[ckeen74]

Hi all,

I'm a long-suffering SPICA-owning (2 SPICA cars, one for 23 years now) SF Bay Area resident who's making the move up to NE Portland (or perhaps Vancouver, but Portland is more compelling for non-car reasons). I know I'll be subject to the DEQ up there - who has experience doing this test? It sounds less strict than the California BAR's smog testing - am I reading that right?

Thanks,
Chris Keen

 

[John533i]

Well, yes and no. Our DEQ mimics CA in a few ways- the cutoff for testing is locked at 1974, for instance; not moving yearly. And you are supposed to keep your smog equipment. BUT...my 78 BMW 320i would pass every year and it had no smog pump or thermal reactor. It passed the sniff test, and the visual was spent talking about how great my engine bay looked :thumbup: I used to wax my engine bay and keep it very clean, and all the aluminum on the top of the engine was bright and clean. All hoses new. So we talked cars instead of why my smog pump wasn't installed. But I'm in Hillsboro, 25mins west of Portland...

 

[RIPITTRACE]

Best bet is to go to a shop and have it checked BEFORE Deq. I have an interesting story.
When I was in Medical school in Portland, one of the services I offered was to take a client's car and get it tested. I guaranteed the car would pass. At that time I was working exclusively on British cars, and sometimes, I have to run them so lean that they could barely idle. After getting a pass, I would then readjust the carbs so the car ran well....ha

 

[John533i]

My father in law in MA took his MGB and TR6 to 'Blind Larry' for their yearly exam and 'tune'.

 

[spider4me]

Portland DEQ

I have lots of experience with DEQ and Spica Alfa's!! best to speak via PM or phone!
PM me and we can connect

 

[robvolz]

Don't be frightened of our DEQ, they are rather pleasant to deal with and not as strict as california. Headers are allowed for example