88 Carb flies through CA emissions test

[g.frost]

I know the OEM carb doesn't get much love around here, but in CA we must make the best of it. I just had the bi-annual smog test today: 156K miles, original carb never opened. I had the car since new. (oxygen sensor, choke opener, and thermo-valve replaced several years ago)

M1: RPM 745, CO2 10.5%, O2 6.1%, HC(PPM) 2, CO 0.00%
M2: RPM 2596, CO2 14.6%, O2 0.3%, HC(PPM) 1, C0 0.00%

PASS.

It runs great, idles smooth, the old carbs aren't bad, They just need some love and understanding.

[POS carb]

I failed my 1st cali smog for nox, co, and timing. I figured out the thermovalve was blown and the second advance was always on so I shoved a BB pellet in the secondary hose to plug it and lowered the idle mix screw, pumped up the tires, and threw rubbing alcohol in the tank and passed

[g.frost]

As far back as I kept track this car always had 0.00 CO, and HC numbers about 1/10 of average or a little more. 2 years ago it failed for the first time when they started pressure checking the fuel tank. I took it home and discovered: when I had the fuel pump replaced about 18 years ago they 'forgot' to connect the vent line to the canister.... (and so discovered the source of that occasional raw fuel smell that I could never find) hooked it up and it passed. I'm thinking my charcoal canister must be in good shape, barely used.

[Dr_Snooz]

Awesome! Those are some very impressive results. The OEM carbs are feats of engineering for sure. They're just a nightmare for average joes to rebuild. Keep loving yours.

[g.frost]

It takes first rate technician skills to begin understanding the vacuum system diagram and function. Piece together with the component tests detailed in the service manual, get an idea of whats missing in the documentation: a Theory of Operation.

When the choke opener failed, it took me 8-10+ hours of study, 2 hour diagnose/test, one hour to replace. I know more about that system then ever before, but still not a good fraction of what's there; Just try to find and learn what you need to know.

You know the story of Edison charging Ford $100: $99 to know where to drill the hole, $1 to drill the hole.

[Clint]

It is easy to get by any emissions test. Find the nearest Go-Kart shop and buy a 5 Gallon pail of racing alcohol. Let the gas tank in the car get close to empty. Cut a piece of cardboard to block most of the radiator and then pour the alcohol in the tank. Go directly to the Test Station. You WILL pass as the alcohol does not produce any emissions for which they test. The engine will not get hot enough to open the thermostat and that is why you need to block the radiator. When I lived in Massachusetts I got lots of hot rods and my aging Chevette through their very stringent testing using this procedure.

After you pass the test fill up the tank with gasoline and remove the cardboard. The car will have very little power till you run the alcohol out of it.

[Dr_Snooz]

I have a whole write up about how to massage your way (cleanly) through a California smog check without resorting to illegal smogs, de-tuning followed by re-tuning, alcohol, etc. California's smog laws have gone insane. I'm all for clean air, but the smog laws seem to be more about selling new cars than lowering emissions anymore. Seeing that old cars are disproportionately driven by those of lesser means, this means the boot heel of complying with California's smog laws falls squarely on those least able to bear it. It's wildly regressive. If you drive an old car, the DMV sits quietly and waits for something to go wrong with your old car, miss a registration date, fail smog, tear the car down for lengthy repairs, etc. and then they hammer you until they get the car into the junkyard. When it comes to 3g's, you'll be swapping out a 35-40 mpg car for something a lot less than that, so the law is insane. If they want to fix smog, then they should be going after the car companies who game CAFE standards, fight cap-and-trade legislation, perpetuate our dependence on foreign oil and make smog controls that break too easily and then stop making the parts we need to fix them. If our OE carbs are dying and we can't get good replacements, we should be able to get the parts to fix them or swap in aftermarket carbs without having to resort to illegal measures to get registered. The more they perpetuate this stupidity, the more they encourage people to skirt the laws entirely and blow more smog rather than less. As far as I'm concerned, we all need to learn about smog, smog controls and smog checks and how to get through them in a responsible fashion without having to play DMV's silly games. My write-up shows how to blow clean at a smog check without being strictly stock, CARB-approved, etc.

That's my thinking anyway. I haven't posted my treatise yet, because I'm more than a little scared of our new hyperveillance police state. I'm not looking forward to being tasered till I lose bowel control, bound, gagged and shipped off to Guantanamo in the middle of the night.

[g.frost]

Have to say I agree with every point in your rant Dr. Snooz. I've never had to deal with a major smog fail on a car, and take good care of my 3g. I think (from some cars I've been behind) that there are a bunch of older cars out there that have a much harder time to pass. Also, I'm old enough to remember cars in the '70s, and what they smelled like. We had to do something but what we have now is clearly out control bureaucracy.

[Hlj1215]

What's up guys I'm new to carb and got a dumb question so would the car pass smog with weber carb? Sorry for the dumb question but I just got the car couple weeks ago and, by the way I'm in Cali

[g.frost]

Here it is 2015 and my 88 had another CA smog check today: (guess I skipped the 2013 report here; just as great)

Idle RPM 767, CO2 10.8, O2 5.7, HC 1 (MAX allowed 120) CO 0.00 (1.00 MAX allowed)

RPM 2302, CO2 14.2, O2 0.9, HC 3 (MAX allowed 140) CO 0.00 (1.00 MAX allowed)

Jimmy is my cream puff beater car. Low miles, virgin carb has never been opened up.
I put a maintenance dose of Redline SI-1 in every tank of gas.
Jimmy burns no oil, Jimmy is a good boy.

[Dr_Snooz]

Nice!