Paul was lucky and unlucky. *Any* modification to the stock engine
violates California law. If the smog mechanic knows that your Alpine came
with dual Strombergs and sees one carb, or sees anything else tampered
with, he is obligated by law to report your car as a gross polluter,
regardless of whether or not he actually hooks your car up to the machine.
Otherwise, he can loose his license. That being said, most mechanics don't
know what type of carbs came on any Alpine, let alone what an Alpine is
(one of the guys I went to asked if it was an Alfa Romeo). Those that
sense something is wrong (ie my dual Webers) will either overlook the
problem or tell you in advance to leave so that they don't get in trouble -
I have experienced both. And, as mentioned before, good ones will let you
run on the machine to see what you are pumping, before doing an official
test, so that you don't get labeled as a Gross Polluter - remember that the
machines are now hooked up directly with the DMV. Once they start the
test, the DMV will know the results - even pulling the plug will result in
an error that the DMV will look into.
However, that does not mean your car cannot pass smog. The state inspector
has the authority to pass your car with the modifications, so long as it is
clean enough, and has the PCV valve and working vacuum advance. I believe
that is what happened for Paul.
I also understand that with properly restored Strombergs - including new
seals for the throttle shafts - the car should be able to pass the smog
test.
Jay
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 09:55:28 CDT