MikeB 81SC

My Lotus 7 has carbs but was built in 1989. The dealer managed to get it to pass to sell it to me by leaning it out and massively advancing the ignition , but now I need to get it to pass again (or fail twice?)??

I'm confused.

The issue to get it to pass is that it has carbs and no cat...lets face it, she is a dirty old 4 cylinder pig.

If I take it to my local drive clean, its probably going to fail. There are probably no "off the shelf repairs" that will make it pass. It will just take lots of fiddling with the carbs and distributor. This is not something that I would expect a local drive clean centre to have the expertise in.

Is it just that they have to try and if it does not work, then I get a conditional pass?

If there is no obvious fix, how do they define a cost that falls within the gov't maximum repair limit


I'd like to have a good sense of how I'd like things to progress before I take the car in.

petee_c

i'd call around ask see.... My friend had a late 80's corolla until last year..... it was clear from the NO reading that the tester was fiddling with the car to get it to pass... All the numbers were good, and one number was 1 unit below the line in order to get a pass. The mechanic thought it would need a ring job soon.

Ask the dealer who passed it last time?

BTW, how far ahead can u do a drive clean? My bday is in February, and my car will be in a deep sleep by then. Can I get one done 6 months ahead for my sticker?

Sultan

yes you can, up to 1 year I believe. My b'day is in March and I got it drive cleaned in November (before hibernation), it was logged at the ministry when I went to renew the plate in March, didn't even need to show the etest cert.

Christien

Do you by chance have a cottage up north? If so, just register it there, and you're exempt.

MikeB 81SC

I wish Christien

justinsrx7

exempt...from what?

Turbodan

Isn't drive clean all of Ontario now? the nanny province.!

pfitzsim

Huron, Bruce, Grey & Renfrew counties all exempt in addition to all of 'Northern ON' - unclear as to the exact location of 'northern ON' however.

Imo000

As far as I know, up north there in no drive clean.

What i don't get what is this car classified as? Hot Rod, home made, kit car, or what?

blur911

If any single item that needs repair is over $450 then you can get a conditional pass without spending the money. Otherwise, you have to spend up to $450 at a drive-clean repair facility repairing it to get it to pass.
Spec a $460 cat for it and see if you can find an enthusiast mechanic at a drive-clean repair facility who will agree.
My Audi 90q20v just failed an hour ago. It failed the first test and the machine asked to heat up the engine more so it can test again. The tech told me if he aborted the test at this point it wouldn't cost anything. They rarely pass the second test if they fail the first, so I aborted and it was free to tell me it was going to fail, no printout though. I'll burn off the 3 month old gas in it, add a little methyl hydrate and maybe even change the plugs and filter then try again later.

Hyper911

it may be exempt but if you get pulled over by the mto in toronto you will still get a huge fine for no cats.

Torontoworker

If the car was legally registered and imported into Canada without cat's - it is recognized that this state was 'as imported'. Every model imported that has a Transport Canada sticker also has a defined emissions standard for that model that the importer had to meet and certify before importation could occur. That is the standard that the Ontario Clean Air program uses as a base level test.

You cannot test a car to a standard that it can never meet due to design or age of design. Having an old Lotus meet a standard that say a 2012 Porsche meets would eliminate 90% of the cars on the road today and guarantee that the political party that forces a standard like that would never get elected again!

Unless the Lotus was imported into Canada WITH catalytic converters then I agree the owner would have to put new units on. I rather suspect the car came into Canada without them as a dealer would jeopardize their license either removing the cat's before selling the car or just by selling a car that does not meet Provincial emission standards, (unless it was sold as unfit).

Chances are there is something else wrong with the engine/components that would make you fail for this type/model/year of car.

It's possible that you have a carb issue that no amount of leaning out will fix. I'd find an expert in Lotus vehicles and take the car there - you don't want to be going through this every 2 years.

jasonintoronto

federal import laws and provincial emissions laws are not the same. because it's a 1989, and in the sourthern ontario region, it has to comply be tested and passed by drive clean.

MikeB 81SC

Thanks guys.

This is what I'm going to take from this:

- I will try to find a friendly drive clean
- I will lean out the carbs before the test
- If it fails, I will try to get the friendly mechanic to limit their tuning labour so it does not add up to too much $$
-If we can't get it to pass on the 2nd run after some tuning, then I will ask them to give me an estimate for major tuning that exceeds the maximum.

All of this is to avoid just running up hours of tuning and getting no where

Imo000

All you need to do is spend the allowable amount on emission related parts (tune up, catalytic, etc) stated on the drive clean report (usually around $450) and you will get a conditional pass that is valid for 2 years. BUT only good if you are keeping the car. If you decide to sell it, even if it's the next day, the car will need to pass to be put on the road by the new owner.