had a '63 VW Beetle that had not been running for several months, and that it had an inspection sticker that had expired in April of this year. I'd heard rumors that I would have to pay either $250 or $300 in fines for that. The guy there said that I would NOT have to pay any fines, and to come on over and they'd inspect it for me. Cool! So, I hopped in the bug and drove right over. I pulled up in the back and when they saw me, one of the guys yells "Inspection?" I nodded "yes" and he waved me into a bay. I pulled up on one of their lifts under his direction. I got out of the car, and the "head inspector" sauntered over. He skillfully unlatched the two rubber latches that hold the hood into place with a smug look on his face. Then he bent over and grabbed each side of the hood somewhere about mid-way from the front to the back and started to tug a little bit. I stopped him and showed him how the hood opened up from the front. Like 95% of hoods do. As soon as he peered under the hood, his eyes got huge and he started shaking his head violently. "No sir! No! We can't have this! You need to take this car somewhere else!" At first I thought maybe he'd seen the exposed wiring and that he was reacting to that. Nope. Turned out he was just an idiot. Before you think I'm being harsh, read on... I said "What? What's the problem?" He stopped shaking his head and looked more intently under the hood. "What is this?" he asked, pointing to the gas tank. "The gas tank," I smartly replied. "So then where is the engine?" he countered. "Back there," I said, pointing to the rear of the car. As if on cue, his head began shaking from side to side again. "Oh, no! Oh, no! We can't have that!" Getting a little impatient at this point I asked "Can't have what?" He studied me with steely cold eyes... (actually they appeared a bit glassy and crossed) then pontificated "Well, I have to check the cadillac converter and the EGR and the PVC and stuff like that!" I *swear* he said "cadillac" converter instead of catalytic converter. I began to realize that this was no "think tank" I was standing in the middle of. "Oh...," I replied... Hmmm... "Can you come back here and take a look at the engine with me?" He put the hood back down and walked to the back of the car with me. I said, "You see that engine? It's 39 years old. Older than I am. When that engine was made, nobody had even thought up a cadillac converter yet. This car has no emission controls, but that doesn't matter. You don't have to check that. It's exempt from emissions testing." "Oh, no! Oh no! I have to hook it up to the computer to check your exhaust." "No, you don't. You give the car a safety inspection and if it passes that then you give me the inspection sticker." "Oh, no! Oh no!" "Yes." "Oh, no! Oh no!" "Yes." *pause* "Oh, no! Oh no!" "Yes." "Not in Wake County!" "Yes. In Wake County." I said "There is no point in hooking it up to check the exhaust. The stuff that comes out of these exhaust pipes when the car is running will kill you. It wouldn't pass emissions. Just give it a safety inspection and let it go. I've had this car for years and it's been registered in Wake County the whole time and they NEVER check emissions on it." He scratched his head for a minute and said "Well, the computer won't let me do that. It will stop me if I try to make it not check emissions." "Prove it." I politely demanded. He asked me to please wait inside the waiting room for a few minutes while he finished up an oil change. As I waited I talked to another lady about how they were acting. She said she was having her oil changed and that they told her since she had a high-mileage engine that she needed high-mileage oil which cost twice what normal oil costs. Another lady was also sitting there... A different mechanic from the shop walked in and said "Lady, does your car really have only 97 original miles on it?" The lady was probably in her late forties and didn't look much like a mechanic, but she figured it out quickly anyway and replied "You're looking at the trip odometer." Oh snap. This was crazy. The whole shop was full of people who wouldn't know a clue if they read about one in a Nancy Drew mystery story. Seconds later, the "head inspector" poked his head back in the door and asked me to come out in the shop with him. He asked for my registration and I produced it. He said "Now watch as I scan this registration into the computer. It will warn me I can't do a safety inspection only." "OK. I'm watching." *beep* He scanned it in. The computer screen asked him "Safety inspection only or safety and emissions inspection?" He selected "Safety inspection only." Immediately a large red window popped up as a warning! It read something like "WARNING- It is against the law to perform a safety inspection only on any car manufactured after 1975 in the following counties (and it listed about 20 counties below) unless they are specifically exempt because of blah blah blah..." "There!" he proudly exclaimed. "I told you so!" At this point I kind of felt sorry for the guy as I slowly pointed to the segment of text that read "...manufactured after 1975..." and then pointed to the "1963" that was printed on the registration card he still held in his sweaty little hand. I waited for a response. OK, I waited a few more seconds for a response. No response. I noticed the blank stare on his face. "No way," I thought. "He *must* 'get it' by now..." No. He didn't 'get it.' So I politely explained to him that my car was a
1963 model, which is why it said "1963" on the registration. Then I read the passage on the computer screen to him again, pointing out that my car was in fact NOT manufactured after 1975. A glimmer of light in his eyes! Yes, he finally understood! At this point he began to look at the car to see what he could find wrong. He noticed one of the windshield wiper blades was cracked and asked if he passed the car if I'd go get it fixed. "Of course," I lied. He entered the car and yelled "I need a light check." That was my cue to stand near the right rear tail-light... But wait, he didn't know how to turn on the lights. Now I can understand that. The switch isn't marked. I leaned in and turned the lights on for him, and ran back to the right rear tail-light. Sure enough, it wasn't on. *WHAM* OK, it was on now. Another employee saw me do that and yelled "Hey, you can't do that!" I said "Sure I can." He turned away. First hurdle solved. Lights looked good. I had to show him where the dimmer switch was, and then they verified the bright lights were ok. They were the only bright lights in the shop if you know what I mean... Next up, turn signals. "Hey boss, your turn signals don't work!" he yelled from the driver's seat. I reached in and turned the key one click and asked him to try again. Amazing. They worked now. *tap tap* "Hey boss, your horn doesn't work!" I reached in and showed him the "other" horn. He pressed it and it went off with a terrible racket. Yep, that one works... OK, time to get out of the car. He walked to the back, leaving the key turned on in the ignition. I turned the key off and followed. He said "You sure about the cadillac converter?" "Yes, sir. I'm sure." "Well, I need to inspect the exhaust system for leaks." "Go right ahead. It's all right there. See where it bolts to the heads and wraps around like this? You're looking at the whole exhaust system. No holes. No leaks." "Well what is up with this duct tape you have on this black thing?" "Oh, that blocks off the fan for now because I took the heater off of this car." I figured if I got really vague with him like I thought he'd understand what I meant, that he'd just nod sagely as if he understood. He nodded...sagely. So that about wrapped things up. We walked over to the computer again and he started typing. I said "I'll bet you have to give me a sticker that's only good until April since my old sticker expired then." Now was his chance to prove himself! His eyes slightly un-crossed as his face lit up and he exclaimed "I know a trick!" He erased on the computer where it said my old sticker had expired on 04/02, and changed it to 00/00. Now the computer told him to make my new sticker good until 09/03. SWEET! I was as proud of him as he was! He skillfully scraped at least 70% of my old sticker off of my windshield and then put the shiny new sticker into place, almost level, almost covering the tattered remains of the old sticker. I was ecstatic. I paid the $9.30 for the inspection, and he asked me if I'd please drive my car out of their shop. I was happy to, and wished them well. The moral of this story? I think you get it. Just remember this story the next time you think about how you have a great coupon for a $19.95 oil change, and that it would be nice to have a "professional" take care of it for you... if'n ya know whut I mean. ;-)
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!! Good god. How can people like that even become EMPLOYED at a place that works on cars?!! "You're looking at the trip odometer!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
Thanks. They opened up an Advance Auto about 1/4 mile from my house just yesterday. I made it out there today to buy some Jeep parts. There's a story there, too, but not one you wanna hear all of. Took about 1/2 hour to get 6 parts and I got 2 of them myself from the shelves on the showroom floor. These weren't exotic parts, they were upper radiator hose, thermostat, thermostat housing gasket, throttle cable. Oh... my... God it was crazy the amount of time it took and the stumbling, bumbling.... Unfortunately this story isn't a funny one. I'd be willing to bet the guy who "helped" me won't be working there when I go back tomorrow. He had to call his manager over at least 4-5 times just to find/get the parts I needed. Poor guy. He was super polite and nice but completely incompetent. Really old guy. He reminded me of what I envision Tim to be like. Except for the polite and nice part. :-)
On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 02:53:00 -0400, "Tim Rogers" ran around screaming and yelling:
yup two fires....one on a chevy truck because i was "smart" enough to change a dirty air filter element, but not smart enough to change out an old brittle and cracked gas line...changing the air filter element upset the fuel line...i worked all day(put about 100 miles on the truck) only for it to erupt into flames backing into the driveway that day...(ironic that someone was coming to look at the truck in just over an hour from when it caught fire...they needed a truck and this one was an extra worktruck)... second one was just as stupid...i was "cleaning" the aluminum intake on the chevy truck i have now with spray carb cleaner....HINT: don't do that with it running.......how's that?
I'd never worked on that engine either. I'm not sure but I doubt the body lift I put on the Jeep or the winch installation had anything to do with the fire. You ever hear the phrase "Instant Karma's gonna get you?" :-)
*giggle**snort* I just ripped apart the wiring harness on my Jeep to survey the damage. At this point I'm wondering if it will ever fire again. :-) What a MESS. Too bad Tim's not here to help me sort it all out.
*chuckle*
............heh heh...........You yourself rode for a few hundred miles one weekend in a vanagon that someone had done the head gaskets & cylinder seals, temp sensor #1 replaced, exhaust system replaced, auxillary cooling fan replaced, brake pads replaced, fuel pump & filter replaced (someone with a southern background(?) had poured at least a half gallon of water in the gas tank while it was sitting at the employee parking lot where I work), fuel press regulator replaced. That 'someone' was yours truly............HAH!
.................I've got a sawzall and the attitude that's required to fix a camo'd jeep once and for all. If I bring my generator, we can do this job out in the woods where the remnants won't have to be trucked to the metal recyclers. Set a date and send some traveling expense dollars. I'm here for ya!
On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 10:43:36 -0400, "Tim Rogers" ran around screaming and yelling:
could be....we don't store our vehicles, we drive em...therefore sometimes things happen...rubber parts deterioratethat is why "we"(Ramva) always warn the newbies about fuel lines, right? rubber parts fare far better in a garage... JT
He completely lost me on this one. Are you saying you sabotaged someone's van by adding water to their gas, or that someone did that to your van and you replaced a bunch of stuff that didn't need to be replaced because you didn't know better or what? Check you local community colleges. They probably offer some kind of class that would help you learn to convey your thoughts in a more organized manner. I'm sure they'd be... GLAD TO HELP! :-p
.............Someone poured water into the gas tank while it was parked in a large employee parking lot where I work. Late in the afternoon, I came out, started it and it started missing and then quit after maybe 5 to 10 seconds. I couldn't re-start it after cranking for a long time. I then came back with some tools and my Bentley manual later that evening. After a couple of hours of trouble-shooting in a then dark parking lot, I got so frustrated that I gave up and called AAA to tow it back to my house. The following weekend, I spent an entire day going through every part of the ignition and fuel injection system until I finally discovered that it was spitting something other than just gasoline while I was testing one of the fuel injectors. I then drained the gas tank which amazingly had a large quantity of water coming out initially before gas started running into my oil change pan. Since I had let it sit for a few days at that point, the fuel pump was ruined along with the gas line filter. I used compressed air and several bottles of dry gas to purge the lines & injectors along with the tank and then replaced the pump & filter. Problem solved, it started right up and smoothed out in less than a minute. I also switched to a locking gas cap before driving it to work again. Hard to believe as it is, there's someone out there who doesn't like me......................
........BTW...........I can write circles around you, goober-boy...........lol
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.