Need emissions help, Colorado changing rules for v8 swaps

[Notyourmomslx450]

Is this any different than what goes on in California? Clearly, the powers that be want to see Colo. as another version of Calif.

When I had a '66 Mustang in the early 1990s, the CO limit was something like 7.0 and it kept dropping over the years to numbers not easily attained by a vehicle with no AIR pump. Eventually, you just legislate cars off the road this way.

they tested emissions on a 66 in the 90's??

 

[SteveH]

These were statewide emission tests that applied in El Paso county at the time. I would drive to the emission shop, retard the timing in the parking lot, let them test it, and then advance the timing so that I could drive it home. I don't recall using HEET, but it would have helped.

 

[ScaldedDog]

Wanna get really irritated? Look at the backgrounds of the 14 voting CARB members who effectively control large segments of the US economy. You'll be hard pressed to find a single real job among them. Most have just suckled at the public tit all their lives.

The only knob we have to turn in this fight arrives in your mailbox in the coming days.

Mark

 

[White Stripe]

I wonder if it would be easier to just buy a cheap 5.3 Tahoe. Retrofit the Tahoe frame rails to fit under the toyota body, swap on the toyota axles, then title it as a tahoe. Then it's not a engine swap. It's a body swap. Maybe take a few pictures of the process to save in case someone doesn't believe its the gm frame. I bet the fabrication wouldn't be too bad if planned well. People put 80 series frames under 60s all the time. I have no idea about the legal details of doing so.

 

[nuclearlemon]

i have a pig and an 80 i'll sell

 

[patrickhrco]

All of the emissions garbage is the main reason I sold my 40. So frustrating.

Register it out of state. That will be the easiest solution.

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Is this legit? how does insurance work when they ask where the car is parked?

 

[J1000]

Just be aware there is a $1000 fine for avoiding emissions regulations in CO by registering it somewhere else. Probably not something to advertise on public forums.

 

[Oneops]

Are you allowed to have multiple address and registration at ones that are not in emission areas?

 

[Telly]

These were statewide emission tests that applied in El Paso county at the time. I would drive to the emission shop, retard the timing in the parking lot, let them test it, and then advance the timing so that I could drive it home. I don't recall using HEET, but it would have helped.

I remember doing this in El Paso County with my 68 Camaro back in the late 90's. The tech at the emissions place on North Nevada actually tuned my carb enough for me to pass while the sniffer was in the exhaust pipe. Got my 5-year plates and renewed a couple times without requiring to re-test. That was the one and only time I was required to do emissions. I would be totally f'ed if I had to deal with emissions on my LS swapped FJ60. I feel for you folks that have to dick with this every year.

 

[Stuckinthe80s]

I remember doing this in El Paso County with my 68 Camaro back in the late 90's. The tech at the emissions place on North Nevada actually tuned my carb enough for me to pass while the sniffer was in the exhaust pipe. Got my 5-year plates and renewed a couple times without requiring to re-test. That was the one and only time I was required to do emissions. I would be totally f'ed if I had to deal with emissions on my LS swapped FJ60. I feel for you folks that have to dick with this every year.

Damn, Doug! How many cool cars have you had?

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

Damn, Doug! How many cool cars have you had?

all of them, or so it seems

 

[PhillyB77]

Park County

Emissions?

 

[Doughboy]

I just gotta say that gas emissions sound way harder then anything for my imported diesel cruisers. There's a few more steps for first time registration, but I do have to do diesel emissions every year. And the only thing they check for is the opacity of the smoke. Colorado state limit is 35% for turbo diesels and 40% for NA.

 

[fyffer]

Las Animas Cy emissions works for me

 

[TonyD00]

I’m working on a swap myself and am actually very curious on how the Air Care folks go about determining if an engine has been swapped for cars with OBDI or older. For instance are they provided an image of the stock motor for comparison?

I’m wondering what exactly would happen if I brought my OBDI in for emissions with a swapped motor assuming that the check engine light isn’t on and I have proper CATS. Does anyone know what would tip them off to fail me?

For context I’m swapping my 944 with either an LS1 or VW o7K.

 

[Docwyte]

I’m working on a swap myself and am actually very curious on how the Air Care folks go about determining if an engine has been swapped for cars with OBDI or older. For instance are they provided an image of the stock motor for comparison?

I’m wondering what exactly would happen if I brought my OBDI in for emissions with a swapped motor assuming that the check engine light isn’t on and I have proper CATS. Does anyone know what would tip them off to fail me?

For context I’m swapping my 944 with either an LS1 or VW o7K.

You mean besides the obvious visual differences between an LS and the old stock 4 cylinder? There are the stickers under the hood showing all the emissions/vacuum stuff it's supposed to have, as well as what their computer tells them it should have. So they look up your car in their computer, it tells them what should be there and then they're supposed to check to see that your car actually has that.

Now that depends on whether the tech actually looks at all that stuff, but if they do, your car will fail. I LS swapped my 944 turbo about ten years ago and if you want to have it be smog legal, you need to take it down to the referee station once you've completed the swap and have them inspect it. They make sure you've got all the emissions stuff that matches the newer car, so cats, O2 sensors, check engine light, secondary air pump, evap stuff and that all the emissions monitors are set. Once they've done that then they make a note in their computer that your car gets tested as a camaro (if that's what LS motor you have), then you go to the testing station and get tested. That's the process I went thru with my car...

Be aware that getting OBD2 evap stuff to work on the 944 is a chore....

 

[J1000]

I've run an aftermarket turbo on my Miata for years but I don't think I'll be able to any longer. I'll find out the next time I need to emissions test.

A couple things: if your car has had trouble passing emissions in the past, then you will be put under more scrutiny. If your car has always passed clean then they might not even pop your hood.

The air care techs used to give me props for having a turbo Miata and it passed in the 15 years I've owned it but emissions has totally changed in Colorado in the last two years. We are legally the same as California now. I'm probably going to put my Miata to stock, sell it, and just buy a Corvette or something. Problem is my Miata is faster than most Corvettes.

 

[Docwyte]

We've been the same as Cali for many years, just not quite as hard core. Now things are getting tighter, as they're checking to see if you have a tune and failing you unless the tune is CARB certified. If it is, you have to go to the referee station where they check that, sign off on it and then you get to go back to Air Care to get tested.

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

I just gotta say that gas emissions sound way harder then anything for my imported diesel cruisers. There's a few more steps for first time registration, but I do have to do diesel emissions every year. And the only thing they check for is the opacity of the smoke. Colorado state limit is 35% for turbo diesels and 40% for NA.

Diesel emissions are BS

 

[J1000]

We've been the same as Cali for many years, just not quite as hard core. Now things are getting tighter, as they're checking to see if you have a tune and failing you unless the tune is CARB certified. If it is, you have to go to the referee station where they check that, sign off on it and then you get to go back to Air Care to get tested.

Older cars can't simply have a "tune" loaded. Especially a V8 swapped 944. Loadable tunes weren't really available for cars older than the early-2000s and even then pretty rare. So a "CARB certified tune" is something that really only exists for relatively new cars.

And yes we've had the rules on the books for awhile now but it wasn't until 2020 that I started to notice the CA stuff really being enforced. Especially on engine swaps or aftermarket turbos.

Luckily, unlike CA, CO hasn't delegated the responsibility to law enforcement and they aren't pulling over modified cars and crushing them like they did in CA. More of a slow burn here.