Catbacks legal in CA
Teching In
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: So Cal
The intake should be CARB approved, but I've passed the visual with my SLP lid installed with no problems and no CARB sticker. I think that headers draw the most attention from smog techs and they WILL look for that E.O. number on the visual inspection. I run the stock manifolds just to not have to deal with that BS.
On The Tree
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 101
Likes: 0
of all my years that ive driven with dump straight from turbo or straight pipe i have yet to run into a cop that test that though. state ref would if you get sent there.
Very true. I forgot to mention sound level requirements which I now know is 95 decibels. Thanks for mentioning that.
Teching In
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Other people are correct, no need for CARB approval post-cats, and intakes require approval.
There's also a big difference between "smog legal" and "smoggable". You aren't allowed to go bigbore/stroker if it doesn't have CARB approval (maybe some minor bore is allowed in a rebuild, using stock Chevy parts), you aren't allowed to swap in a mild cam that doesn't have approval, but you can likely get away with all of those as they're difficult to spot. So, you could get away with building a 427 based off your stock block, as long as intake/heads/manifolds/cats are or appear to be stock, with a mild cam... but that doesn't mean it's allowed. In comparison, a cold air intake that does next to nothing will fail the visual inspection, because it's obvious.
One reason I like the '73 C20 I have is I never need to smog it. Even so, I have a friend who got a smog ticket in a '73 914 and had to go have the smog ref sign off on it, so if you run into a dick cop you should be aware that you're testing exempt, not smog exempt. I have my eyes open for LQ4/4L80E for the right price, and then when I get bored with that it might see a little boost. The fact that you can still get a smog ticket on an old vehicle is why I'll keep noise reasonable.
There's also a big difference between "smog legal" and "smoggable". You aren't allowed to go bigbore/stroker if it doesn't have CARB approval (maybe some minor bore is allowed in a rebuild, using stock Chevy parts), you aren't allowed to swap in a mild cam that doesn't have approval, but you can likely get away with all of those as they're difficult to spot. So, you could get away with building a 427 based off your stock block, as long as intake/heads/manifolds/cats are or appear to be stock, with a mild cam... but that doesn't mean it's allowed. In comparison, a cold air intake that does next to nothing will fail the visual inspection, because it's obvious.
One reason I like the '73 C20 I have is I never need to smog it. Even so, I have a friend who got a smog ticket in a '73 914 and had to go have the smog ref sign off on it, so if you run into a dick cop you should be aware that you're testing exempt, not smog exempt. I have my eyes open for LQ4/4L80E for the right price, and then when I get bored with that it might see a little boost. The fact that you can still get a smog ticket on an old vehicle is why I'll keep noise reasonable.
