USA SHARK

Hi Everyone! I'm back after 3 years of being Corvette-less! (Ugly divorce where my ex got to keep the 81 vette) Good news though, I just purchased a 1977 Manual L-82 (Red Exterior/Black Interior) after much searching. I can't even tell you all how excited I am to be part of the vette family again. I sure missed it. My new baby will be delivered 8-12 from Portland, OR. :chevy

Anyhow, I live in the Dallas area now and I believe the car will be exempt from emissions testing (TX DOT says emissions testing is for cars 2-24 yrs old). Does anyone live in the area to confirm that?

And if it is true, can I get away with removing the exhaust system and replacing with a true dual exhaust? If I do, how much improvement would I see in performance?

Thanks everyone and once again, I'm glad to be back! :party:


[Modified by USA SHARK, 10:29 PM 8/6/2003]


[Modified by USA SHARK, 10:30 PM 8/6/2003]


[Modified by USA SHARK, 6:59 AM 8/7/2003]

Tom73

If it is 25 years old it should be exempt from testing. But check with the inspection station to confirm. But it is not exempt from the safety inspection and one item they check in that one is a visual check to confirm all the emission equipment is in place :( I believe that they do not check for Cat Converters past '84 though :)

tom...

Zankou77

I have a '77 'vette with dual exhaust, but I didn't even know that that wasn't standard. ...interesting. Unfortunately, I still have to get my emissions checked, but that's because I live in California (the emissions **** state) where the rule is '75 and up.

zwede

This is correct. Good thing is I haven't been to an inspection station yet that has even half a clue about anything older than a '95 Civic. Our cars are huge enigmas to them. Mine has port-efi and the last 2 years the inspector stared at the engine and didn't even figure that out. They always ask me if it's stock and I say "yep" and I get the sticker. :D

page62

If push comes to shove, you can get Antique plates. About 60 bucks for 5 years registration, and no inspections. There are, however, restricitions on driving; i.e., it's not supposed to be driven daily.

However, I'm still waiting to hear from someone who has been cited for inproper use of an Antique vehicle. :seeya

bigvette1

Try going to the emissions testing station and talk to the supervisor. They should have a rule book to look at or even a borchure to take on what is required and for what years. I would also go to the safety inspection stations and do the same. I lived in Dallas for 6 odd years and failed everytime with headlight alignment. But they were so kind to align them for $20 and give me the sticker. What a scam.

Ganey

See what many refer to as my Exhaust topic. http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/ganeyexhaust.htm

jem7vwh

USA Shark, you'll notice Texas is odd in that not every county even requires emissions testing. If you can convince a shop in a country county to do it, you'll be fine either. Here in Nacogdoches, they don't do emissions testing. Not only is it more fun for your cars, but it's also a lot cheaper.

Shrike

I have a '76 in Tarrant county (same regs as Dallas county) and I never had cats on mine- even when it was less than 25 yrs old! I never had a problem getting inspected.
It is true though that after 25 yrs, you no longer need an emissions test, just a safety inspection.

BeaterShark

The way I understand it is that you are exempt from emissions testing. As others have stated, you can still fail a visual. I believe this is due to a federal law which states that you cannot remove emissions equp.

Do not go to the Texaco on 15'th and Custer. It took me 30 minutes of talking to the guy to convince him they didn't have EGR or thermastatic switch in the air filter assembly. Odd thing is they didn't say anything about my lack of air pump. This was only a couple of months after they started emissions testing in Collin county. I had 0 problems with the same station in the couple of years prior and I went there as they pretty much always had 2 C3's parked outside thinking that would help me.

I wouldn't worry too much about it and do what you want. The places which would fail you for a visual on a >24 year car are probably few and far between.

CrossedFlags77

I dont have CAT's and they passed me. :D Welcome back. :chevy

USA SHARK

Thanks everyone for your replies to my emission questions. I feel much more confident that I'll be able to install true dual exhaust without a cat and make it through inspection ok. Passing the safety test is a whole different subject.. :eek:

I haven't received my vette yet, but I know the driver side headlight goes up 1/2 way and then falls back down while the passenger side stays up. Vacuum leak or something I suppose. Will have to fix that right away.

Thanks again everyone! :seeya

Tom73

But they have a thing called a computer database. They match all cars registered in a "testing" county against the the certificates issued for emission testing. So if you live and are registered in an emsission testing county and go to a non-testing county for your inspections your car will not have an emission certificate to match up with. This could cause you to get a nasty note in the mail.

But if you have relatives that live in a non-testing county, just register the car using their address. Presto, no emission testing. :D

tom...

Shrike

Just lock the headlights in the up position!

ykp53

i got passed with side pipes, i would think you could get buy with no cats..

VettePower

I have had the Texas Antique plates for 2 years now, and have never been stopped by the law. And I drive it as much as I want, with no inspections at all. :D

no_radio

yep, the inspectors are not knowledgable at ALL about older cars and trucks. Last year the kid couldn't figure out how to open the hood on my '76 Suburban (outside latch like all old trucks). Evidently he was too embarassed to ask, so he just stuck the sticker on it without any visual inspection of the engine at all. Good thing...headers, Edelbrock intake, Speed Demon carb, he probably would have given me a hard time...
Jeff

rrent

Welcome back -- I only lost a Grand Prix in my divorce a few years back......

I have no cat. or smog pump and have had no problem in Travis (austin) or Williamson (come on vacation - leave on probation) counties......

Nice looking '77 -- my brother (who lives in Longview) just bought a red/black 76.

Trevelisek

Sounds like you just need a headlight actuator seal replacement kit.....Pretty cheap, usually around 40 bucks or so, and not too hard to replace by yourself, (I did mine by myself and it worked WONDERS on my headlamps.)

You can usually find plenty of tech articles on it in the forum, or just start a new thread asking for help; this is a pretty common problem on the C-3.

P.S.----Sorry to hear about the Ex getting the 1981....It's like I always say; "I just want a woman who will say three little words and mean them......'Keep The Vette'"

USA SHARK

Thanks for the great advice everyone. :D

I don't think I'll have to worry much about putting on the dual exhaust.

Hey Ganey, any knowledge about what the HP would move to on an L-82? I think your original thread (which was great by the way) spoke to the base L-48. I was thinking of putting on headers, dual exhaust and maybe monza mufflers (??)

Thanks again for all of the advice.