race911

You guys in CA still don't get the underlying liability. 1, 2, 5, 10 years from now for whatever reason that car fails smog and gets looked at closely. Whoever did the mod AND issued the smog certificate(s) will be answering to the current owner and, likely, CARB.

You guys in other states, yeah, no big deal to take care of it simply and affordably.

jrb964

Mike, who did your work? I had mine done, at Don Jackson in Phoenix using the same method over a year ago. It works fine. It passed emission with no problems. The emission places aren't smart enough to realize that this is not stock.

Good job.

carcommander

If I had a 77k car I would probably have it fixed and have the valve guides replaced at the same time. As I said, if the money is an issue the kluge works. I personally would have the car fixed right, but the money is not an issue and yes I would spend the 4 grand. If I were the potential buyer, I would wonder if there were other non factory mods. I once saw caulk used to replace the door seals on a 911 and a wooden block used to secure the battery in place. (it was supposed to have dual batteries).

Amfab

Personal opinion on resale impact:

Working modification of a stupid SAI system: +$1000
If the modification is nicely done and reversable: +$1000
Non-stock mechanical modification in general: - $2000
Net impact= $0

Buying a car from a paying and participating Rennlist member,
priceless . . .

Well maybe not priceless, but it sure would give me A LOT of peace of mind

roebedo

Jrb964,

Jack Doverspike at Stuttgart Southwest. He actually knows Don very well. When I read your post, I called Don and asked him a few questions on how it went. It was your example and the reasuraance that Don gave me to give Jack the green light. Thanks for the feedback. It was your post that convinced me to take this route.

2Many Cars

+1

It may seem kind of stupid but I'd be worried about this. At a minimum I'd make sure you disclose this mod to the buyer in writing just in case the car eventually ends up in CA (or another tough emission state) and the then owner decides to try to trace it back to you. At least then you can claim full disclosure and back it up.

goofballdeluxe

I thought the idea is that this fix would keep the car from failing smog 1, 2, 5, or 10 years down the road. Therefore, there's no problem to look at closely.

goofballdeluxe

Just as an FYI, I don't know of anyone who's doing a new top end for $4,000. I do know that Tony Callas, who is widely considered one of the best in the business, recently was quoting a price of $11,000 for a top end rebuild. At $11,000, this "kluge" looks better and better, especially if your valve guides aren't shot and your car is good on oil consumption.

2Many Cars

Unfortunately I believe any modification of this sort to the emissions system constitutes "tampering" which in at least some states is illegal and most ststes specify a visual inspection to detect tampering. Unfortunately if you get caught I doubt you can argue this is just as good as the original system. While this may replace the SAI system it doesn't quite duplicate it smog prevention wise. The air injection is supposed to help complete combustion at start-up when the engine tends to run very rich. The factory system injects the air right behind the exhaust valve while this injects it much further down stream where it might be able to fool the O2 senor, but it's not duplicating the "efficency" of the factory system. 99% of the smog inspection geeks probably won't notice or care. It's just the remaining 1% that you have to worry about.

Leander

But will the car be any "dirtier" because of this mod? Surely if the emissions are within acceptable limits, then there should be no problem with how they got that way?

2Many Cars

The SAI only injects air at start-up (and a few minutes after) so yes it will be a bit dirtier at start-up but that's not part of the smog check so it shouldn't keep you from passing. It's the fault code that trips that causes the problem.

JM993

You both worry too much. Most smog shops do couldn't find their a@shole with a funnel, much less detect this mod. Last time I brought my 993 for smog, the "technician" asked why there was no cat on the car. I had to then explain the design of the exhaust system to him.

TheOtherEric

So if I do this mod and sell the car to a CA owner, and CA emissions fails the car, I'm somehow going to be liable? Lol, no, I don't think so! There's just no way on earth that some Cali bureaucrat is going to track me down in another state to try prosecuting me for an emissions mod. Lol. It's a buyer's responsibility to confirm the car will meet his (and his state's) needs. That's why everything used is sold "as-is".

2Many Cars

Couldn't agree more. The problem will come when the car fails smog 5 years and two owners later. The owner could potentially work his way up the line of prior owners looking for compensation. A remote chance to be sure but with a simple letter of disclosure now you avoid the potential hassle later. By the way, in CA you'd be surprised what some smog guys catch. If you know you have a modded system you can avoid the more expert smog shops but there's no guarantee the 3rd owner down the road will be that careful.

race911

Look, things are different here. I'm not saying the car will eventually fail because of the light or the air injection down the road. Maybe it's got 180K miles and just flat out has a misfire. Someone gets to checking around, sees something not "factory stock". Refuses to smog it. OR you get a "test station/referee only" smog check. Dude who has no clue rolls up to the referee. They check this (then) 20+ year old car. FAIL. Put it back to stock, we don't care how much it costs. (See: air pumps for '68 911's before the '75 and earliers were exempted.)

Bottom line is that it's laughably remote you, as the guy who did this as a workaround, will be liable. But if it's a short timeframe between the last smog and it being caught, I _______ guarantee you the smog guy will wish he got into male escorting or something...........