Jasonty

I'm thinking of changing bases and going to Vandenburg Air Force Base in Cali, so I have a few questions. Can anybody tell me what the emissions exemptions are in Cali? Like how old does a car have to be before it's exempt? Also, how can I pass emissions? I no longer have the smog pump, or a catalytic convertor. Pretty much all of the emissions equipment has been taken off. I've heard people say that taking off the air filter helps, but I'm still curious if there are any other tricks I don't know about... Advancing/Retarding timing, and so forth.... I can't be Vetteless if I do go to Cali, so I'm just curious. Thanks!

74FLCONV

It's my understanding that as long as you remain a resident of your state (being in the military), you will continue to register your vehicle and renew your driver's license in your state. That's how it worked when I was stationed on Camp Pendleton.

D. Ocean
Miami, FLA

Vetterodder

I think registering it in a more lenient state is your only option. The CA test starts with an inspection. If any emissions device is missing, modified, or non-functional they don't bother hooking it up, they just flunk it.

74FLCONV

As to the "age" exemption, currently California is at 30 yrs. They are attempting to change this, but with an '81, you won't be exempt until 2011.

Go to the California DMV website and conduct a search on "military" and "exemption".

D. Ocean
Miami, FLA

Rockn-Roll

You must have been in a state in which you just drive up and the tech places an inductive tachometer on the top of your hood, and a sniffer in the exhaust pipe and you follow their directions to idle, increase rpms to a certain number, then let it go back to idle. In California you can not be in the test area. The tech will open the hood and compare what's there with what was stock. If the engine is a different engine then you must go to a state referee to see what smog equipment it needs. If the engine is the same as stock, then the smog station will have a list of equipment it should have and if anything is missing they will fail the smog on visual and require that you install the correct equipment before even testing the exhaust products.

I am sure that active duty military personnel with a valid driver's license from another state is exempt from obtaining a new driver's license in CA, but I do believe the vehicle must be registered if it is a PCS or TDY of more than 6 months. I believe the deadline to have the car registered is extended for military, but at some point you should get the car registered to avoid getting pulled over.

Easy Mike