Emissions Testing Laws ...

[Buchholz, Steven]

 >  power, and register in NY.   The mechanics I've talked to
 >  about this car are
 >  leading me to believe that if it didn't come with a cat, it
 >  would be exempt from emmisions testing.
 >
... well, I plan to maximize the output of my engine as well ... and I
expect it to meet CA emissions too ...

My comment in response to your statement is to do some research on the laws
in NY before you get into your plan too far ... the mechanics may well be
right, but if they're not the state of New York isn't going to change their
mind based on what a mechanic told you.  I'd recommend that if you think
there will be any questions about what you're going to do, get them
documented in writing from the government.  My brother can tell you first
hand what can happen if you follow a faulty recommendation ... and in his
case it was someone at the DMV who told him what he wanted to do was OK ...
but he didn't get it in writing.

Remember too that laws can change ... I was expecting that my car was going
to be smog exempt in ten years ... as the law in California was set so that
cars 30 years or older are smog exempt.  I hear now that there is a law
being considered which will make it mandatory for any car newer than 1960
model year will be subject to smog tests.  This goes against the automotive
hobby ... and I wish that all automotive hobbyists in California would
express their displeasure with their elected representatives that they would
even consider such a change!

I just did a bit of research ... the bill is SB708, and I see that the bill
has been amended so that cars 30 years or more which are driven less than
12K miles/year are exempted (how do they know that) and any vehicle 45 years
or more would be completely exempt.  While the legislature is doing their
usual bit to make the law seem a bit more palatable ... this time, it is a
sign that in a few more years they'll come back and eliminate the exemption
... probably because it is so difficult to enforce ... I recommend that all
Californians provide feedback on this bill ...

Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)