SMOG rant....

[Jbird]

In one of my trade deals I end up with an 84 Chevy pickup, blown up I6 engine w/ three on the tree. In another I end up with the complete running gear out of a 93 Chevy Caprice, TBI 5.0 w/700R, 225K miles. So I figure I can combine the two so I still have a truck while I'm doing up my 68 C10.

     I take everything from the fuel tank to the radiator out of the Caprice and put it in the 84 PU. The only thing I bought was a speed sensor so I could run a cable speedo and still give the computer it's required trans signals. The truck runs great, everything works just like it supposed to.

     Because of the engine change to get it smogged I have to take it to the referee so he can verify everything is as it should be. It passes the visual and functional tests just fine, I even got a compliment on the installation. He puts it on the smog dyno, it's just a smidge high on the HCs. Ok, the catalatic convertor has 225K on it so I put a new universal one on it and take it back to be retested.

   This time I get a different tech, he finds two problems, the pcv vacuum fitting is loose in the valve cover grommet and he can't find the timing disconnect spout. (He can't tell me about these things until the test is complete.) The smog dyno results are way better than the first test but it still fails. We discuss why it failed as I compare the printouts from the two tests. I find the parameters for the two tests are completely different.
The max allowable HCs were ten to fifteen numbers lower on the second test, the engine speed was higher on the second test and the vehicle test weight was 2000 pounds heavier on the second test. I asked him about the discrepancies and showed him the timing spout. He had no explanation about the descrepancies and said "Well Ok" about the timing spout. But, the test was complete, the results final. Now I have to make another appointment, spend another thirty bucks and three hours to have it retested. I need to call SMOG headquarters about the descrepancies but I really dislike conversing with most state agencies.

    Just a rant, don't worry nothing's gonna be OK.  Jbird