Joined
·
10 Posts
I have a 1985 Grey Market SEC. It has absolutely no smog equipment. Does anyone have the parts that I need to smog this car?
Grey Market SEC Smog
1 - 20 of 50 Posts
u dont need parts, u need a few extra hundred bucks and know a guy
and what tusabes said
Welcome Nigel. Please do put your car details into your profile for us. It's really helpful - Complete your Profile
I can't help you with how to get around the smog thing but plenty of people on here can 👍
Where are you roughly in the States? Some people have the car registered elsewhere I think?
You can get a temporary cat made for emissions, however if you leave it on you will kill the cat without tuning. You can get the car retuned to run with a cat I think.
Joined
·
10 Posts
Worst possible scenario, I am from California.
Joined
·
10 Posts
Does a smog pump do anything?
Cali may check for a smog pump, but you would need to check that. Generally with cars of this age most smog shops just stick a probe up the tailpipe.
rob you of power, and your soul
560SEL 560SEC E320 Cab. MB Metris Van ML 320 ML320CDI/gone 300TD 300TE 300SDL, 300D, Unimog 406
Joined
·
3,023 Posts
Don't waste the $$. Commiefornia will outlaw the car in a few years anyway. Move to Texas.
As am I and so is vdub. Don’t even try to add smog . You have two options - pay a guy about $300-400 to pass it . Or form a business or get a friend out of state with no inspection requirements to register it in their state for you.
I formed a llc in Montana and my llc owns my cars . No smog and no annual registration fees .
Wtf? Otto engine restricted soon???
Omg...
bureaucracy in the states? California with its environmental rules is quite strange.
guys, maybe can put a powerful catalyst, which was mentioned above, and lean the mixture at idle. then the machine must pass the test. and then remove this catalytic converter and ride on? Or is there an inspection that checks the performance of the air pump and all hoses?
Buying classic cars in Cali is... Well, I will refrain from stating it, other than to add this: 😱
Joined
·
10 Posts
I am assuming that the smog equipment helps the car pass smog. I found a smog shop that doesn't care about the visual inspection, but my car failed the tailpipe test badly. I understand that the Cat will help but does the smog pump and any other equipment help as well?
Joined
·
10 Posts
I'm almost there, tusabes. Just would like to give it a go the legal way first.
91 420SEL, 72 350SL, 99 S600, 05 F-350, 09 C300, 10 987, 12 GL450 , 87 560SEL ,05 SL600, tractors
Joined
·
681 Posts
California? Sorry to hear - not even a few hundred bucks and know somebody can get you out of the Kalifornia anti IC engine hatred. The work around to get out of State Taxes and smog requirements is to incorporate an LLC in a state like Montana and register the vehicle there - you can do it all by mail for a few hundred bucks using an attorney that secializes (Google to start). You will also need to have a second vehicle registered in CA to satisfy the John Law questions. Best bet is to move out of the Commie State and start living like a free American.
91 420SEL, 72 350SL, 99 S600, 05 F-350, 09 C300, 10 987, 12 GL450 , 87 560SEL ,05 SL600, tractors
Joined
·
681 Posts
BTW - even if you can find all the equipment, there is no guarantee that the car will pass the smog test. Failure and they will throw your car into the crusher. Envision your future in an EV golf cart and brown outs when you can't charge your so called car that spends more time at the dealer being repaired or deadlined than actually serving your needs.
Since your car is an unmolested euro all you need is a EPA waiver form. Once you complete the form, you will need to take it to US Customs office to be stamped, then back to testing center to be inspected. Then they will smog test using whatever the standard was in the year your car was made.
The form list @20 different ways you can get a waiver, you will select the one that says it is over 21 years and unmolested. You want to check Code E.
EPA Standard Form 3520-1 – Declaration Form – Importation of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Engines Subject to Federal Air Pollution Standards | US EPA
My 77 Euro 6.9 was accepted this way. I live in Colo that has same rules as CA.
You do not want to have it inspected with ANY US EPA parts on it. You are lucky if your car is unmolested.
PS, Before I did the above , just to F with the inspection center I took the car in to be tested. There were 3 guys looking under the car with mirrors for 20 minutes before I went out and told them it was a euro car with no cats.
The form list @20 different ways you can get a waiver, you will select the one that says it is over 21 years and unmolested. You want to check Code E.
EPA Standard Form 3520-1 – Declaration Form – Importation of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Engines Subject to Federal Air Pollution Standards | US EPA
My 77 Euro 6.9 was accepted this way. I live in Colo that has same rules as CA.
You do not want to have it inspected with ANY US EPA parts on it. You are lucky if your car is unmolested.
PS, Before I did the above , just to F with the inspection center I took the car in to be tested. There were 3 guys looking under the car with mirrors for 20 minutes before I went out and told them it was a euro car with no cats.
Unfortunately that will probably not work in California. They require smog testing on all vehicles newer than 1967 and they have to pass a near to the current standard IIRC.
You should still present paperwork obviously, since they need to know that it's an import but the car will have to be modified to comply with California regs. This could be as simple as a cat you swap in and out for smog testing. As I said earlier you can have a cat added so it will pass the sniffer test and tune it so it's always legal, and hope you find a shop that doesn't do a visual inspection.
1 - 20 of 50 Posts
