Kelley

My ’66, 327/300 failed the Memphis, TN vehicle inspection due to high hydrocarbon emissions (the standard was 900 ppm and I failed with 2,056 ppm). I didn’t realize there was an emissions inspection for a vehicle this old (lights, wipers, brakes were fine). I asked for a supervisor who insisted the standard was correct and I had failed. Anybody in Shelby county got any advice?

When I bought the car last October the dealer got the license for me.

Mike McCoy

Gosh, even Kalifornia stops inspections (for Smog) on vehicles over 25 years old ! Have we actually found something somewhere that's WORSE than living there for auto buffs ?

wmf62

doesn't make sense. check this link:

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/apc/vehicle/

which reads:

EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2005, Gasoline and Diesel Vehicles with a GVWR up to 10,500 lbs. must pass an emissions test prior to registration renewal if registering in Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson or Wilson Counties.

If you have a vehicle registered in Hamilton, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, or Wilson County, see testing information and station schedules
If you have a vehicle registered in Davidson County, go to Metro Public Health Department of Nashville/Davidson County, Vehicle Inspection.
If you have a vehicle registered in Shelby County, go to City of Memphis, Motor Vehicle Inspection Bureau.


IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The State of Tennessee developed more restrictive regulations to control air pollution from mobile sources in counties that were not meeting the new 8-hour ozone Federal Standards for air quality. As a result, certain vehicles registered in Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties are required to pass a vehicle emission test. Gasoline and diesel vehicles with a model year of 1975 [/COLOR]and newer weighing less than 10,500 pounds GVWR must pass an emission test before the vehicle’s registration can be renewed. (Motorcycles are exempt).

Inspection programs such as the one implemented in Tennessee have proven to be very beneficial in reducing harmful ozone air pollution. Emissions from an individual car are generally low, relative to the smokestack image many associate with air pollution. But in numerous cities across the country, the personal automobile is the single greatest polluter, as emissions from millions of vehicles on the road add up. Driving a private car is probably a typical citizen’s most "polluting" daily activity. Ozone levels in many cities have been reduced with the introduction of lower volatility gasoline, and as newer cars with improved emission control systems replaced older models. There has been significant progress in reducing vehicle emissions, but the number of cars on the road and the miles they travel make mobile sources an ongoing problem. Unless we dramatically reduce the amount of pollution vehicles emit in actual use, or drastically cut back on the amount we drive, smog-free air may become a problem for many of our cities. Our Thanks to those driving clean vehicles, and helping us keep our air clean for this and future generations.

**Effective July 1, 2002, 1996 and newer model vehicles will undergo an Onboard Diagnostics test, and a gas cap leak check instead of the traditional tailpipe and tampering test.

and here is the link to the City of Memphis requirements. it has a link to enter your address, etc for testing requirements:

http://www.memphistn.gov/framework.aspx?page=604


http://www.memphistn.gov/framework.aspx?page=662

Bill

GCD1962

You absolutely sure you need an emmissions inspection for a car over 40 years old? I know some state have a voluntary inspection, but know of none who have mandatory for cars that old. If so, ask for an exemption.

JohnZ

That's insane - there weren't any emission standards in 1966 (except in California); sounds like bureacracy gone wild.

mrruffhouser

WoW, Did you check with your Department of Motor Vehicles to see if the information that you received from the inspection was correct?
The states that I have experience with have special tags for historical/ classic cars, that elimanite the emmission inspections. Hope yours does.

Frankie the Fink

No way! Pigeon Forge, TN has maybe THE biggest car show anywhere and lots of them have to be local and clearly won't pass an emissions test....

mredi1

North Carolina my 65 is just registered and titled, no inspections at all for cars over 35 years old. I did see there is an antique registration in TN but it has driving restrictions to qualify for cars over 25 years old. It did not mention inspections. Good Luck !

Shurshot

And if this mandatory compliance to a standard that the original car did not make is enforced it will also have a additional negative economic impact...... If what Tenn does became the standard nationwide it will effectively eliminate all old cars off the road and not just muscle cars...... this is when companies like Speed, Hagerty, Sema and others like Good Guys, etc etc can speak up and save themselves and us.

Doug

Bluestripe67

Do you have a choice of types of registration, i.e., Hot Rod, Street Rod, Classic Car, Historic. Must be something in the standards that exempts you within one of the above is available. Dennis

rj8806

Unless I am reading this wrong, it clearly says that vehicles 1975 and newer are required to pass emissions?

wmf62

there is a link on the Tenn website that refers to a Memphis (Shelby County) website. Memphis may have stricter requirements but i couldn't tell as it requires the entry of an address/zipcode/etc to find out.

if Memphis does have stricter requirements (as many cities do), then the answer is to go to another county to get it inspected (might take getting another Tenn registration address with another Tenn friend if they won't accept a PO Box... )

hopefully the original poster will check that website and let us know...
Bill

nassau66427

My '65 GTO flunked inspection last year for HC here in New Jersey. I went round and round with them about how could a car fail to meet standards when there weren't any standards. Their answer was "Tough S**t"

My HC numbers were as crappy as Kelley's. After I found and replaced a defective vacuum advance can, the car sailed through the emissions test.

Had I registered the car with QQ (historic vehicle) plates I wouldn't have had to bother with any sort of inspection. A mechanically sound, well tuned motor would have no problem passing emissions.

Kelley

I spoke with Bob Rodgers, Head of the Shelby County Air Pollution Board, about this. Bob was very nice to talk with but he related to me that he had the very same issue with a 1968 VW. It seems that if you want a regular license in Shelby County Tennessee you have to pass their established air quality requirements. There are about six counties in Tennessee that have requirements that exceed the state minimum and Shelby County has no exemption. I don’t know if the requirements are on a sliding scale or not. The carburetor does need a good rebuild and I will try that before going back. Bob felt that any car in good tune should pass the test and I’ll admit my car may not qualify as being in good tune with the current state of the carburetor. I’ve just procrastinated tackling the problem under the theory that it wasn’t hurting anything so let it be. Bob suggested that gasoline with an ethanol blend would help because ethanol was an oxidizer (I apologize if anyone knows better than that but that was his recommendation).
I can get an antique license plate but it come with major restrictions that I don’t want (I drive this car to work regularly, weather permitting of course).
Thanks for all the suggestions but it appears that if you need a regular license plate in Shelby County Tennessee you have to pass the test.

wmf62

WOW, you have gas without ethanol in it in Tenn?????? lucky guy... if we had that here in Florida i might still be driving my FI....

i read a post on the C4 forum where a guy was asking how he might pass the emission test and he was told to add alcohol; so Bob R's might be worth trying. here's the link...

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2135810

Bill

Pilot Dan

In NJ "Historic Plates" is the way to go if you are not driving to work everyday. Besides no longer having to wait in line with the rice burners for inspection, there is NO annual registration fee either. The other nice thing is you don't have to deal with some ham fisted inspection guy pawing over your car. Some of the local DMV's are not savvy about the Historic cars, so I suggest dealing with your state capital's main DMV directly. If after rebuilding your carb and tuning your car you are still having a problem, I have seen some guys de tune the engine by playing with the timing to pick up a few emissions points. Good luck with the red tape. Pilot Dan

Qblue92

I used to have a filthy running supercharged chevy pu, and adding 114 octane fuel helped pass the test i think. That and a lite tune up.

Ironcross

Try a different testing station, got to be more than 1...:

OldKarz

Zigler

If you haven't done so already, try a fresh set of spark plugs. On my 1966 Chevelle's very tired, original 283, I went from 3090 ppm HC to 1460 ppm HC with a new set of plugs. As I suspected, I had one plug fouled out from worn valve guides; the others weren't pretty either. While 1460 ppm is still an obscene number by today's standards, the plugs made a huge improvement. I measured this myself with a portable emissions analyzer from my lab out of curiosity. Adding an oxygenate, like alcohol, to your fuel will also help pull down your HC emissions for the test. A fresh oil change can also help pull down your numbers if you have dissolved fuel in your oil (and a working PCV system). Along with your carburetor rebuild, you should be set. Good luck.

- Brad