Tod M Elliott

On Monday I have an appointment to have my 1977 C-3 tested for California emissions. Originally equipped with a federal L48 the car was manufactured with minimum emissions equipment (Cat, EFE, EGR, PCV, EVAP, Thermac and gas nozzle restrictor) which are now back on the car. Being as my original L48 has recently been replaced with a 350 290 crate motor with the correct emission equipment in place. I’m no longer concerned about the visual portion of the test however the sniffer end may come into play as a problem. I was informed by a very mechanically inclined and highly knowledgeable friend that the use of rubbing alcohol mixed 10:1 with low octane fuel can greatly improve one’s chances to pass emissions. Before I suck out 10 gallons of premium fuel then reload with a questionable fuel additive and some low octane, can anyone chime in with pro and cons or myths and facts?

Thanks.

Mike Ward

Why not just use E10 gas available at just about every gas station? Your crate motor most likely was built to run on low octane, not sure why you're using premium.

nate99

I'm remembering some discussion that I read when I had a '94 Z28 about some folks using denatured alcohol (available at paint shops), but not isopropyl alcohol.

Do a search on "denatured alcohol emissions". See what happens.

Tod M Elliott

Honestly I didn’t think about the E-10, I was under the impression due to the use of alcohol, at a long term use the fuel has a tendency to dry gaskets and seals, just my thoughts however I may be misinformed. If I’m correct the E-10 is considered a Flex fuel and is not readily available in Southern California. The premium thing is simply a personal preference, probably a waste of money but just a preference. I did some research on the denatured alcohol, it sounds like the product is basically moonshine with an additive to make it non-consumable….Huh, now that’s unfortunate.

Raphiki

E-85 is the flex fuel. E-10 is what passes for gasoline these days.

CA-Legal-Vette

I think this is correct. You should be able to find E10 somewhere. I know that even Costco sells it in Norcal. That's one of the rationales for it's use; that it reduces emissions.

Regarding your test, make sure that the motor (and more importantly, your catalytic converter) is hot. Also make sure that your timing is retarded towards the minimum of the range on your emissions sticker. If nothing is wrong with your system and your converter is reasonably new, you should be fine.

nate99

I know it depends on what part of the sniff test fails as to what you can do to "fix" it. The denatured alcohol apparently does nothing if you are over on hydrocarbons. Maybe you could temporarily lean the mixture way out if that were the case.

Good luck.

birdsmith

Not sure exactly where I read it, but I did see somewhere that all the gas in Southern California is closer to E15.If you can find someone selling straight gasoline in our neck of the woods, good luck. There is a CFN Fuels outlet where I live in Temecula that sells racing gas for somewhere on the order of $8/ gallon, but a) you can't legally put that stuff in your Vette and b) it won't help you with your smog problem. You could concievably add a small amount of ethanol or methanol to your fuel mix but with Californica gas already at or near 15% alcohol you would be pushing the limit of what your carburetion could safely allow your engine to burn. It sounds like you've got all the smog systems in place already and your motor is reasonably healthy so I wouldn't worry too much about passing smog...my $1.380

Jeff_Keryk

If you have the correct equipment and your car is tuned to spec's you should have no problem passing a smog test. They will check the timing...

Shark Racer

Agree with this.

FWIW, the 350-290 should do just fine. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it's in disrepair.

What I can tell you is that E10/E15 will cause your car to run leaner than pure gasoline, so if your car was running "perfect" before you may have lean misses and will have slightly higher NOx. (lean miss will cause high HC and high NOx)

I just hooked my 78 up to a wideband and it's running 15.7 at cruise - which explains why I'm slightly high on both. Will be fixing that shortly... and getting more power!

Tod M Elliott

I’m not sure which I’m more pleased with; the day I bought my C-3 or the day I joined this forum. The knowledge and information that can be found hear is phenomenal. The crate motor is near new, as is the cat, I’ll retard the timing, lean it out and pour in some of California’s lowest octane E-15 juice and hope for the best.

Thanks again!

nate99

Don't mistake my lean mixture recommendation for expertise, That was just a hunch, not a tested theory. It just makes sense that less HC in through the fuel mixture would equal less HC out the tailpipe.

Tod M Elliott

In either case it's more more information than what I began with, thanks again.

jesse10886

I know several people who have had the rubbing alcohol trick work on retest after an initial failure at te smog test it works

Tod M Elliott

Passed with flying colors!!!! Just for the fun of it I stuck one quart of rubbing alcohol in five gallons of fuel, car would not run, replaced with regular unleaded, car ran and passed smog. Now off with the cat and back to the aftermarket intake.

ylose

You may also find it very interesting to have High performance parts and with proper calibration or even a tad lean will easily be more efficient with less emissions than stock components with emission equipment.

Of course visual inspection is then the concern.

It's sad the laws don't accommodate for ingenuity and modern advancements in your state.


Glad I live where I do.

682XLR8

Tod M Elliott

I can't say for sure but I believe between the combination of the cat and the emission legal intake manifold they just sucked the life out of that 350 290. Should be back to norm in about two or three weeks. At least for the next two years.

MalibuVLX

I also saw on a Speed chanel show the other day that if you run your car/truck hard to get the cat heated up, it burns more exhaust and helps w/ passing emissions as well. Just a thought.