Those of you from California - EAT YOUR HEART OUT. WHY? I'll tell you. I just got back from getting my truck inspected here in TX and laid it on the line to those guys at the inspection station (Firestone) about my 79 Spider. I asked them what I need to keep concerning factory smog equipment and they let me know exactly what smog parts I needed and which one's I didn't. Seems I can Sh*t can 100% of the smog equipment and it will pass inspection. They will only check for seatbealts, horn, lights and hazard flashers oh, and tiers and brakes. Other than that, commence with the pollutants .
So, I have a question to those who have a 79 with all the fancy colored hoses and tubes and crap. Can I just take that stuff off and plug up the receptors in the carb and intake?? I know I need to keep the vaccumn advance for the secondary on the carb but as for the rest, will it work if I just plug everything up?
wanna spice up your performace while you are at it? i mean, since you are trashing all that power robbing emission stuff, why not go all the way?
a 32/36 weber DFEV is a mild performance upgrade all its own, but when you combine it with a 1800 intake manifold and ship all that unused emission control stuff to California so the underprivileged can use it....
wowzers! what a combination.
for under $300, and about two hours work, you can have what feels like a brand new engine under that hood. send me an email and i will tell you more. mbouse AT chartermi DOT net
As a California resident for the last two weeks, I am envious. I spend three years in Japan and just returned. My beloved Spider has been occasionally driven while I was gone to keep things running. I had an emissions test in California about 150 miles ago (two years ago) and my car was found to be a gross polluter. It needed a cat converter. I paid the $$ to replace it and it flew through the emissions testing when retested.
Well, here I am today having to get another emissions test at a "test only" station. That means they test it, charge you $50+ and cannot retest for free or make any adjustments. You get to pay again if it doesn't pass.
So, what do I find out after a whopping 150 miles of driving my classic car? It is (once again) a "gross polluter" in the state of California. I have yet to find out why, but I am pissed.
Arnold Schwartz-an-idiot is the one who let the 30 year classic car law expire causing all of us with classics to have our cars tested when parts aren't even available...as if we can even find anyone who knows anything about Fiats! Here I am 150 miles later and facing (the Good Lord only knows) what type of costs this time to get my car back on the road.
California is a prime example of a state run amok. If it can be broken in California, the State Legislature and Governor have broken it. We're bankrupt, we're crime ridden, we're unemployed (our county is almost the highest on record in CA), State employees are furloughed and being paid with IOUs, smog laws are insane, gas prices are $3 per gallon, housing prices are dropping like a rock still along with foreclosures, yet everyone in the Golden State will re-elect their useless Legislators who got us in this mess. They're too clueless to realize that THEIR legislator is to blame...not someone else's.
Despite the political rant, I really do envy you in Texas! Maybe I should just buy a 1974 Spider and build a special oil injection system that causes the car to belch massive amounts of smoke. A 1974 is smog exempt here and there's nothing the State would do about it.
Anyone in the market for 79 Spider with 37,000 original miles? Silver, original red interior (excluding the console), automatic, power windows, factory AM/FM radio????? No rust, California car! It runs flawlessly less the "gross polluter" problem! Make an offer, who knows??? You just may convince me to sell it right now since I'm so frustrated with this dufus of a state.
John
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)
Welcome back to California, John.
I was talking to my brother back in Washington state and he was complaining about their sales tax rate, 9.25%. They have no income tax. I told him our sales tax rate is the same and we have income tax on top of that! Grrrrrr.
Ron
Ron Luxmore rlux2n2@gmail.com
'82 2000 Spider: after 26 years between Spiders.
John
I understand your frustration, but your post contains some misinformation.
1. Test Only centers can certainly offer a free retest. The station I use offers one free retest. Cost is not mandated by the state, it's up to the owner to set that as well as any number of free retests.
2. Cats are commonly replaced even though they are stil functioning. Many shops use a fresh cat as the easy way out rather than really fixing the cause of the high emissions.
3. If all of the emission equipment is in place and functioning, it's not hard to get these cars through the test. But, each year the standards have gotten tighter, which could explain why your car didn't pass the current test. I typically have to rejet carbs to pass the test these days.
4. As for politics, it really doesn't matter what our legislature does these days. The governator vetoes anything he doesn't agree with. Calif isn't the only state with these issues; 5 other states don't have budgets as of today and are looking at shutting down all services.
5. Please don't turn a 74 into a smoker! There are laws against visible smoke, and we really don't need more smog (plus, you'll sully Fiats' rep just a bit more)
6. Post your emission readings for CO, HC and Nox and I'll tell you what to do to make the car clean enough to pass a retest.
Yeah, I remember the whole CA crap. I once had a toyota that was a gross poluter from 0 - 15 mph and then ran uber clean after that . And, since I got it from a buddy of mine, my only option was to either make him pony up the $ for the repairs or repair it myself at a cost of $2500.00. No other option was available as it was sold without a current smog cert. I only paid 500.00 for the car. Anyway, the great thing about CA is that those little stickers are only 6 or 7 bones. So, if you go in and say that someone stole yours (off your current daily driver) then they will give you another. Just slap it on your license plate and you're golden Just don't speed and follow all the rules to a T I did it for 4 years during college using a sticker off from the registration of my jetski trailor. But, back then I had nada to loose .
in Michigan we have 6% sales tax on everything but unprepared food items, and 4.35% income tax on all income...including unemployment compensation (figure that out).
BUT, we dunn care what comes out de pipes behind your phat ride... or if you have an exhaust system unless the noise bothers the neighbors.
our fair state has the highest unemployment rate in the nation.
sorry about your luck... but welcome back. i still wonder why someone would CHOOSE to live in California, given a chance to go elsewhere.
Well, If I remember correctly from my 35 years living in San Diego, it had something to do with the great weather, hot babes and awsome surfing! It was all the rest of the BS that made me want to leave.
They have hot babes in California? Couldn't prove it by me.
Well Mike, you hit the nail on the head. Unemployment. Which I haven't been a victim of since I moved here. I have lived or worked in five other states and spent a good part of my time looking for work. I have always swore if I was out of work here, I'd be gone! The sad thing is, I'm still stuck here because there's work here.
Ron
Ron Luxmore rlux2n2@gmail.com
'82 2000 Spider: after 26 years between Spiders.
Thanks for the offer. After some tweeks here and there, the Spider did pass the test. So, I'm off and driving for another two years before I get to go through the ropes again.
I agree that it is our entire State government from the top down that is a mess. My brother had a great suggestion...cut the State elected officials by 50 percent. That would save more money than any of us could count!
My anger was speaking when I talked about making a 74 smoke like a chimney. Logic has completely gone out the window when it comes to smog testing classic cars. I still think the best answer is to smog test vehicles based upon miles driven. I'd probably not have to smog my Fiat for the next 100 years.
Re the cat, it was bad....smelled horrible when you ran the car. I knew it was bad last time and knew it needed replacement. The prior smog test (Smog Test 1) also indicated that I barely passed before. Now that I'm under Smog Test 2, it couldn't possibly have passed last time. It flew through after replacing it and the numbers showed it was running like new...remember it only has 38K miles.
After driving only 100 miles over the last two years, I expected it to pass.
I still say our State government sucks. There are others that are equally bad or worse, but I still think they're mis-guided and power mongers. They don't want what is best for us...the voters...they want what is best for them and what will keep getting them re-elected.
John
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)
congrats on getting through the test. You might consider replacing the cat with a test pipe and installing the cat for each test. They last indefinitely that way.
Mark, I'm considering just that! Any ideas on where I might find a test pipe (other than having one custom made)? It seems the regular Fiat vendors I've spoken with are all out. I've got a three-bolt catalytic converter, if it matters.
WHY? I'll tell you. I just got back from getting my truck inspected here in TX and laid it on the line to those guys at the inspection station (Firestone) about my 79 Spider. I asked them what I need to keep concerning factory smog equipment and they let me know exactly what smog parts I needed and which one's I didn't. Seems I can Sh*t can 100% of the smog equipment and it will pass inspection. They will only check for seatbealts, horn, lights and hazard flashers oh, and tiers and brakes. Other than that, commence with the pollutants 
. 
Just don't speed and follow all the rules to a T 
But, back then I had nada to loose 
.
