$$ of California Smog Equip?

[BradH]

I am looking at buying a Spider in the 74-82 years, I have found a few California cars that interest me and a few that are in other parts of the country. I know that shipping across country is about $1300 but what does it cost to add the Smog equipment required by California to one of these cars?

I have noticed that the California cars are a little more money, but I don’t want to save $1000 and end up spending $2000 on smog and shipping. Not to mention buying the car without actually seeing it in person.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Andrew]

A 74 or 75 Spider won't matter, as they aren't smogged under current Cal law. 76 and newer are. 74 has no catalytic; 75 I think has air pump but no cat? Not certain which year cats first came in on Alfas.

Cal and 49-state cars were the same for Bosch cars, and there were only a couple Calif-only years for Spiders, though I'm not certain which (77, 78?).

So a Bosch car it's not an issue to bring in an out-of-state car. For a Spica Calif car, there were different pumps for 49-state and Cal a couple years, though at this remove, I imagine a good-running car will be able to pass smog on the numbers. You will want to look at the data plate or smog sticker, though to see if it says certifed for fed and Calif. I had a DMV inspector look for such a sticker on a 73 Berlina, which doesn't need a smog check, but she looked anyway. Luckily the sticker was till there. You might want to verify all this, and try to get some emissions numbers on a particular car, before you bring it into the state, so you know what you've got.

Andrew

[67duetto]

I bought a 69GTV from Washington state and recently registered in San Francisco. The DMV inspector still looking for the smog sticker which did not exist. She finally had her supervisor's blessing before signing it off.
The bottom line is that CA is getting stricter on smog, cars up to the 90's need to be smogged at Test or Gold Sheild station to perform a 2 or 3-step smog.
You may want to get a 75 or older and do not have to deal with smog.

[Geezer]

The '82 is a Bosch car. I personally like the look of the early '70's pre-dock bumper cars. I would avoid any years that require a smog pump. A smog pump and it's attendent hardware is just one more thing to break that's made of unobtainium.

[flaatr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 67duetto I bought a 69GTV from Washington state and recently registered in San Francisco. The DMV inspector still looking for the smog sticker which did not exist. She finally had her supervisor's blessing before signing it off. The bottom line is that CA is getting stricter on smog, cars up to the 90's need to be smogged at Test or Gold Sheild station to perform a 2 or 3-step smog. You may want to get a 75 or older and do not have to deal with smog.

[maxwedge]

Last I knew you could bring a 49 state car into CA without adding any equipment as long as it is stock and still has whatever it came with for 49 state equipment, IE not modified from stock in any way that will increase emisions. At least that's how it used to be. Last I checked, it was actually illegal to add a cat. conveter to a car that wasn't factory equipped due to potential fire hazard.

[Andrew]

I think to a large extent, even if the car is fully equipped with smog equip and passes the tailpipe test, you're at the mercy of the intelligence, whims, and competence of the DMV inspector you happen to end up with when you get your DMV inspection (totally separate from your smog test).

75 or early (no smog required), or a Bosch car (easy to get to pass) would certainly be the easiest to deal with. 76-81 are the toughest years for Spiders, and not coincidentally, the poorest performing.

Andrew

[BradH]

Thanks, That was very helpful!

[maxwedge]

Also keep in mind that "rust Free" here in the midwest, sometimes means that there are no visible large holes that haven't been covered with bondo and the 15 patches of "minor surface rust" are each no bigger than 10 inches in diameter. The fact that the entire underside of the car is covered in rusty scale and holes, the inner rockers are long gone and the spare tire well patched with a piece of old furnace duct sheet metal is considered normal wear and is of no consequense to sellers here in the rust belt.

Buy the CA, NV, AZ car every time. you will save big money in the long run