Bringing my '77 to Los Angeles

harrywt

harrywt

Member
Hi,

I May be moving to los angeles and I want to bring my Scout. It has basically no smog equipment, not even a cat. How do I find out what's needed?

I know this is a big open ended question, just want to get started.

Does doing the fuel injection conversion help? I ran across forum posts that say that the vehicle has to be o.e. Or else at oe looking anyway.

Thanks,
harry
 
I would assume it has to meet 1977 fed standards --

which I think from a strict view point would include air pump, egr valve, vacuum temp switches, evaporative emission control "stuff" -- plus the appropriate "smog" carb...

Check the California dmv web site -- they might have the info posted.

I would doubt a fuel injection conversion would be allowed...
 
Best thing to do is go to a smog check station and tel the guys about your truck. They have books that will reference your exact model and the equipment required. The big thing in la county is the visual. Make sure the engine has everything its supposed to have or you'll be flunked. Fuel injection, while no doubt could test cleaner, is a no-go. Don't bother unless its a '74.
Another thing to look out for is the part where they pressurize the fuel system with air. It must hold pressure for a given time to prove the integrity of your vent hoses and evaporative manifold. My guy says almost all of the pre-1980 cars he tests fail because of this part of the test, not because of the visual of sniff dirty.
If in doubt, you can pay to have the rig pre-tested first. If it fails for any reason, the results will not be transmitted to sacramento. One failure, and you'll get labeled a "gross polluter." this means you'll be scrutinized more harshly in the future. Ask me how I know.
Good luck, and let us how it goes.
 
I've been to the websites mentioned and can't find the vehicle specific info that the smog check station would have. The books dealbreaker mentioned are exactly what I am looking for.

My service manual is cts2304, since my last Scout was a 72. This only goes to '75 as you probably know.

How do I figure out the original equipment? A line ticket? Does the smog station know exactly what a particular vehicle should have or just the model year? Are dual exhausts definitely out?
 
My California 79 Scout II 345 has the following smog equipment:

carter thermoquad 4bbl carb

single exhaust with a cat

egr

gas fume evap charcoal canister

air cleaner stove pipe

vented gas cap

2 vacuum thermal switches that control egr and timing via coolant temp

pcv valve

emissions sticker under hood with diagram of all the connections


has always passed except when the gas cap failed the test once.

The smog dude always checks for the cat and whether the egr is functioning.

I assume that all smog eq was removed from your vehicle by someone in the past. Best solution is get a smog exempt Scout or frequent the junkyards for all the parts or bring the 77 to ihonlynorth, IHOnly or Isa IH for a smog conversion or forget la. The gun laws suck here too.
 
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I'm on the right coast this week, but should be home on the 22nd. I'll swing by my local smog check guy and post up the exact books they use as references. I thought of doing this the last time I got smogged. Its info we can all use.
The last time I was in there, we had a dispute about the timing. The manual states a '79 should be 0 btdc. But his book stated 5 btdc (better for me). So we went with 5. Then a couple days later I noticed the remnants of a IH sticker that stated 7.5 btdc was the new standard. This was essentially a factory "field fix."
so there is some ambiguity here in cali, and I'll do what I can to get access to what they are actually looking for.
And for what its worth, my Scout is outfitted the same as rustyscout's. The only difference is I am running a q-jet. I don't think my guy knows the difference. It passes well under the max allowed values. If you get all of the right stuff re-installed and the thing sniffs clean (dual exhaust May not fly for a '77), the most likely failure point will be a bad gas cap (as mentioned by rustys) and the fuel system pressure test that I mentioned. The thing can't leak any vapor.
If anyone in la wants to check out their local smog station for reference book titles that would be great. Otherwise its gonna have to wait until I get home.
Btw, I like the idea of picking the referee station's brain too. Let us know if you find anything out from them.
 
Thanks guys, this is the kind of discussion that I am looking for. My Scout definitely has had every bit of anti pollution equipment removed, but the 2210 carb remains!

I'll make the offer to collate and post all of the info since you guys are doing all the gathering work

dealbreaker74 said:
I'm on the right coast this week, but should be home on the 22nd. I'll swing by my local smog check guy and post up the exact books they use as references. I thought of doing this the last time I got smogged. Its info we can all use.
The last time I was in there, we had a dispute about the timing. The manual states a '79 should be 0 btdc. But his book stated 5 btdc (better for me). So we went with 5. Then a couple days later I noticed the remnants of a IH sticker that stated 7.5 btdc was the new standard. This was essentially a factory "field fix."
so there is some ambiguity here in cali, and I'll do what I can to get access to what they are actually looking for.
And for what its worth, my Scout is outfitted the same as rustyscout's. The only difference is I am running a q-jet. I don't think my guy knows the difference. It passes well under the max allowed values. If you get all of the right stuff re-installed and the thing sniffs clean (dual exhaust May not fly for a '77), the most likely failure point will be a bad gas cap (as mentioned by rustys) and the fuel system pressure test that I mentioned. The thing can't leak any vapor.
If anyone in la wants to check out their local smog station for reference book titles that would be great. Otherwise its gonna have to wait until I get home.
Btw, I like the idea of picking the referee station's brain too. Let us know if you find anything out from them.
Click to expand...
 
Did you have a chance to find out about the reference material that they use?


dealbreaker74 said:
I'm on the right coast this week, but should be home on the 22nd. I'll swing by my local smog check guy and post up the exact books they use as references. I thought of doing this the last time I got smogged. Its info we can all use.
.
Click to expand...
 
Okay, still working on it. Went by the place and got the name and number of the guy who sells the books. Could only get a glance at the actual tome my smog guy uses (had customers lined up when I was there). Plus, since my armenian is a little rusty, its a bit of a challenge just conversing.
Meantime, I had to get on a plane again, but I'll call this book vendor and try to come up with something before the end of the week. Hopefully this will be something we can buy used. I'll stay in touch.
 
harrywt said:
cool, never want to harass someone who is doing me a favor...

Be nice if we could post the info from the reference books as long as we don't violate someone's copyright.
Click to expand...

Okay, the book is $149.00. I am having the guy try to locate an older copy. We are only interested in 1975-1980, so something from the last few years should work for what we're doing. As soon as I hear back, I'll post up.
 
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