updated

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

I live in California and it was nuts before Arnold now it is insane but the weather is still perfect and I guess I will put up with plain insanity for that. Plus the beach is one hour away skiing is 2.5 hours away mountain climbing no sissy stuff here is 4 hours away. Four wheeling serious off road stuff is 2 hours away it is worth it barley but worth it still.
Dave S San Jose CA PS a starter home here is half a million dollars minimum maybe were all brain washed something in the water now that I think about it!

What is the new law?

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Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

I have a 69 Datsun 510 that is getting a Nissan SR20DET (2L 16V Turbo).

I don't think this sucker is going to pass. Can someone please clarify how this ruling will affect owners of classic cars with high performance motors?

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Cassidy
1982 MB 300DT - Running Great @ 104K!

1972 MB 220D - RIP @ ~200K (Dropped prechamber)
1992 MB 190E 2.6 - SOLD @ 145K

No smog certs for old diesels in CA.

More likely to see an increase in the MB diesels here. We are also seeing an increasing number of 350 Chevy engine & transmission implants being done using Cameros & Corvettes as donors.

I'm just SURE that the owners have reported their engine swap to the DMV so they can be eligable for our wonderful smog test every two years.

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You can get farther with a smile and a gun than you can with just a smile.

1984 300D
1985 300CD
1980 300SD
1993 SL500

That is going to be pretty mean!

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Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

Pass what? Unless you inform the DMV of your actions, they aren't interested in you or your old 69 tin. Keep it that way.

Somewhere lurking on the streets of SoCal is a 1970 911 with a 640 HP 427 Chevy big block in it. Eyeball flattening acceleration. Probably puts out fifty times the polution of a modern OBDII vehicle.

DMV won't care. Insurance might so be careful. Quicker than the DET will be how your policy becomes null and void because of the unreported engine swap when you tap a Maybach.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

I have a couple of old gassers that were affected by this so I watched this whole thing pretty closely. The new law specifically grandfathers cars that are currently smog exempt. All it really did was end the 30 year rolling exemption from moving forward. Truth be told, it was the rural and usually more conservative areas that supported it because they're the ones that get all our pollution blown their way. The Governator was voting with his constituents. FYI, diesels are unaffected by this and remain exempt from the bi-annual smog check requirement but it is still illegal to remove any of the mandated smog equipment that was on the car when new. It's not something that ever gets checked so let your conscience be your guide.

I hate to admit it but as a former resident of LA I can tell you that the smog rules do work. Some of you may be too young to have been there in the 70's and seen the major smog that was there almost every day. You seldom it there now, at least nothing like it was. Hey, if our smog laws are so dumb how come all you other states like New York keep adopting them? California does do some nutty stuff, no question about it, but it's still a pretty cool place. I have yet to see a BayWatch episode that was filmed in Rhode Island.

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

I agree... I am very happy California has strict smog standards. In fact, I think they should be twice as strict for all new cars.

This is how I think they should handle the vintage car issue:

There are a lot of pre 74 vehicles driving around that are neglected and abused. Tons of old decrepid vehicles getting terrible gas mileage, spitting lots of bad fumes, and dropping oil every where. These cars should not be on the road. The owners have no serious interest in the vehicle.

However, there are lots of people with older project cars. They keep them in good running condition. While they may get poor gas mileage, the motors run well and dont drip oil everywhere. These cars don't get driven much anyway. These cars should stay on the road.

I think owners of old cars should have to pass a smog and oil drip test unless they can provide reciepts or a vehicle appraisal greater than, say, 5- 8K.

My crazy idea...

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Cassidy
1982 MB 300DT - Running Great @ 104K!

1972 MB 220D - RIP @ ~200K (Dropped prechamber)
1992 MB 190E 2.6 - SOLD @ 145K

Not that I'm not happy to be free of the smog check hassle, but... Having recently completed a 11,000-mile, 2 month, cross-country-and-back road trip, I feel safe in saying California has more diesel passenger cars on its roads than any other state I've visited.

I saw as many w123 diesels on my 2-month tour of the rest of the US as I see in two days just driving around So. Cal (about 10). On the newer end of the spectrum, I saw maybe three VW TDIs in my months outside of CA, whereas I usually see four or five a week here.

Just a few days ago I was cruising down the 101 and ended up joining a diesel caravan: a couple shiny TDIs in front of me (a Jetta and a new Beetle) and a 300D behind me... Maybe you can't buy them here anymore, but they sure ain't hard to find!

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'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

Well here in the land red dirt, South Carolina disbanded its inspection program in 1996. No inspections of any kind. So bring'em here, it's just like Kalifornia out on the right coast; we've got liberals (birthpalce of: Jesse Jackson, John Edwards), legal head shops, cheap cigs. & fireworks and Palm trees..... but it is a challenge to find a drink on Sunday.......

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Over 21 years I owned several:
w108
w110
w111
w115
w116
w123
w124
w126
w212

Benzcrusher - don't leave out the Truckers Motel near Bennetsville.

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Jim

Personally, I feel the feds should step in and make nationwide rules (as were passed before and the individual states filed lawsuits over and held the laws up until they finally dissapeared) that apply to all states, California included. California has no business making up their own smog rules. It's okay to drive there with federal emmision rules as long as you don't live there. I/M 240 is an example that was suppose to be a testing standard required nationwide. After the states argued over it and a few lawsuits, it was reduced to only require testing in areas that fail to meet the federal government’s ambient air quality standards.

Let me make this clear: I have no problem at all with tough smog laws. They definitely work. I have problems with laws that allow heavily polluting industries to continue to pollute as long as they make some token effort at appearing cleaner like the car crusher programs. Ludicrous. I have problems with CARB who has admitted to having an agenda and forcing technology. These people are not elected. They tell you how it is going to be and you have no say in it. Modern vehicles are 98.7% clean. Insisting on further reductions in emissions output is the law of diminishing returns regarding modern automobiles. How much money will have to be spent to make the vehicles 99.5% clean? How much more will this cost the consumer? How does does pursuing a 0.8% reduction make sense when other pollution sources go unchecked? I have problems with performance vehicles failing visual emissions inspection even though they pass the tailpipe sniffer. If you choose to install a blown big-block in a late model car, complete with cats, fuel injection, etc. and it passes the tailpipe sniffer how does failing the visual make any sense at all? The technology exists to track and cite vehicles that are "gross polluters", like old V8's that are running on 7 cylinders, yet Kalifornia insists on allowing them to continue while foisting the burden on everyone else. How about them gun laws? As a gun owner with a few AW's who like to hunt and shoot, Kalifornia sucks so long and so hard you cannot even imagine. I was living in Texas during the Kalifornia "energy crisis" a few years back and I remember the animosity toward Texas for selling energy at "high" prices. Hey, you don't like it, buy it somewhere else! Nothing made me laugh harder than brownouts when the temps hit the mid 70's and everyone in Kali turned on the AC at once. I felt real bad. Regarding shooting Baywatch in RI. I hope they never do. At least the booty here is much more likely to be real, not nipped, tucked and siliconized trash. Enjoy, RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K