This is bad for cars older than 1992 model year and newer than 1975 . If having to get your 1976 to 1992 car smog checked EVERY year instead of every other year is a bother and unwelcome expense NOW is the time to bombard your local state senator with your opinion of this bill, (AB616) and to get the word out on this impending action by the legislature. Unfortunately AB616 was recently passed by the assembly 46 ayes and 33 nos. It will go to the Senate next and if passed there ultimately to the Governor for signing or veto. In my opinion, bills such as this are unnecessary due to the relatively small number of cars over 15 years old, and the increasing number of cars in this group having on board diagnostics. Such efforts accelerate the scrapage of cars prior to their useful life being consumed and as such make parts and service availability more difficult for the older vehicles. Further information can be obtained at the Association of California Car Clubs (ACCC) website at: www.acccdefender.org who have been defending the car hobbyist in Sacramento for over 30 years. .......... Dear Editor, A little watched bill is making its way through the legislature in Sacramento that will in effect increase the cost to the motorists to register their car if it is over 15 years old. This bill, AB616 will require the owners' of vehicles over 15 years old and newer than 1975 model year to obtain an annual smog test instead of the biannual test previously required. Given the cost of these tests, this will add approximately $50 to $100, or more, to the registration process every other year to car owners already reeling under record gasoline prices. For those frugal folks who choose to use their cars sparingly, maintain and preserve them for a life of longer than 15 years this represents yet another expense to incur. It affects the less affluent among us the most. Given the tremendous revolt on vehicle registration fees of only a few years ago it is surprising that this bill has not received more attention by the media and motorist. Since an ever increasing percent of vehicles in this 1976 to 15 year old category have onboard diagnostic provisions that warn of an emissions malfunction the need to submit to the hassle and expense is unnecessary and a mere sop to the smog check industry at the expense of the motorist. The governor was initially swept into office on the displeasure of high vehicle registration costs and this bill will in effect increase the cost of reregistering cars once again. Sincerely, Your name!!
I don't know. From 76 to 92 just may be the most neglected, and therefore most polluting group of cars. Pre 76 are more pride in ownership cars, and post 92's for the most part, theoretically should be still in decent shape. Just an opinion.
What makes you think smog tests are always going to be on body model years and not engines?...There are only so many pre 77 engines to go around and one of these days, if not now, someone will want to put a 77-92 vintage in their 40. These people aren't impressed with your non-regulated hot rod or custom, they want it off the road...15 just happens to be today's magic number. 'I have a 56, if they want to scrap everything pre 50 that's been modified, why should I care?' The same clowns that regulate water heaters, lawn mowers, barbeques, jet skis, leaf blowers, fire places etc. are going to let you off with your modified 40?....right. In their narrow minds one pollution belching car is one too many and they want them scrapped.
I don't plan on doing any welding on my truck, but I think, for my safety, any welding done on any vehicle driven on California highways should be done only by certified welders and any alterations done to body and or frame should be done only by certified personnel and then inspected and passed by certified mechanical engineeers before approval for road worthiness by CHP... I don't really care if you have to do that because it doesn't affect me. Get it?
as of now the IS laws on the books about engine swaps, if the engine is newer then you have to run the smog equipment from the year of the motor (after you go to the smog referee) and you can't put an engine into a vehicle that wasn't an option for that vehicle. these laws have been effect for over 20 years for cars that needed to be smogged (and that was post '65 in the 80's)......before the they even made you retrofit your motors with a pcv and timing retard valve, but the smog equipment didn't show up until the late 60's (in small form).
i agree that cars 1976 or newer should be smog clean-- because they can..... and i thought they were supposed to anyway (wasnt the smog cutoff always '76??) this doesnt affect me and i havent seen risk that it does. -scott noteboom
Even though this doesnt affect any vehicles pre 1976, I still think we should try to fight it only because if it does pass, I just have a feeling the state will get greedy and try to change the smog laws on pre-76 vehicles in some way.
anybody know what the cutoff year for a smog inspection for transfer of ownership is in california? when I bought my 61 dodge dart 15 years ago I had to smog it when I transferred it to my name, same with my 62 Caddy around the same time. I believe that has changed, but want to know the cut off year since I have a free 74 ford truck, along with a posibly free 67 lincoln with a 460 (?) but i aint gonna put them together if I can't get it smogged and registered...
Dayum, I gotta get my classic '89 Nissan smogged every year if this passes. Also, when people start with the "fucking treehuggers, liberals, conservatives, fags (other thread), etc." bullshit, it makes themselves look bad. The HAMB seems to be suffering from more of it lately. The moderators not tolerating it makes this forum better than the ones that allow all that noise. Thanks, Kurt
I Was Wrong Thanks "oldspert" 15 Years And Newer Here In Texas. I Remember When It Was 73 And Newer. I Don't Really Keep Up With This Crap. Never Really Effected Me.
i think at some point there will be emision testing on all vehicles in the US and Canada, the standard for pre emision controled vehicles might be easy to meet but over time i think they will become tighter. might not be in my lifetime but then again it might.
Right left, democrat, republican, it's all the same nowadays, stop and remember who gave us a 55 mph speed limit...(Nixon).
I smell pork...old, rotten, stanky swine. You, sir, are on the wrong farm. And something for you to think about, copper--unless Sacramento and the DMV are devising something I'm not aware of, hot rods are not treated like Harleys. A '40 Ford registered as such is, and shall remain, a '40 Ford. Doesn't matter if it's got the original Flathead under the hood or a 1977 Chevy 305--it's a '40 Ford.
a friend of mine is right now in the process of getting permits to do his own alcohol fuel at home...back and forth with the ATF and it looks like it is going through...i'll let y'all know what happens... n
I really wish the car companies would get together and agree to stop selling cars in CA & NY (CA East). Let the people living in these states go back to riding horses and carriages.
Oh boy another California bashing thread! bah, it's cool. We don't want all you guys here anyway! I don't have a big problem about this law because it doesn't affect vintage cars. What I do have beefs with are A - the limited numner of SB100 exemptions (500/yr. aint nearly enough), and B - the difficulty they give you over modding anything recent. As it is, everything has to be CARB certified, whereas a common-sense solution would be to let guys do mods so long as they meet the emissions standards. Who cares how I meet it so long as I meet it? And BTW, the air was significantly more poluted when I grew up than it is now. My lungs thank the state for (most) of their regulations.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Governor of California a Republican? (Not to mention a bad-ass robotic killing machine from the future?) You're right. I just can't figure it out. Douchebag.
does anybody in california remember those damn... nox smog devises that california used to require before they stopped smogging 75 and older ...you can bet that some tech company has some new goodies to sell and are behind the push to get anual inspections.
i still have one in my box i think, it was a delay valve to the vacuum advance. also for another post, you don't have to smog motorcycles....yet. they have to past "standards" set by the goverment before being sold (hence the cats on them). the built bike only have to be registered as "special contruction" and have to have safety items like new bikes (turn signals and such).
In Texas, TECHNICALLY, State inspectors are SUPPOSED to treat the vehicle like the newest part of it- I.E.- a 55 Chevy with an 89 Vette motor is SUPPOSED to be treated as an 89 Vette as far as emissions go. That being said, I hav yet to hear of 1 person running into this issue. I know because I asked while in the 8 hour "blood on the highways" state inspector class. ( It wasn't as bad as the 8 hour "Alcohol and YOU" T.A.B.C. Class.) but considering my hobby, I was curious. California doesn't have "Classic" or "Antique" Tags? - here in Taxas, those little jewels are worth thier weight in GOLD. They basically make you exempt from alot of this crap...since we get most of our smog laws from The Peoples Republic of California, I thought for sure you guys could get in on this? and remember...Benjamin Franklin knows WAY more about the state inspection process than most technicians. according to him, a skateboard with a big block strapped to it will easily pass pretty much ANY saftey , smog, or other test.
I (sorta) remember the first requirement in SO CAL where you used a barbed like rubber plug for the breather tube then ran a hose from the valve cover to the air cleaner.
Ouch,yes we got this in England and now its hooked to a central computor so some jobsworth knob can check its all kosher.Trouble is these people are totally not car people and especially don.t want some old rust bucket poisoning the environment.
its pretty bad to when they let the price of scrap metal go up so more people will drag in old cars to scrap.
Scrap prices are super high right now due to China buying large amounts of it- and it's not just Cars, it's pretty much ANY metals... The Price of Copper is so high right now, that your piggy bank full of pennies is worth more as SCRAP than it is as MONEY. (look it up! no bullshit here!) pretty much ALL of the oil we get out of Alaska goes to China, not us. I read that something to the tune of 35% of our gross national lumber products go to China...while building materials continue to skyrocket after Katrina and Rita wrecked the Gulf Coast. (seriously- this shit is out of control. I WAS gonna build a garage at the house this summer...looks like I may wait to see if Concrete prices drop at all.) There's so many hands in the scrap industry right now, it will take DECADES for us to see through the mud. I have heard everything from 150 to 300 dollars for every crushed car. take a look at your local junkyard...that's a boatload of CASH RIGHT NOW for alot of Scrap yard owners. Here in Austin, there was a place that didn't handle cars at all- only Demo materials from the surrounding counties...used to be a great place to go buy Box tubing, flat plate, round tubing and flat stock- it is now no longer open to the public. and it has nothing to do with safety- they CANNOT sell to the public and make the money they do selling overseas- and that is straight from the owners mouth! it's not a 24 hour operation, yet. they do work 7 days a week, though. the way I see it, for every car Cali ( or any state for that matter) impounds and crushes, they have to be making money. let's say they make 100 bucks a car. now sprinkle that across a state as big as Texas or Cali...or our "goldmines" like Arizona, Wyoming, or Nevada...to a State, our Hobby doesn't wash even with the amount of revenue our hobby generates in Tax dollars. especially when we could all be driving new cars which generate MORE money. Thier "no love" policy is based on MONEY. not the environment.
Has there ever been or will there ever be laws that require you to retrofit or update your classic car for safety or smog? I can't think of a single instance anywhere in the USA. As long as your old car is stock, I don't think you have anything to worry about. They will never require drivers to install seat belts/smog equipment at their own cost. At the very worst, we would have to start exclusively using pre-73 engine blocks.
we have antique plates/registration here but it comes with heavy restrictions. i'm not totally sure on the law on this but it has to do with under a certain year, mileage restricitions and use restrictions.
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