I'm taking in my 85 Chevy Pickup with a 91 engine, my warhorse, towpig and best thing I've ever owned..I live in Hays County near Austin Texas..I need a current inspection sticker..He tells me he has recently been spanked by the D.P.S. with warnings and they said the next time they came out they would start issuing fines..So, He tells me the exact rules he has to adhere to..1968 is the cut-off "grandfather" date, anything being inspected after 1968 has to be exactly the way it left the factory. He is a fellow hot rodder with a nice tail draggin 56 Mercury, an SS409 64 Impala, he isn't too happy about it either, He drives a nice 72 Chevy longbed..We discuss that means no aftermarket aircleaners, headers and we're not too sure about aluminum radiators..In my case its going to mean completely restoring my factory smog system, costing more than my truck is worth..So, I leave with no sticker, an "outlaw" My options are to drive it around with Cl***ic plates onnit as it is 25 yrs. old..Or, as I have done in the past, drive it to the southside of San Antonio and get a damn inspection sticker. I just can't afford to go out and buy a new Pickup to get around this..I don't want to give up my trusty Pickup I've had since new, I'm bummed...
Hey, Just be thankful you do not live in the Southern California Los Angeles basin. The Air Resources Board would already have your picture on the wallpaper in the local post office! 'Sorry to hear it's your day in the barrel! " More angry than depressed ''
living in az is almost as bad as cali. but thankfully only phoenix and tucson have emission inspections or any inspections for that matter.. and if it gets any worse i think there should be an easier way to get a carb eo number.
I am a state inpector in Harris Co. (Houston) and have not heard of this.I've been wrong at least once this year but it sounds like ********.
I'd check a different inspection station. Maybe this guy is on their (DPS) radar for flagrant violations or maybe he's trying to make some green by selling you some work you don't need? I'm suspisous by nature.
I have to think a law like that would be big news and all over all the car boards with numerous rants. Can't think of seeing anything like it, closest was the CA deal with the kit/repro cars needing to be built to modern emissions standards. Most states have their inspection and emissions regs available online or at the DMV, they can differ some from one area of the state to another, but even here in liberal NY they only do emissions on 1996 and newer; older are a visual check, but pretty much as long as it has a converter for 84-up, that's all you need.
Some places are just like that. 30 years ago I took my buddies elco to get inspected, kid failed it because it didn't have the original steering wheel. And the one on there wasn't a small one it was a 3 spoke but 16 inches. Went home and grabed wheel ,(stock) off my 55 chevy and it p***ed. If you wern't south I would say go to the inspection place in Leander, North of Austin on 183. Its right at the light 183 and 2243. Those guys are not crazy with stuff. If it's safe and all the right stuff works you shouldnt have any problems. Or just try some place else. I always stay away from anyplace that fixes stuff. Alot of those places like to see if they can drum up some more business.
That guy is an idiot...or his DPS official is...no such rules exist. This is all you need to p*** a "Safety Only" inspection in the state of texas. '85 is emissions exempt, and no where in a safety inspection do you check the engine. In fact, you don't even need to raise the hood to do it.
The cut-off for emissions testing in Travis Co. is 25 yrs. old. After that it is safety only. Antique registration is safety inspection exempt state wide. Hays Co. does not require emissions testing.
NY (downstate) isn't that bad, but if the car is an emissions-year car, it has to have all the smog equipment on it and it has to be hooked up. Even though they don't test anything over 25 years old, it has to appear to be intact. Some stations are more lax and you can still "buy" a sticker if you need to. Bob
I DO NOT know how TX works. There will be a website to help the poor consumer through the process. Problem is, it's probably written by bureaucrats and lawyers. Search there to see if the following is similar. In CA, you could replace the 1985 engine with a 1991 if it is very similar (I.E., a 350 truck engine for the same). You must retain all 1985 smog equipment. You can add 'approved' aftermarket equipment. Open air cleaners are not. Headers that do not have provisions for the air pump lines are not. An aluminum radiator is fine, provided that any sensors that were factory installed are also installed in the new one. Look at all the ads for "CARB approved" or "not legal for street use". If you owned it since new, you made all these changes. I know all the reasons, but it was you that broke the federal laws and tampered with emissions equipment. Lots of people that have no idea have been sold cars that were tampered with. You tampered with this one. You could afford a new truck, and lots of fancy stuff, and even an engine swap. Now you can't afford to fix the stuff you messed up? No pity here. We have been dealing with this for at least 35 years. That was before your truck was built. You guys laughed at us dumb CA fools and tore the stuff off and canned it. At least if you had it in a box stuffed in mom's attic, all it would take is labor. Look in the mirror. Ask yourself if the truck is really worth a few more bucks and some time. You have had 25 years of skating along, now you have to choose. Getting most parts at a yard is the best way to go. Get the air pump tubes at the dealer, the old ones are too much pain, and GM sells them pretty cheap, last I checked. BTW, you can sell it to someone who isn't in a smog area, but watch your backside. You can also use it as a donor for a sweet 51 chevy.
WOW. Big Brother has friends and supporters in the most unlikely places. I am glad there isn't a reward announced yet for spying on your neighbors and turning them in. Big Brother Friends are everywhere. And they actually think they are doing a good thing....
Sounds like B.S.Go to your local Department of Motor Vehicles and find out the exact requirements in your state.Bring a copy of that with you when you get it inspected.This is where a lot of shady shops make there money by ripping people of that dont know the laws.You figure if a shop is willing to sell you an instection sticker on the side,then you bet there willing to rip people off
#10 mostly means has to have a converter. 68's 1'st year of the converter, but I belive that was a Cali thing only that year?? Some do have smog pumps in the 70's also. You can have headers on a brand new car as long as it'll p*** emmisions, and that only pertains to the major cities in Texas and the surounding counties of those cities.
Wow, way to jump on the guy. So he bought a new truck, 25 YEARS ago. You make it sound like he's some rich kid that bought a new car, threw some 20's and a coffee can exhaust on. Besides, a1991 engine means it most likely was done before emissions testing was even in Texas( I think it started in 2002?) Try offering some real advice instead of hammering the guy.
Go to a small shop where the guy can't tell the differnce between the emission controls from 85 to 91.
When and I moving in brother,nice to run into ya on here,And please dont put your foot on my license plate,its not a place to tie your shoes(I'm still pissed about that,my brand new plate is bent up as hell now,looks like I rear ended some one and he who did it just laughed wtf)
Dang...... Also what is the cut off on the H.A.M.B? Oh **** I don't think its 91 or 85. What the hell is emissions??? All my cars are pre 65
like Insane 1 said, that means the catalytic converter. And since he's in a non emissions county, it requires nothing more than a visual check to make sure it is there. If the thing ever came with a smog pump (which I I doubt) then that's another visual check only and it doesn't matter if it works. You can put whatever steering wheel, air cleaner, headers, wheels/tires, anything you want on the car. And the aluminum radiator?? On an '85, what possible issues would that create?? I would actually file a complaint with the DPS because they told you otherwise. Really sounds to me like the guy just didn't want to mess with it and you were gullible enough to believe his BS.
Whether it's NHRA rules or EPA rules, there are always rules. You play by them or pay the consequences. Like he said, these are hardly new rules. This station owner does seem to be getting unnecessary scrutiny from the bumblecrats, I'd just go elsewhere.
OK here is the link http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/vi/ there is No emission testing in Hays County. Your just getting your chain jerked.
Guys, I know I was harsh but if you play outside the laws, that's your deal. I am not a Big Brother supporter, just trying to make everyone aware that if you do this stuff, there is a very small possibility that it can bite you. I used to be a smog tech, but I NEVER reported a car from cruise nights, okay? Same as if you drove around in your rod naked. You may get away with it for years, but someone somewhere is going to get offended and you will have to deal with the consequences. Your choice, but don't cry that you can't afford shorts and it feels confining. As a licensed smog tech, I would have been in much worse trouble if they had pulled me over in my big cammed, dual quad tunnel-rammed, header equipped OT car. But I knew that going in. I was simply trying to explain that what the shop guy told him wasn't some new 2010 thing to mess with him and his truck. Sounds like the shop doesn't have the facts straight anyway, but at least the guy knows this may happen in the future and be warned. I see late model trucks around here (AZ) with dual exhaust and other obvious modifications. If the guys can afford to modify it, they should know they may have to change it back at some point. They couldn't get away with it on Phoenix. These laws aren't going away, they are slowly creeping across the country. **** and Jane Average sees and hears something different on the road and doesn't think "Wow, that thing is Cool!" They cringe because it does not fit into the vanilla world they have come to expect. They are the ones we have to watch out for. BTW, catalytic converters were started in 1975 on cars.
I'm calling BS on that, find another station to go to. Did my inspection on my recently purchased 72 gmc and the kid was so happy to have an old truck to inspect.
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