81 vette

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1981 vette
Hey everyone. New to corvette forum so please bare with me. I have an 81 corvette and performed a body off resto on it. i have been working on this car for far too long,but getting close.

I'm looking for some info regarding the smog sysytem. Should i keep it or remove it. If I do what do i need to do and what do i replace to make it work. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
It has never been legal to remove smog equipment although the laws have never been enforced until the last couple of years. I spent a couple of thousand dollars getting our L78 Chevelle smog legal. The stuff just has to be on the car. They do a visual. Cats, heat stoves, closed Breathers and smog pumps where they were used originally are what the MOE guys look for. Fines for each item missing. They don't test your car but CAN if they want to from what I understand. The MOE guys are indeed on the prowl at least in the Peterborough-Port Perry area. We sold our Chevelle to a fellow in Langley, B.C. Out there, the old cars have to pass the emissions test once when it changes hands so it was good that I had that job already done. All the time, I see cars for sale on KIJIJI with all their smog equipment missing. I wouldn't touch one on a bet. Most of the stuff isn't being reproduced and can be hard to find. Keep all your stuff on the car just so that you won't be looking over your shoulder all the time. Truth be known, our Chevelle ran just about as well with the smog pump and manifolds as it did with headers. You would have to be on the drag strip to see the difference. What was really killing performance was the lean factory jetting and unmercifully slow, and retarded advance curve.
 
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Goooood Day fguerette and welcome to the forum!!!

Sounds like a nice car! Tell us a little more about it. What options does it have, how long did it take you to do the restoration? Do you have any pictures?

As you can tell, emissions is a headache in your part of the country. Question for Kieth, does the MOE guys have a list of what the car is supposed to have or pictures? Could you just "fit" a smog pump from another car on the vette from another gm around that era on the vette or what ever else pieces you need? How do you find out what you need?
 
It's a bit of a joke really. They do know what your car should have. If the car or engine originally came with a smog pump, then one has to be installed. Original doesn't matter as long it has one hooked up. It doesn't even have to pump air. Same with the EGR. If you have a newer engine in your old car, it will need the cats and whatever that engine would have come with. I contacted our local MPP Laurie Scott. She gave me the number of the MOE "go to" guy. I e-mailed his number to all my car friends. Before I had a chance one of my friends phoned the guy first. The guy didn't know it but my friend is a retired undercover cop. He knows how to ask questions. In 45 minutes of questions, he pigeon holed the guy on every single question. In the end, the "go to" guy had no definitive answers. My buddy said that if you were fined, take it to court. He says you WILL win. Still, that is a pain and was just one more reason for us to sell our Chevelles.
 
This is an interesting topic. Its got me a little worried. I too thought "old/classic" cars were exempt. What should I worry about on my '71 ? :confused:

Smog pump and PCV valve. EGR didn't start until '73. Cats in '75.
 
Still, that is a pain and was just one more reason for us to sell our Chevelles.

yup, I was looking at a '75 Vet Convert last year, nice car, it had leather and air and 4 spd, both tops and in good condition...emissions were missing so I passed, I see it's back up for sale again by a different owner on Kijiji, maybe he got a ticket from the enviro gestapo!
 
Hey everyone. New to corvette forum so please bare with me. I have an 81 corvette and performed a body off resto on it. i have been working on this car for far too long,but getting close.

I'm looking for some info regarding the smog sysytem. Should i keep it or remove it. If I do what do i need to do and what do i replace to make it work. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Welcome fguerette.

C.
 
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