I have a 73 455 code 1241735 engine that came out of a 73 centurion resting quite comfortably in my 78 park ave 2dr.I was pulled over for the simple reason that it was check out old cars day acording to the officer.Anyways the ticket was for no catalitic converter. I am taking it to court,nothing to loose. I know that the 78 came with one but did the 73 have one? that is going to be my argument if it is in my favor.If anyone can help much appreciated. Luis
What state do you live? As far as you 73 you will win the case because the convertors were not on cars till 75, AL.
Heres my take. Putting a 73 model engine in your 78 model car does not make the car a 73 emission requirement vehicle. Heres what I would do. Set your case for pretrail. Ask the prosecutor if you add a cat convert to the car, can they dismiss the charges if you bring your car into compliance? You are going to have to do it anyway. It like getting a ticket for expired tags or something. Most of the time if you resolve the infraction within 10 days of the infraction, they will dismiss the ticket. (Or at least here they do here)
Are you running historic plates on your car? That would be one way of fighting this. So in short the cop just pulled you over to lookat you exhaust or anything he could find. I think you may have a haressment charge against the officer, AL.
Usually you have to meet the emissions requirements for the newer of either the engine or the car. In your case you must maintain the emissions for the 1978 model year.
I live in Ontario Canada and i have put the cats. on but is it not the engine that putts out exhaust rather than a shell with wheels.I realize that it is an argument of wether the glass is half full or half empty but how many of our old buicks are really contributing to air pollution when we spend thousands of dollars to have them run better than when they came out of the factory.
You need to check your state law carefully.Your car being a 78 means it is supposed to have an engine that meets smog requirements for that year-- by you putting an older albeit non smog engine(no cat) is probably a violation.I believe the engine change could also be a violation of Federal law although that is not the reason for the original citation.Here in California there are ROLLING SMOG checks :af: ---CHP picks certain public roads and pulls over every 5th car/6th car whatever they determine. They look underneath to verify if a cat is in place etc,look under hood for mods like headers,cold air intakes=if you have an EO NUMBER they are OK---they also have a tow vehicle in hand to confiscate vehicles( I saw a newer MUSTANG being loaded on for NO cats). I know it's California but the future is coming.Pete
Define "better". Many hot rods can meet emissions requirements for HC and CO, but fail miserably with NOX. Most everything that reduces HC and CO makes NOX worse. And what improves NOX makes the HC and CO worse. That's why the manufacturers had such trouble getting vehicles into compliance in the first place. I agree: ask if they'll drop (or reduce) the fine if you can prove you have a Cat by the court date.
In Ontario the Ministery of Transportation has a memo that reads You shall not operate a motor or motor vechile without catalytic converter unless so designed. 73 455 no cats 78 park ave requires cats. An engine without a body is not a car, a body without an engine is not a car,you can not propell and maintain constant volocity with one single item.The reason i am more ticked is that the officer upon not findding any thing else wrong with the car removed the plates and deemed it unfitt.Along with the $370.00 ticket was a $200.00 tow charge getting the cats on and the car certified and new plates which ran close to $1000.00 in total just because it was LETS CHECK OLD CARS DAY
Just get a cat out of a bone yard from a '78 year car. Gut it completely and then splice in in with your exhaust. Get a friend that can aqquire a bill from a garage and have it filled out as if the work was done repairing the exhaust and bring that to the court with you. Appearance wise in future days ahead when a cop stops you he can see that it has a cat in it. Should work. I think the bottom line is what was mentioned above, to just install a cat within the time frame state that you were unaware of the laws, that in good faith you corrected the problem asap. Talk to the cop prior to going up and show him the repair bills (if you have any friends in the business they can write you one). They may either reduce it or dismiss it. The ticket you got should be no points so it's not a biggy other than the fine itself. So try to get that reduced or dismissed. I have done this on parking summons, on a no front plates ticket, cracked windhield and even, get this one...a broken side passenger side mirror! Beat 'em all! You just have to do some creative thinking and doing. How do I know this???? No I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn express. I'm a retired NYPD Detective. Learn the laws and learn to work with and around them. That is exactly how lawyers and bad guys do. Its the poor slobs like us that always get screwed. On the other hand fighting it you can. They will ask how do you plea, not guilty, or guilty with explination. They will let you state your case and you will go on explaining things and after all that. They will ask you are you done. and you will say yes and they will say guilty $$$ pay the clerk....NEXT! Anotherwards I do not feel you will get far fighting it. As far as filling harrassment charges...you can but I don't think you will get far with it. Trust me when I say it will go nowhere. And if the cop is from your local municipality, you may find yourself getting pulled over more often in the future. You don't mess with a bee next to the hive, you may get stung. Good Luck with it and keep us posted :TU:
...And I bet you'll be writing letters to the editor, talking to other people in your home town and province, and in general doing what you can to GET THE ASSHOLES VOTED OUT OF YOUR GOVERNMENT. (Because just bitching does nothing to rectify the problem. You need to get ACTIVE.) I suggest you join the National Motorist Association, too. They operate in Canada and the US. www.motorists.org
I remember reading somewhere that an old car (pre-smog) emits more smog sitting in the garage than a modern car does with the engine running. I know I can smell mine in the garage! Keith
I agree with the complaints about the BS laws. But the solution offered above about putting on a cat. converter and trying to get the ticket dismissed or reduced makes the most sense to me. My 2 cents Good Luck Bob Harris
Been there and done that. I had a 76 TA with a built 455 and it sounded wicked and run 12 flat in the 1/4 mile. I had the cats hollowed out and just for looks on the exhaust system and drove the car on the street all the time. And yes the cops would pull me all the time and the first thing they would check, was to see if i had both cats on that loud exhaust system. cops would always say man that thing is midevil sounding even with cats on it..... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I would tell them just think how much louder it would be if i removed them? And they would say, Man you would be getting tickets left and right because the way it is now people in the area where you are driving this thing now are calling us and saying that when you drive by the windows would rattle in the house. Do not make it any louder please..........Oh Ok...... :laugh: Billy.
I am not one to go against the grain but when there is all this jap scrap driving around with mufflers wider than the hood of the car and making noise like a dieing camel where are our law enforcement than? Yes i have put the cats back but will still challenge their rules of motor and motor vechile as put out on their memo.I will keep updates but court is in about 2 months. Luis. p.s. long live the Buick 455 hahaha!
Cats??? As in: More than one? You should have had a single cat on that car, and if I understand USA law, installing dual cats would be just as illegal as not having one at all. I don't know about Canadian law.
ONTARIO YOU SAY??? Did you know about branding your car as a "hot rod"?This comes into play when you have a motor in your vehicle that was not offered originally from the factory. It can also be accomplished if your motor is modified enough. Im not sure what exactly must be true to be branded as a hot rod, i could research it for you. But basically if you have a "hot rod" the emmission requirements are so low that you are basically exempt for an e-missions tests. I dont know whether this also means you are exempt from cats, but i think you could use the argument in court. If a "hot rod" only has to meet the emmission requirements for the engine year, why is it relevant whether or not cats are present? I think a 1973 centurian motor argument would hold up personally.
