I have a 1979 Elky that I would like to use as a daily driver. I was going to drop a 383 into it. I am not sure if this will pass the inspection/emmision requirements. Does anyone know if this will pass, or what will pass? Thanks :)

All depends on how you register it. If you reg. as a regular car,then your subject to the full blown roller test. There are two ways of getting around this for your year car. Either you register it as a classic,or a hot rod. Both have limited usage(i.e. can only use comming/going to shows,can only drive under a few thousand miles a year,ect.).

If you go with the daily driver route,you have to have cats and it has to pass a fuel tank pressure test(the vapor lines and canister have to be functional). They strap it to the machine and run it a differant speeds to simulate how much hydrocarbons it blows out under driving conditions.

I have a 1979 Elky that I would like to use as a daily driver. I was going to drop a 383 into it. I am not sure if this will pass the inspection/emmision requirements. Does anyone know if this will pass, or what will pass? Thanks :)

Ya know I really don't know if it will or not. If you were in California like many other states now, it will not pass for sure.....nothing you can do except rebuild the engine smog legal.

That's not saying you can't have you cake and eat it to. What I mean is, there are some special smog legal parts that are performance high tech.

Maybe you will have to use them in Jersey, I don't know,
Good luck anyway......

You can register as a collector in which the only the odometer has to work (which is easily disconnected) and you'd be limited to 3500 a year. In actuality they check that it didn't go more than 7000 miles every 2 years. That is how I am going to register my '85 to be street legal. Otherwise it will have to comply fully with the emissions standards. -Matt

That seem like a workable deal you are gettting in Jesery.

Here in California, They have no such program to limit the use of special interest cars. The only thing they ( The State Gov Arnold) said anyone could do regarding smog was, to have a car, turck older that 1973.

That way Smog laws don't apply, or I should say not yet anyway.

I have an 84 Elky and want to beef if up a little, but can't for the most part. What I am thinking about is smoging the Elky like normal, and changing the motor out for a 383 stroker or something like that.

Here in CA. The vehicle regestration is good for 2 years. I would have the entire 2 years to have FUN......

But how long does it take to change an complete motor ???
Not long if you know what you are doing. Maybe an entire week end or so.

What else can any of us do, sell our Elky's for junk jsut because it won't pass smog. I think NOT, NO WAY IN HELL ........

Oh well stuff happens....ya know ?????

I just purchased a 1981 El Camino and also live in the state of NJ... My car has a recent inspection sticker and will carry me through until 2006. As of Jan 1, 2006 I will kick my plates over to QQ (Historic)... I also have a 1940 Mercury and a 1956 Ford both custom with late model drive trains. I use these almost as normal vehicles and have not had a problem.... Obviously you have to drive sane and dont be playing street racer....

Rich King