[Andrew]

I'll ponder. After my last Milano I swore I'd never buy another transaxle car. But I like this one and I'm not unduly intimidated by Spica smogging.
Andrew

 

[CountryAlfa]

It's a cool car, and would be a fun project for someone, I hope it gets scooped up!

 

[Andrew]

How long is the current reg for? I need to come to LA for a couple other things, can add Chatsworth as a stop. Thanks
Andrew

 

[sidewaysalfa]

How long is the current reg for? . . .
Andrew

It is good till mid April, but you know that means the tag is good till the end of April. I could just pay non-op (for out of Calif people: means no street driving, but DMV does get some $$$).
I did a 130 mile drive today to see if it really drives. It does. Today was the first nice day for us in SoCal. But found the A/C may need recharging since the compressor would not click on. Something to get done next week.

 

[sidewaysalfa]

Well the car should be sold by next week. Mark, from Houston, is anxious to become an Alfa owner. Of course the A/C has been acting (or really NOT acting) up and I am struggling to get it working. Mark wants to pay me in some sort of "bitcoin" and provided me a photo. Does the Cadbury company issue bitcoin? They sort of look like foil wrapped . . . Oh well he seems like a nice person . . . And I got him to join the Houston chapter of AROC.

 

[CountryAlfa]

Well the car should be sold by next week. Mark, from Houston, is anxious to become an Alfa owner. Of course the A/C has been acting (or really NOT acting) up and I am struggling to get it working. Mark wants to pay me in some sort of "bitcoin" and provided me a photo. Does the Cadbury company issue bitcoin? They sort of look like foil wrapped . . . Oh well he seems like a nice person . . . And I got him to join the Houston chapter of AROC.

Please tell me you’re joking about the Bitcoin! 🤣

 

[sidewaysalfa]

Payment doesn't worry me. Wait till I send Mark the "pink slip". Oh, these jokes write themselves.

 

[Mark_toro]

Glad it found a home and kinda glad it is out of CA. Sounds like it is more and more difficult to keep these going there. And they need to be driven.

 

[msauls]

...pay me in some sort of "bitcoin" and provided me a photo. Does the Cadbury company issue bitcoin? They sort of look like foil wrapped . . . Oh well he seems like a nice person . . . And I got him to join the Houston chapter of AROC.

While at the Austin track this weekend, that bag of coins i had (some say there's chocolate inside, bah!) ending up melting somehow while in the floorboard. Elon Musk personally promised me the stainless-steel body of the "Delorean" i borrowed was heat resistant! (its some fancy French or Italian car, I cant remember...google it.) I'm not happy.

Because of the coin situation, I'll be sending Paul some NFT's instead. If you dont know about them, dont worry- they only go up in value.
Pics soon.

 

[sidewaysalfa]

. . . Because of the coin situation, I'll be sending Paul some NFT's instead. If you dont know about them, dont worry- they only go up in value.
Pics soon.

Touche. Well played.

 

[autobroker]

Re adding a cat, the state, I think reasonably, does not want folks reengineering the smog system on their own. Sure, a cat is better, but the state can't monitor everything, good or bad, and the tech can't know everything. In fact, usually the tech knows almost nothing. Imagine if you had to police that. So even though it sounds stupid, I understand why they don't allow it.
You can add a cat to any car that doesn't need smog; it's not legal because you're changing the original system, but no one would check it. Irony upon irony.
Andrew

The state doesn't want someone changing the factory system, even if it pollutes less. Logically, it doesn't make sense, but that's our government.

I had a modern RAV4 fail a smog test, due to the PO removing the factory air cleaner and replacing it with a non-CARB cold air system. Since it didn't have the CARB sticker, it failed the visual part of the test. I had to purchase all the old parts and put it back together.

My take on the visual part of the smog test - if someone added a cat, I don't think the smog tech would notice, since he/she shouldn't be checking for one (it's not supposed to have one, so why would they look?). Adding a cat should clean up a lot of the engine exhaust - I say should, since a poor running motor (rich or oil burner) will clog up the converter pretty quickly. I also heard that Zinc (used in oils for lubrication of flat tappets) will burn and can clog up the converter as well. When I write that the converter is clogged, I don't mean it's physically clogged (no exhaust comes out) - I mean that the metals are coated and they can't perform the exhaust cleaning function.

Someone posted that a 1980-81 Alfa with the single throttle body could be converted to a pre 1980 four throttle body system with only a handful of smog techs knowing that it's not the correct system - they'd pass the visual inspection.

Another interesting CA smog fact - Pre 1976 cars don't need to be smog tested, however it's still illegal to modify the emissions system. If someone put a dual Weber system in place of a SPICA, technically, it is not allowed and the car shouldn't be driven on CA roads. How would anyone know, if the car is never tested?

Last tidbit of worthless information. On very smoggy days, a PZEV (partial zero emissions vehicle) can actually clean the air. I don't have any data to back this up, but this is something I heard. If it's true, then owners of PZEV cars should drive as much as possible on smoggy days.

 

[autobroker]

Chatsworth is my old stomping ground! I worked a a big credit union as their auto buying consultant from 2002 to 2010. I would work until very late at night - doing way too much paperwork. I lived in Simi Valley on the far west side. I used the 118 freeway as my race track at night. I found out that Porsche made a huge mistake on the specs of their 2003 Boxster 986 with Tiptronic. They listed the top speed at 154 mph. They're wrong.

 

[sidewaysalfa]

Autobroker:
Yes, the Alfetta is heading to Houston, a smog test free republic, in a few days. It will be able to live it's next life as it should.
Yes, Cali smog is out of control. I would have been willing to put a modern efi system on the '76 Alfetta, but for the above mentioned items.
Yes, the little hill, about 300 ft elevation change, between Simi and Los Angeles (from the coast side to the inland San Fernando Valley side) is a super place to test top speed as it is uphill for a while. There is also a little twisty road next to the freeway, the original one before the freeway was put in. That twisty road shows up from time to time in commercials, etc.

 

[sidewaysalfa]

The Alfetta got loaded up Thurs morning. It should be in Houston by Sunday. The transport guy is local in SoCal and we seem to have almost crossed paths over the years. He worked in the restoration shop at the Nethercutt Collection in the '80s, the same time as my late wife (before I met her), she in P.R. and tours. Of course it took forever to get the car on his trailer - 15 min to tie down the car, and about 60 min for 2 car guys to talk about nothing really.