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My other 1979 California Transporter -smogged n' legal!
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airkooledchris
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:45 am    Post subject: My other 1979 California Transporter -smogged n' legal! Reply with quote

This was originally picked up back in March, and you can read about bringing it home and all of the original photo's here........



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I got a little cocky and went straight to a Star certified Smog station and asked for the test, without doing a pre-test first. They were extremely professional and from an earlier conversation I knew they would double check everything - but I want it to be able to pass this test so I went with them. This way I don't have to worry about finding a less strict place if I ever need to smog it again (here your done unless you sell it, which ill likely do down the road when im done restoring the body of my primary bus - which ill take off the road once I know this is safe and reliable.)

The one thing they missed was the fuel restrictor, as mine technically should have the stupid bird beak thing so you can't put the wrong gas in it - they show this as passing when I don't think it should have without that bird beak in there (though how it relates to a SMOG test is beyond me.)

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And this is my cobbled together exhaust system. It's a Federal 79 heater box setup with the 72-74 style Empi extractor exhaust - with a CAT welded into the middle of it (and the O2 sensor connected to the pre-CAT port.)


I already had the stupid EMPI exhaust setup and the CAT was last installed in the CA style heater box system that was on this previously. Technically your not supposed to be able to use a used CAT, but it's the CAT that was on this bus before, not some random used unit I picked up elsewhere. I also brought the exhaust in to be welded separate from the vehicle, and promised it was for off road use only (to limit the welders liability.) The top of the CAT has this little aluminum shield welded to it with all of these numbers, which I believe shows it's passed the new CA requirements. I don't know if the shield is correct or just welded to some random CAT, but they didn't dig far enough to look for it anyway. They just confirmed that I had an O2 sensor connected to it, which I did and it was properly connected for the test.

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Now I can put some miles on it (legally) and really start fine tuning the steering, suspension and the AFM (a different one, ill keep this SMOG tested one on the shelf for the future.)
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tootype2crazy
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 12:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congratulations and I like that color. These kinds of posts make me glad I live where I do where no smog tests are required for vehicles 1995 and older. To be honest, you don't really see many vehicles older than that on the road here anyway.
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air-cooled or nothing for me
1978 Sunroof Deluxe Bus (daily driver)
1978 Transporter (mom's, making into a camper)
1970 Single Cab 2.1 turbo/EFI 6 Rib, 78 front beam, vanagon backing plates on rear (project)
2001 GTI VR6 (wife's)
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airkooledchris
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

tootype2crazy wrote:
Congratulations and I like that color. These kinds of posts make me glad I live where I do where no smog tests are required for vehicles 1995 and older. To be honest, you don't really see many vehicles older than that on the road here anyway.



Thanks for the reply, and from the distance that shot was taken - I like that color to. Unfortunately up close you realize its been rolled on with zero care to worry about dust particles, and is more of a flat Kermit green.

I certainly was happy that one smog test was all I needed to be on the road legally. Now I can take this AFM off the bus and set it on the shelf, so if/when I sell it - I can pop it back on and know it'll likely pass smog once again.

It's great to that there IS a way to make the 72-74 style cheap extractor systems accept a CAT. If you can find a way to port in an EGR to this could make a hell of a cost effective alternative to tracking down NLA parts cobbled together.
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SGKent Premium Member
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

glad you passed Chris. What you want to do is make a couple runs with that AFM and an LM1 so you have a baseline, then tweak the AFM going on it to the same numbers. Then keep those numbers as a reference in case you ever need to adjust an AFM for that year bus. BTW - those numbers are excellent. I really like the O2 at .1% because it means that all the available oxygen is used up burning the fuel except for a tiny amount.
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Wasted youth
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 6:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice! I'll be at that point sometime in the next coupple of weeks, if everything keeps moving along. I scored a NOS 'bird's beak' in my bus' pile of parts and installed it, as my old one was all torn up. By the way it is designed, I think it is meant to keep fumes from escaping, not prevent the wrong type of gas into the tank.

Question: Does your F.I. system actually use an O2 sensor? My new CAT has a port for an O2 sensor, but my 1977 California emissions bus does not seem to have any application for a senor off the CAT.
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Stuartzickefoose
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 8:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

looks good! Very Happy
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airkooledchris
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SGKent wrote:
glad you passed Chris. What you want to do is make a couple runs with that AFM and an LM1 so you have a baseline, then tweak the AFM going on it to the same numbers.


Thanks Steve. For the immediate future I won't touch a thing, instead im going to connect my DD CHT Gauge to it (wiring is all in place already, just need to swap the gauge over from my daily driver) - and see what my head temps look like with it set this way.

Unfortunately I don't currently have an LM-1, so ill simply pull the AFM and set it on the shelf after I get my head temp readings. Next ill swap over the AFM I was running on my daily driver before I picked up that NOS unit from you a few years back. Colin and I had tweaked that one for cooler head temps already, so it should be pretty close to happy right out of the box.




Wasted youth/adulthood wrote:

Question: Does your F.I. system actually use an O2 sensor? My new CAT has a port for an O2 sensor, but my 1977 California emissions bus does not seem to have any application for a senor off the CAT.


It does, but don't sweat it, as the 79 California model was the only baywindow that did use an O2 sensor from the factory.




Stuartzickefoose wrote:
looks good! Very Happy


Thanks brother! - and glad to hear the heater arrived safely. It might be time to start that project already, as it was down in the 40's overnight here the past few nights.
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SGKent Premium Member
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Colin and I had tweaked that one for cooler head temps already, so it should be pretty close to happy right out of the box.


I thought you told me it already ran rich on your bus when you got it.
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airkooledchris
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

SGKent wrote:
Quote:
Colin and I had tweaked that one for cooler head temps already, so it should be pretty close to happy right out of the box.


I thought you told me it already ran rich on your bus when you got it.


Between the 3 AFM's ive ran on the blue bus, sometimes I have a hard time keeping them straight. This one is the one that originally came on the bus, and which had a failed EEC valve in the airbox. It's the one we first attempted to tune. It didn't respond as well as the NOS unit, in that even with it set rich I still had slightly elevated head temps (from where I want them) - but there were other issues not yet addressed that may have contributed to that.

Either way ill see what my head temps are with the smogable setup first, then with the 'spare' AFM to compare. Ideally id like to run one through one tank of gas with each also, to compare MPG numbers also.

The gas tank is full right now, as I topped off with a mid-grade fuel just before the test (and after a 15 minute drive at highway speeds to make sure the cat/all were up to operating temperatures.)
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