1970 280SE emissions

[pj67coll]

So the question I have is did US spec 108's specifically 1970 2.8 six's have cats and other emissions crap?

- Peter.

[Mike D]

No. Catalytic converters were not introduced to the market until 1973 model year and this was on U.S. domestic vehicles only.

The first cat year for imports was 1976.

The early '70's cars simply had reduced cam timing, less aggressive cam lobe profiles, re-worked ignition timing in the distributor and some had a lowered compression.

The carb'ed cars had re-worked carbs but the injected cars had no fueling changes.

[bwostosh]

M130 and M127 6 cyl's are my favorite motor because of the lack of emissions. With a reground cam and a vacuum advance distributor, electronic points. they are a joy to own. (in a good W108 body)

[Pooka]

The first emmision control that was required on US cars was in 1966 and it was a PVC valve.

If you need to know what emmission control is necessary for your car for your state then a good place to start is, as odd as it seems, your states' Department of Public Safety, or HIghway Patrol. If they are not the ones that run the program then they can point you to the ones who do.

I have lived in states that say whatever was in effect in the year your car was built must be in place now or no safety sticker no matter what. I have also lived in states that say after 15 years who cares!

Check your states DPS website and see what it says.

[cadurning]

PJ67coll,

I see that you live in Phoenix. I lived is Flagstaff for 20 years. Do they still run the cars on a chassis dyno for emissions testing? A friend of mine went through h&ll with emissions on a car that had emission parts made out of unobtanium. At that time if the car was born with it, it had to have it. He finally used my address for his registration. I would advise you to check with an emissions station to see what they look for on your car. Also be sure of the car's vintage.

While in Nevada I had Datsun Roadsters. I ended up with one that was registered as a 1969 when actually it was a 1968. Of course the emission stuff was different. They wanted me to retrofit the the 1968 car with 1969 emissions equipment. I finally was able to work out a deal that if the car passed the tail pipe test, would that be good enough. I got it to pass but what a PITA dealing with the emissions nazi's.

[Skippy]

I like how it is where I live. It's technically illegal to remove your emission control equipment, but nobody checks. I could drop a carbed, catless 460 big block into a brand new Grand Marquis and nobody would say anything to me.

[pj67coll]

Thanks to all who responded. Yes, I live in Phoenix so emissions are a problem here. Thats why I wanted to know the kind of equipment these older Benz's had. I had to go thru hell about nine years ago with an 82 Buick pos. Had to reseal the tank, replace the fuel lines, rebuild the carb adn I think replace the cat. Total cost of about 850 if I recall. Which was more than it was worth. Phoenix has the worst emission tests in the country and no chance of cheating on them here. Only cars older than 1966 are exempt.

- Peter.

[Skippy]

Ouch. I used to live in Atlanta, and the way they do it there, they have a cap on how much you spend to fix your car's emissions. If you spend more than that amount, and it still doesn't pass, they let you off the hook. I haven't checked lately, but I think the cap is somewhere around $600. Most emissions violators can get fixed for less than that, so the air stays reasonably clean (for a big city) while people don't get completely hosed trying to keep their cars in spec.

[Pooka]

Somewhere along the way back then cars, mostly European cars, were sold one of two ways concerning emissions: US, or 49 state cars, and California emission cars.

The term "Callifornia emissions" was also rather mis-leading since it ment different things to different manafacturers. To Mercedes it ment 'Western Zone' which included Arizonia. You could tell if you had a California emissions car because the metal emissions data plate was green. If it was a 49 state car it was black.

The data plate is located on the cross member that holds the radiator. It contains the data such as plug gap, timing, dwell... that sort of thing.

I don't remember when they started this green/black plate thing. I do remember I had a 1975 230 with the green plate and a thermal reactor. Talk about something that was hard to smog!

Maybe you can point out that your car's emissions should be decided by the emissions data plate (assuming it has one). It is worth a shot.

[pj67coll]

Originally Posted by Pooka

Maybe you can point out that your car's emissions should be decided by the emissions data plate (assuming it has one). It is worth a shot.

I don't have a car at present. At least not a Mercedes. There was an interesting 1970 280SE showed up on Craigslist here recently that I though about going to look at. That's why I wanted to know about the emissions crap.

- Peter.

[Pooka]

Ah! But at least now you know what to look for when you are shopping.

I did a bit of looking about and though I might have found a loophole and maybe I did. Maybe...

It turns out in Arizona if a car is over 25 years old and is insured as a 'Collectable' then no emissions testing applies. The catch is that it must be insured as a collectable so you could not use it as a daily driver which would kill the deal for about 99% of us.

One thing I can warn you to study up on concerning emissions if you are shopping for an older Mercedes would be 'Thermal Reactors'. They were used on some 1974 and 1975 and even some 1976 cars.

I try and avoid them. If you think cat converters cost a lot to replace.....

[pj67coll]

Originally Posted by Pooka

The catch is that it must be insured as a collectable so you could not use it as a daily driver which would kill the deal for about 99% of us.

Myself included.

- Peter.

[cadurning]

My collector car insurance states that my cars can only be used for pleasure. The way I look at it is that it's always a pleasure to drive my cars. Unless you have a milage restriction who's to know how often the car is driven. I have the additional benefit of an inoperative odometer.