It's kind of a rant I suppose. I've been ordering quite a lot of parts for some projects and ran into some problems despite me having to certify every time that it's for a '28 Ford or a '32 that are not even in the US. I don't understand how the restrictions are applied to parts. For exemple a pair of Offy heads and intake or valve cover breathers : no problem, nothing to certify, as if it wouldn't change the emissions of an engine. On the other hand I had to certify for a '32 gas tank, a set of sbc tall valve cover and a Ford flathead generator. The generator and tall valve covers were cancelled by the seller by the way, because as he told me that there was no way for me to prove that it was for a non emission controlled car despite me telling him it was for a couple a 30's cars. I can't wrap my head around the idea that a generator could change emissions and not a set of performance head, or that a set of tall valve cover have an impact on emissions compared to a standard size from the same manufacturer that I ordered also and had nothing to certify. Are those restrictions applied at random or is there some logic that evades me?
I've never encountered any such restrictions on anything I've ordered. But then, I might not have ordered anything from the place(s) you are ordering from. Since you didn't mention what place(s) that is, it's kind of difficult to answer your question
Living in South Dakota and ordering from most all of the normal vendors I NEVER have been asked about it. Even when I had wholesale accounts they didn't care.
I get asked those questions (Summit Racing) since I live in California but why are you getting asked being that your in Normandy? Or are you a transplant in the States now?
For those of us who live in CA restrictions on what can be shipped to a CA address sometimes make no sense at at. For example this from Amazon: Hedman 21115 Header Reducer - Set of 2 This item cannot be shipped to your selected delivery location. Please choose a different delivery location. Yet Summit and Super shops a**** others will ship no problem. Maybe it has to due with Prop 65 warnings or CARB or who knows what.
I have one OT vehicle I put aftermarket parts on, and they have to have the CARB-EDO # to p*** emissions visual. But when I buy parts that could go on/in a “smog era” vehicle, I’ve never had an issue, no asked any questions. Having said that, there are (as mentioned above) many things online that can not be shipped here. But vehicle parts I’ve never seen/heard of a problem. @chrisp , who did you order from?
Comes from confusing overlapping laws applied by bureaucrats / paper pushers who won't &don't care about what they're doing !
It's difficult to discuss prop 65 without discussing politics, but it's a joke imho. Basically anything you can buy says it causes cancer in Cali, lol...
Guess what, Colorado and another state that I don't recall have decided to go along with the California rules. I discovered this when ordering parts for an OT vehicle. So now I have to have my parts shipped to someone out of state and then have them resend them to me. That is probably illegal but it works.
So your saying if you buy a non-emissions carburetor, it can’t be sent to Colorado? Just trying to understand
I bought engine related stuff from Speedway, other vendors were for body, ch***is and suspension stuff so it didn't create any problem. I do live in France but I ship all my parts to a friend in Cali who acts as a shipping forwarder a****st other things to France which allows me to save a bunch on shipping and import fees since everything comes by shipping container, it's super slow but super cheap compared to UPS or Fedex. If I understood well the manufacturer has to declare parts that are non emission then the vendor has to make sure the buyer with a Cali address is not gonna put those parts on an emission vehicle by asking the buyer. I suppose they keep the answer in a file so if the buyer gets busted the seller is not going to be fined. Which leads to some seller not wanting to deal with that or being overzealous. I still don't get why a generator look alike is a non emission item. I guess that for the parts Speedway refused to send was an overzealous employee. Then again I'm the not so lucky type of guy, if I was telling you what's going on with parts I ordered from Brookville you wouldn't believe me...
It is my understanding that any part that can be installed on an emissions controlled vehicle needs a California CARB exemption number before it can be sold or shipped to Colorado. I emailed my state representative and state senator questioning the reason for this and I got a reply that I had brought up some interesting points.
Interesting that is. Really make no sense (in my thoughts) ie I want a set of headers that will work for a 1962-whatever, but they don’t have a CARB-EDO ***igned to them, so I can’t get them? Not questioning you at all, just really perplexed.
I wonder if this type of situation is something that SEMA would get involved with? Or maybe they don't want to even think of going down the CARB rabbit hole.
Having your parts shipped to a California address is probably where the issue comes up. What parts are scrutinized and why is another issue and it probably wouldn't make any sense if we knew how the law or regulation read. I won't get into the silliness of the laws that might apply, but having been a race parts dealer and still getting a performance parts trade magazine I have read of companies getting really large fines for selling "regulated" parts that end up on street vehicles. A buyer saying they won't use it on a street-driven vehicle would carry about as much weight as someone saying, "The check is in the mail" or "Of course, I'll respect you in the morning". It is likely to get even worse. US EPA would like to ban converting a street vehicle to "race only" use. I don't keep up with it like I might have in the past, but I'm sure SEMA and PRI (Performance and Racing Industry) are working against such insane laws and/or regulations. Lynn
Interesting that I've never come across this problem with car parts. With ammo, yes. With car parts, no.
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