Crabman Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Hey Everyone. Well I got my 'halfway' papers at the DMV and I still need to smog my '79 Brat amongst many other things before its legal. It needs a new exhaust, and I've had the good fortune of locating an OEM exhaust, the pipe and muffler from the y-pipe back. It's a pretty good deal, but pricey shipping, altogether it comes to around $135. Anyways, I figure, since I need to hang a new exhaust on there, I might as well stick an aftermarket cat ($75) on as well, even though the car didn't come with one stock, it can only help me pass smog since california limits are so strict. But in order to do that, I'd have to have someone do some cutting and welding, since I can't weld, and the OEM exhaust is one piece from the y-pipe back. I haven't been to a muffler shop in a while, So, here finally is my question. What would you do fellas? Should I spring for the stock exhaust and an aftermarket cat, and bring that stuff to the exhaust shop tell them to cut and weld and make it work, or would I be better off price-wise taking the brat to the shop and asking them to fabricate something with a cat? I'll be outta town for the weekend, but I'm really looking forward to getting home and seeing everyone's advice. Thanks in advance, Crabman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostamojen Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 According to CA law, if your car does not have a cat on it stock, you can not add one to pass emissions. As for the rest of the exhaust, you can replace it with whatever you want since it is just all piping, as long as you keep it under 95 decibles. I'd just go custom if I were you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceMan Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Hey Crabman, just so you know on a non-closed loop vehicle, you will burn up a 3 way cat. I wouldent worry about the emissions. The hardest part for me on these older cars for cali smog testing is making sure everything is there and the engine is mechanically sound. If you need some of the emissions parts let me know, I got some "pieces" lying around from previous subarus. The smog techs have reference to the info on our vehicles and they know they didnt come with any catalitic converter from the factory, so the emissions requirements are a little more leanient. -Mike Hey Everyone. Well I got my 'halfway' papers at the DMV and I still need to smog my '79 Brat amongst many other things before its legal. It needs a new exhaust, and I've had the good fortune of locating an OEM exhaust, the pipe and muffler from the y-pipe back. It's a pretty good deal, but pricey shipping, altogether it comes to around $135. Anyways, I figure, since I need to hang a new exhaust on there, I might as well stick an aftermarket cat ($75) on as well, even though the car didn't come with one stock, it can only help me pass smog since california limits are so strict. But in order to do that, I'd have to have someone do some cutting and welding, since I can't weld, and the OEM exhaust is one piece from the y-pipe back. I haven't been to a muffler shop in a while, So, here finally is my question. What would you do fellas? Should I spring for the stock exhaust and an aftermarket cat, and bring that stuff to the exhaust shop tell them to cut and weld and make it work, or would I be better off price-wise taking the brat to the shop and asking them to fabricate something with a cat? I'll be outta town for the weekend, but I'm really looking forward to getting home and seeing everyone's advice. Thanks in advance, Crabman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabman Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Thanks Renman and Kostamojen. I am learning alot here. I was under the impression that all cars, despite year or how they were originally equipped, were held to one single strict emission limit in California. But it sounds like this is not the case? It sounds like there are different emission limits depending on the year your car was made and how it was equipped? If someone can clarify this for me, I would be very appreciative. If this is true, I think after a little tune-up I will be in pretty good standing. The engine is completely stock, I have all the original emission equip. I was going to take my time getting this brat on the road, but my daily driver just had a really bad day and now the timeline is accelerated. I need to get the brat street legal asap. My last question. Should I buy this stock exhaust for $130, or should I take it to a muffler shop? All opinions are welcome. Thank you in advance. Crabman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostamojen Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Yes, the car is held to specific smog limits. And one of those limits is that a car not equiped with a catalytic converter cannot have one mounted in addition to its stock smog components, mostly for the reason RenaissanceMan listed. And if your car is not running right, IE backfiring or making extra smoke, chances are it won't pass. Your best bet is if you arent sure if it will pass, do a pre-test to see what the emissions are currently at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabman Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 OK thanks Kostamojen. I have a clear understanding now. She's always run pretty good, no smoke, but an occasional backfire. I am going to tune her up real good this weekend. Get her solid and then get that smog pretest. Thanks for all the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceMan Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 One piece of advice, is that the Idle limit on that car is 1100 rpms. If I were you I would get it up close like around 1000... the car will idle cleaner. When the car is idling, manually push the egr (carefull not to puncture the diaphram) and make sure the egr causes the car to stumble a little. I know I usually rip off my preheater hose and throw it in the garbage cause its in the way, but for the smog its still required. If you feel you have the time, put in an OE-temp. thermostat (192 degree I think), and that will allow the engine to run warmer and cleaner. if the oil hasnt been changed in a long time, it may be saturated with Hydrocarbons, so it is best to change that, and use a thick oil like 20w50 (or 20w50 w/ stabilizer) to prevent oil burning and blowby Its probably a good idea to buy 6 feet of vacuum hose and replace the ones you can. The ones especially that go from that vacuum controller thing on the manifold to the carburetor, as those usually get hard and start to leak air. If you have the time I would recommend checking valve lash, but if you cant get to it, its not the biggest effect on emissions, mainly on power output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBARU3 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I'm sure that in CA, it is the same as many other emission testing states. Like was mentioned, you cannot "add" emmission pieces that were not present when the car was new. Likewise, the state cannot expect the car to run "cleaner" than when the car was new either! They cannot hold a 1979 Subaru to the same standard as a 1999 car. Esp, if you cannot add equipment! Emission testing guidelines look at the original emission output of the car when new. They factor in time, mileage and "reasonable wear and tear" , to arrive at the standard. Todd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 When does California stop emissions testing of vehicles? In Connecticut if the car is 25 years old or older it doesnt need to get tested. Or does yours need to get tested just because you got it from another state and they want to do a one time only test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostamojen Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 1975 or older. It used to be 30 years, but Gov. Arnold cut it off at 30 years in 2005... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabman Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Hi all. I'm feeling alot better about this. I actually talked to a smog technician today. He told me that the emission limits for the brat are set based on an 'average' of what that year, make, and model have been have been yielding over the years. I had some serious misconceptions about what it was going to take to get her to pass. I do have a couple of extra hoops to jump through because the car is from another state. It needs to pass an inspection, not a smog inspection per se, but just an overall inspection. I am sure that I will need side-view mirrors to pass this. Which now she does not have. Anyway, thanks everyone! I am relatively sure that she'll pass with a little work. I do need to clean out the EGR pipe. It seems like its clogged, as when I activiate the EGR valve she will not stumble and die. I'll post the results from the pre-test when I've got them! Cheers, Crabman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now