Ok, guys I need some help big time. I have to emission test my 70 buick. its an idle test. now.. i can blow 900 PPM HC (hydrocarbons) it currently blows 1481 HC it is a stock 350 with a correct for year and model carb. (rochester) I recently rebuilt it and the only diffrence is the jets are 70 instead of 69 the Carbon Monoxide CO can blow 9.0% and mine blows 1.5% to my knowledge the primary circut stays out at idle. also... at a warm shutdown and restart it idles between 350 and 600 generally about 450. once it gets up to speed (35mph) they idle it back down to stop and it idles at 600. I have 4 months from this date till they revoke the plates 11/2002 (this is not a typo) I guess having the car in storage dosen't help your time at all. THANK YOU MUCH Nate
Nate, Do you have the timing set to factory specs? Is the carb adjusted properly ? You'll want to check those if your in doubt . Very important that all of the above are correct . Also don't forget to check the plugs and dwell . Don't forget to set points prior to setting the timing . Good Luck :TU: :TU:
Back the timing off as much as you can and it'll zoom right through. Now you don't have to leave it that way, just do it for the test. You may have to adjust the idle to compensate. Your HC will go way down and your CO will rise, but you have plenty of room on the CO. You can block off the PCV valve from inside the hose. Shove a stud in it. Again, this is just to help with the test, not perminant. Don't forget the legit stuff, like new plugs, proper dwell, clean oil etc. Also, I'm told dry gas(or 90+% rubbing alcohol) helps.
Dan's right! Any alcohol will help. Rubbing alcohol, ethanol or methanol...LOTS OF IT! Out here we have some real strict smog laws and a few gallons of that stuff is the only way some cars can pass. Even our so-called "oxygenated" gasoline is formulated with a large percentage of alcohol in it. :Smarty:
There are a lot of good tips here. I will add my own 2 cents. The oil should be clean and the engine hot. The kind of alcohol you want is Gas Line Antifreeze! Don't use drugstore rubbing alcohol (which has water in it)! Get gas line anti freeze which is pure Isopropyl or Methanol. About 4 to 5 little bottles and about 1/8 tank of gas. Retard the timing as has already been said and lastly, if you really have to pass and are having difficulty, a small vacuum leak will make you lean to where you'll fly through !! Signed, Anonymous
i've heard to use denatured alcohol. i think alcohol of any type will eat away at rubber seals, though. i'd avoid it. honestly you could bring the biggest beater possible to an emissions test, and if it's carbed, you can make it pass. you're skylark should have no trouble. when i had to test my daily driver, i sat at the emissions station in line tuning my carb (read: backing off the idle mixture to a point where is ran with no misses, but nothing else). when i finished, i pulled up, riched it back up, and drove off. it blew emissions like a new car (like 90ppm and under 1% CO...it was about 500 and 5% on my first try)
It IS true that alcohol will eat seals. Thanks for the reminder, David. I forgot to say that As Soon As You Pass, go to the nearest gas station and fill up to dilute all of that Alcohol. Hiccup..... Andrew
stuff timing is set factory. though what vacuum port do you use on the front of the carb (toward radiator) there is a larger one on the pass side (larger) and the smaller one (lower on carb) drivers side. I've heard 2 answers in the past about what one to use. I think i need to fix the idle adj screws (after re-reading the doug roe book) and bump the idle up pretty friggen high. (I have about a grand to work with) I can get e-85 gas here in milwaukee... its 85% ethanol. its designed for those EEV vehicles. its also about 10 cents cheaper than normal regular. makes me wonder If i should just fill up my 2 gal plastic tank in the trunk with the E-85 gas go to the emissions test place with very little in the tank dump the 2 gal of e-85 in and hope for the best. I only have 2 passes left though with it till it goes to state and its harder to pass.. the vacuum leak is a good idea though. maybe I'll do that too. how about dumping Everclear in? or other vodka 190 in? Nate
I'd definantly try just turning the idle up to a bout 900. 600 is a bit low to began with. A car will run cleaner idling at 900 than 600...
think i figured it out The engine i believe is/was missing. the idle mix screws were only out about 1 turn. I looked in my motors manual and said a starting point is 2 turns out. for rochester carbs. next set to factory RPM no load at 900 rpm. dwell is also set correctly at 30 degrees static timing is at 8 (factory recommended 6) I also changed the vacuum port being used on the carb so it is not advancing the ignition at idle (like it was when i was in the full vacuum port (pass. side) not knowing what one to use) it is really difficult to tell if it was missing since i have factory single exaust. so it was very muffled from the backpressure. anyways.. RPM dosen't jump like it once did. looks like next friday I'll be bringin it to the emissions test facility to check it out. nate :beer to all those involved. if it fails again... the e-85 will be going in and a small vacuum leak may develop somehow..
why do you have to smog it anyway? i thought that 73 and older are exempt? at least in california anyways... pete
Just extra confirmation on some of those tips. 1. Make sure the engine is real hot and full operating temp. 2. Speed up the idle speed to about 900-1000, it may seem like the fast idle is always engaged, but it helps a lot. 3. Put in alcohol. I concur 4 bottles and the 1/8-1/4 tank of gas. 4. Change the oil to clean oil 5. Make sure the ignition is good and strong spark, 6. Lean out the idle mixture screws, the extra rpms helps you overcome the lean idle mix. 7. Clean new air filter I used to have an old 75 Chevy truck with a real strong 454. Would fail every time until I did the above tricks. As soon as the test was over and i passed, it was set everything back to normal specs.
Nate , If you still need help after emmision test ................. you call me or email me .262 492 1955 :laugh: :TU: We'll get her !:Brow:
Yah, Im kinda curious as to why they are smogging your car. Even here in NY (one of the tougher smog states, next to California) I don't have to get my car smogged.
71 is exempt from smogging in CA...as I was told by the goofball owner of my Centurion when I bought it. Interesting that you need to run emissions on a 70.
Adam, the previous owner was correct. Before Jan 1, 2003, cars of the 1973 model year and older were exempt from smog checks in CA. As of Jan 01, 2003 the state has a 30 year rolling exemption. This is in spite of an attempt by a state senator to pass a new bill that would move the rolling window to 45 years. He received a mountain of mail from car enthusiasts. The bill was modified and passed as a 'smoker' law... but what true car lover would have a 'smoker' anyway? Ya'll get out there and VOTE! Get rid of these stupid requirements! Cheers, John
