I had the crazy idea that I would smog my carb 308 in California, but wait... it gets crazier... My cats are shot so I want to replace them. OEMs that I find are dead too. It is now illegal to rebuild cats. I contacted DEC and guess what? They can no longer sell 308 cats in California? Why, you ask... even though they make a compliant cat, they make one size and then add flanges for different cars. The problem is, California says the act of welding flanges is an alteration of the cat, so they are not legal to sell in California, great. I am told that a universal cat from a muffler shop may not be legal or pass inspection. What are the options?
Call Hyperflow and see if they can help. I have one. I would just buy one (or two - not sure about your model) and put them on myself. It's easy. Then just show up at a smog shop and don't say anything.
Shops don't inspect the engine bay very carefully and they typically don't know what they're looking at anyway because each car is different. As long as you pass the sniffer test you should be fine.
Went thru this several years ago and ended up buying a couple of (CA legal pre OBD cats (for a carb'ed car Manaflow 36004 universal ) for just over $100 each (6 years ago) with free shipping... ) from these guys Magnaflow Performance | Discount Performance Auto Parts | Performance Exhaust Systems | Flowmaster Performance Mufflers These had the CARB number on them...The application that the CARB authorized is a little big and adapting them is going to be a little tricky. I had some flanges water jetted and tig welded on. I doubt most smog techs would be able to tell that you had flanges welded on just make sure they have the "CARB" number on them. I had the flanges welded on so the numbers faced down in the event they really wanted to see them. So far 3 inspections (and passes) and they have not looked that close at the cats.... For my smog test yesterday I got cocky and didn't do my usual routine which is new plugs, retard the timing back to spec and make sure and clean the jets...It didn't pass the first test and luckily I had a cool smog tech working on the car who tweaked the carbs a tad and it passed...got a feeling I need to go back to my routine for the next one.
thanks for the options. looks like hyperflow cost a couple of $ I'll contact some shops about universal cats too, I'm not a good enough welder to get them done. Is there a "more compliant" cat out there, it looks like most aftermarkets are touting performance rather than smog compliance.
From Manaflows website California 332006 For California A good muffler shop that stocks manaflow should be able to set you up and probably has a universal flange that will work. Search the archives there are some other options I think Sledge4.2 had posted about one that worked for him as well.
I'm sorry I don't know the manufacturer but I have a Euro QV and a shop in San Jose put an aftermarket cat on my car 2 years ago and it passed with no problem. It cost about $300 and the Ferrari one would have been $1,000. I also registered my car at my wife's parents house in a rural county so I don't have to ever smog it again until I sell it. It can help to lean out the system too and then change it back after it passes.
It is hard to see the cats on my QV. There's an aluminum plate under the cats. Do earlier cars have that? When I've smogged the car the tech makes half an effort to see that there are cats and then moves on. I think the reality is that they make an effort to see all the components are there and sniff it. The car is so foreign to them that they don't really even know what would be out of place.
As a follow up, would just having functioning cats allow a car to pass sniffer? My air rails are removed and they're a ***** to put back...
My experience is that new cats helped clean up the emissions in a couple of the measured requirements , however this is assuming your carbs are dialed in (synced and toward the lean side) Misfires will spike the HC numbers. Remember the test is a rolling test at 15 and 25 mph so if your carbs sneeze or pop you might fail. Carb jetting and adjustments, as well as ignition timing all play into it. As far as air rails ....your probably going to need them as the specs on their computer call for EGR system however on my test from a couple of years ago the air injection spec shows N/A. You should stop by a smog station and talk to them and see if they can just do a test run off the books...as you don't want to get the "gross polluter" flag on your car. Search the archives there is a wealth of knowlege on tuning the carbs and California Smog checks. I attached a copy of a past check so you can get an idea of what they're looking for. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'm not sure, but I'd guess yes. But the air rails are (theoretically) required to pass the visual portion of the test. I'd think you'll need at least the rear one and something that goes towards the front that looks like it is likely to be an air rail.
