1976 Is it a 49 state or Cali car? Options

[JORACER#40]

If you live in CA DO NOT purchase a 76 914 I am going through hell to get mine smog. I would find another year 914 but I have owned mine since the 80s.

[gnomefabtech]

Thanks for all the feedback and information!

I'll be able to look the car over more closely on Friday when I get it home. My hope is that it's a 49 state car so I don't have to add a cat to it since it doesn't have one. I think the smog pump is missing so I'll be figuring that out at the very least but otherwise all I think all I will need is a carbon canister and all the hoses to get everything routed.

[wonkipop]

If you live in CA DO NOT purchase a 76 914 I am going through hell to get mine smog. I would find another year 914 but I have owned mine since the 80s.

so how does that work then.
if it was originally a california car its got to stay californian conforming for 76?

but if its not originally a californian car then now, 50 years later, you can bring a 49 state car in and so long as its still 49 state car conforming it only has to conform to that, not california standards of 76?

forgive me for asking as a dumb aussie, but i did go through a similar trauma 30+ years ago bring my 914 back from the USA into AUS. and it was pretty nuts and a very petty process. which was an utter joke given that AUS design rules of 74 were a long long way behind the USA. fortunately one of the guys in the state registration authority who knew his stuff and wasn't just a petty idiot stepped in.

[wonkipop]

@JeffBowlsby and others unfortunate to own 76 in california.

i found the CARB executive orders on the 76 after another search.
it was under VW (not porsche). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

1976






will be what CARB would be using to determine original emission equipment fitment.

comments.
the executive order is laced with a series of conditions.
all beginnng with "be it further resolved".
note about only valid on vehicles produced up to 31 DEC 1975.
the inclusion of
1. Replacement of CAT at 30,000 mi.
2. Inspection of EGR at 30,000 mi.


1975 for reference.







i've never been able to find the USEPA records to see just how they were certifying cars.
suspect they have been transferred to US govt. national archives.
may not be digitized.

[gnomefabtech]

If you live in CA DO NOT purchase a 76 914 I am going through hell to get mine smog. I would find another year 914 but I have owned mine since the 80s.

As far as I know the key is that if it's a 49 state model than I don't need a cat and the restrictive exhaust that goes with it. Still need the smog pump though.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this. As far as I know this car is a Nevada native and I'll be the first to bring it into Ca..

[JORACER#40]

If you live in CA DO NOT purchase a 76 914 I am going through hell to get mine smog. I would find another year 914 but I have owned mine since the 80s.

As far as I know the key is that if it's a 49 state model than I don't need a cat and the restrictive exhaust that goes with it. Still need the smog pump though.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this. As far as I know this car is a Nevada native and I'll be the first to bring it into Ca..

The Smog Pump is the is the most difficult to deal with. first the heads must have threaded holes into the each exhaust port only on 75 76. Next the pump brackets and pully usually have been removed along with the EGR.
I think all 76 were built in 75 form the left over parts from the 75 run.

Even if you get all the parts next is getting the 50 year old FI and ignition to work perfectly for the test. it is hit and miss. I had it down to a science until I didn't. Now I am replacing all the parts I know are on the edge of spec. It is costing me more to fix my FI then to purchase an aftermarket FI which would do a much better job at reducing bad emissions.

Sorry for being a downer but I have not been able to drive my 914 for a while just because I can not pass smog.

[wonkipop]

If you live in CA DO NOT purchase a 76 914 I am going through hell to get mine smog. I would find another year 914 but I have owned mine since the 80s.

As far as I know the key is that if it's a 49 state model than I don't need a cat and the restrictive exhaust that goes with it. Still need the smog pump though.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this. As far as I know this car is a Nevada native and I'll be the first to bring it into Ca..

The Smog Pump is the is the most difficult to deal with. first the heads must have threaded holes into the each exhaust port only on 75 76. Next the pump brackets and pully usually have been removed along with the EGR.
I think all 76 were built in 75 form the left over parts from the 75 run.

Even if you get all the parts next is getting the 50 year old FI and ignition to work perfectly for the test. it is hit and miss. I had it down to a science until I didn't. Now I am replacing all the parts I know are on the edge of spec. It is costing me more to fix my FI then to purchase an aftermarket FI which would do a much better job at reducing bad emissions.

Sorry for being a downer but I have not been able to drive my 914 for a while just because I can not pass smog.

your thinking is correct re 76 being built from the same parts as 75.
with exactly the same pollution gear and settings.
the CARB executive orders prove/confirm that. zero difference.
gives you slightly wider scope for sourcing missing bits for the 76.
you can go shopping for 75 cal spec 2.0s in junkyards etc for those missing bits.
it strikes me the EGR might be a tricky beast. its got a vac operated valve.
a bit like decel valve and fuel pressure regulator, the diaphragm can fail, spring weakens etc. i am unsure how the EGR kicked in on a 2.0 but i know for a fact how it worked on a 1.8. it only activated via the vacuum port above the throttle plate. its vac connection was only to that port. it used the same vac connection that 74 49 state 1.8s used for vacuum advance on distributor. so it only opened at high vac steady state running at cruise. part throttle open. did not open at idle or wider throttle openings while accelerating. i could be wrong but i would imagine the 2.0s were similar? not sure what the contemporary smog tests are like in california, but they are not going to pick up a functioning EGR with an idle test. but they might pick it up with a steady state higher rev test. but if its only a visual examination it has to pass, ie original equipment is still installed you might get over the line. as far as i know the EGR lowered NoX at cruise/
and assisted the engine to run cooler at cruise and slightly assisted fuel economy. it helped to offset the hotter temps around the exhaust valve due to the slightly retarded timing at cruise.
maybe it might have burned a few hydrocarbons but the CAT was supposed to take care of those along with the psuedo thermal reactor heat exchangers.

interestingly the 1976 912 E with the same 2.0 engine and L jet fitted did not have a CAT, instead it was fitted with "proper" thermal reactors (same as 911s of that era). these were an alternative to CATS. they were like two cylindrical cans that the exhaust stub pipe outlets fed directly into and hung under the car. those cans get very hot but worked ok on the rear engined porsches as they hung under the car in the airstream. 912E owners have got a similar problem in california. thermal reactors are unobtainable except by finding one on a junked car that might still be not corroded out.

------

interesting side note on the clean air act.
by end of calendar year 1975 they had not achieved the 90% reduction in NoX, HC and CO that the act originally set as the levels for the deadline. they just got as far as they could get to and the USEPA agreed. there were small incremental tightenings each year all the way to 1980 because the EPA understood that the last bit could not be achieved without the EFI systems going closed loop.

they had to wait until Bosch finished developing the O2 sensor. which they did in 1980.
at that point the USEPA and the automakers resumed the process to work towards the 90% reduction the 1970 act aimed for.

all interesting stuff in the context of air pollution.
i am old enough to remember my stinging eyes and the taste in my mouth riding my bicycle to university here in the late 1970s and early 80s. brown air. always happened in the hot summertime. long gone.
--------

[gnomefabtech]

Well I finally got the car in my possession and it's pretty complete minus the throttle body that was removed and lost. And no smog pump. So I'm in the market for a throttle body and all the air injection parts.

Does anyone know how the Cali DMV decides the year of the car? The bill of sale says it's a 75 but the vin is clearly a 76.

I'll post pics tomorrow. It's a bit dehydrated from sitting in the nevada heat but zero rust!

[wonkipop]

Well I finally got the car in my possession and it's pretty complete minus the throttle body that was removed and lost. And no smog pump. So I'm in the market for a throttle body and all the air injection parts.

Does anyone know how the Cali DMV decides the year of the car? The bill of sale says it's a 75 but the vin is clearly a 76.

I'll post pics tomorrow. It's a bit dehydrated from sitting in the nevada heat but zero rust!

bill of sale probably a typo?

there are original condition 76s on BAT archive with sales docs.
window stickers and sales receipts from dealers. all are marked as 1976.

the DMV will go off the VIN sticker in the door?
in the USA that is the legal manufacturers plate the Fed DOT mandated for all USA cars.
they ignored the manufacturer's plate in the frunk.
only the USA got those Vin stickers and thats why there are there.
i guess it depends on how smart your DMV guys are.
naturally its going to say 75 but a later month.
i imagine they work off model year convention.
and i suppose if he looks up the actual Vin number itself it might give a listing as to what model year that is? interesting?

[wonkipop]

i'm not sure mr b. @JeffBowlsby has one of these in his collection of labels and plates on his website.

its the sticker specifically mentioned as a condition in CARB executive order for 76 model 914s. advises of cat replacement requirement at less 50,000 miles. only on 76 cal cars it seems?

manufacturers had to warranty all emission equipment for 5 years or 50,000 miles.
looks like VW/Porsche could not get them to last that long and this had been established before the end of the 1975 model long term testing?

[wonkipop]

re vin stickers and manufacturer's plates.

@JeffBowlsby .
you guys have picked up this?
76s have no manufacturer's plate.

75 models with man. plate shifted to bulkhead location from earlier spot on headlight bucket.




76 models. no manufacturers plate?





makes sense.
rest of the world required the manufacturer's plate and used that for registration purposes.
only USA ignored the manufacturer's plate and went off the DOT mandated VIN sticker.
if you only build cars for the USA market exclusively for the last half of 75 then you would only put the VIN sticker on and delete the man. plate.

[JeffBowlsby]

The 76 plate omission is known but you highlighted the justification for it. Subtle changes like this started with the mid-1974 Porsche acquisition of the 914 project. The change of the chassis plate to the front trunk in late 74 cars and forward, etc.

[L-Jet914]

@wonkipop I see you figured out how to navigate the CARB website to get to the EO numbers for New Vehicle and Engine Certification for CARB standards lol. Not easy to find, let alone navigate the website haha. I only knew about the section when I took an Smog update course to keep my smog license up to date.

[wonkipop]

i've been thinking about this problem for the sake of alleviating @JORACER#40 misery.

it may or may not help him.
its always very difficult dealing with bureaucrats.
(if its any comfort its getting worse down here in north antarctica too, our public service is being populated by immigrants of the subcontinent post colonial diaspora who inherited and perfected one thing left behind by the british - the fully developed final flowering of bureaucracy. they are masters of it. usually they employ the finally crafted methods they have devised to slam the door on you with their goggledegook. but sometimes when you give them the right question it sets them off in very helpful ways. not sure how your bureacracy is run and by whom. ).

its clear that something is going on in relation to the clean air act of 1970 and the strange inclusion in the CARB executive order for 1976 914s.



take the extract from the clean air act.
i've at least found that for you.
the bit i have highlighted in green is of importance too.



take the extract from the 1976 executive orders for 76 914.



and ask them the question innocently.
"are they sure they are correct in defining your 76 914 as a 76MY car,
because you want these two clauses explained to you which seem to indicate that it was never a 1976 car as defined by the clean air act".

you never know. keep asking the question up the line if you can.
with these two bits of information.

it may well be that the 914 2.0 for 1976 is the only car that was in this position and was able to be approved.

porsche/audi north america would have had to make a case to CARB and the USEPA that proved they were not seeking to circumvent the effective date for a standard. ie they were not producing a model year car in two halves. one of a lower standard up to dec 31 1975 and then one of the higher standard after that date, but rather they were only making a car up to that date. if so the clean air act makes it clear, it is to be regarded as a 75 model year car if the USEPA (at minimum) agrees to it. and it looks like CARB say that too. if they limit approval to DEC 31 1975 that means they must have agreed that it is to be regarded as a 75 model year car. its a pity they don't state it explicitely,
but thats typical of these kinds of bureaucratic approvals.

if you are patient you might open a door here.
other 76 2.0 owners in california if they read this might feel inclined to join you in these inquiries.

if it was me i would write the letters and set the chain in motion.

its at least a good question for a good congressman/woman.
if there is such a thing in california if you know what i mean.
ie one not hostile to aged polluting vehicles of merely historic amusement.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[wonkipop]

@wonkipop I see you figured out how to navigate the CARB website to get to the EO numbers for New Vehicle and Engine Certification for CARB standards lol. Not easy to find, let alone navigate the website haha. I only new about the section when I took an Smog update course to keep my smog license up to date.

you opened up a big door there mate! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

i wish i could find the keys into the USEPA archives.
the same stuff will be there for the rest of the USA.
but no luck finding which room number its in prowling the corridors of the internet. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[wonkipop]

The 76 plate omission is known but you highlighted the justification for it. Subtle changes like this started with the mid-1974 Porsche acquisition of the 914 project. The change of the chassis plate to the front trunk in late 74 cars and forward, etc.

except strangely they are not porsche practices. at least those little plates.
ie the production plate (or as it is termed by a lot of folk as the karmann plate) is pure VW practice. it brought the 914 into line with everything else made by VW.
those small riveted plates were on all VWs in the early 70s in the front trunk.
it might be more to do with karmann ghia production ending and the 914 assembly aisle being moved in with the beetle cabrios to take their place. to make room for the sirroccos. its kind of clear that the factory was being reorganised at that time too.

certainly the VIN sticker thing is entirely unique to USA cars.

the registration guys here were not even interested in looking at that vin sticker on my car. as far as they were concerned it could be anything. a nothing.
all they were interested in was the manufacturer's plate.

boy, its a lucky thing i never bought a 76 to try and bring back to australia.
i would have been in a world of pain worse than JORACERS californian smog test torment. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[wonkipop]

@JORACER#40 and @gnomefabtech

this may be of interest.

re definitions used by CARB.
apparently they use the USEPA definitions derived from the Clean Air Act.



there may have been an update to model year definition under the Act.
but it doesn't change things.
its just a more verbose wording of the original definition.
model year still = production period.



the way i read this is that the 1976 914 2.0 is defined by its production period,
not its title as given by porsche.

under the definition:

start date = Jan 2 1975 or Aug (? day of first car produced) 1975.
later = Aug (?) 1975.

end date = Dec 31 1975 (last unit produced) or Dec 31 1976.
sooner = Dec 31 1975.

therefor the model termed the 1976 914 2.0 by its manufacturer is in fact a 1975 model year car as defined by the Clean Air Act, the USEPA and CARB.

----

i am unsure how cars are being caught in the 1976 and onwards net in california in terms of smog testing. but if they have worded it that 1976 and newer MY cars are required to be smogged then i believe that the 1976 914 does not fall under the requirement.

i'm no lawyer. but i think there might be something to this.
it appears to me that porsche for the purposes of the USEPA either produced a 1975 model for 18 months, which is perfectly possible under the definitions or it produced two 1975 models one after the other within the time period defined by the act.

this applies equally to both the 48 states car and the californian car.

[wonkipop]

@JORACER#40 and @gnomefabtech

i looked up the DMV california.
they say model year. 1975 model year and earlier cars do not need to be smogged.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-regis...og-inspections/

i reckon the case of the 76 914 can be challenged.

[Dave_Darling]

A bit of recent-ish California smog history:

About 30 years ago, all cars back into the 60s had to pass smog--UNLESS they were in an area that was not designated for smog enforcement. People in some areas of the state (generally less-populous more-rural areas) didn't have to bring their cars in. It was a big pain to get a 49-state car to pass smog, and the rules were often applied inconsistently.

About 20-25 years ago, the law changed. A rolling exemption for cars older than 25 years was granted. Specifically, an exemption from testing. You were still supposed to be meeting all of the standards, they just weren't checking. And I believe it was extended to the whole state.

There were shennanigans and compromises. The exemption was frozen in place, then changed to 30 years, and then eventually the law was passed saying "1975 and older are exempt". Again, only from testing. (I'm sure they said that because they could later make you start testing again and still claim that they didn't change the actual requirements, so you don't get grandfathered in...)

At the time that last change was implemented, a very few 76 914 owners were able to go to CARB or the DMV (I forget which) and successfully argued that the 1975 build date on their car meant that it also qualified. After a good bit of wrangling, that was granted, but supposedly the powers that be said something like "You few are it, nobody else gets to do this." I am not sure how accurate the information in this paragraph is; I read it on one of the 914-oriented forums and I don't remember which one.

You can challenge the 76 914 smog checks, but it will likely take a good bit of time and be a big pain in the *ss.

The general rule for CA residents is to avoid the 76 cars. There aren't that many of them anyway, and it's a lot less hassle avoiding them than trying to smog them.

--DD

[JORACER#40]

With 914 World I have access to a lot of help and parts. So I should be able to find and fix FI issue. I also want to thank 914 Rubber for their help in keeping our 914s sealed and contributing to this web site. I bought a calendar. That's not true my wife bought it for me for a stocking stuffer.

Its sad that our state government doesn't use logic to solve environmental issues.
Its ok change the engine as long as it keeps its smog equipment, but cannot put aftermarket 2020 technology on any engine. The 2020 FI and CAT would run cleaner than an 80s motor with 80s FI and smog equipment.
Example the air pump, it doesn't reduce emissions it just dilutes exhaust in the exhaust pipe instead of the atmosphere. The engine produces the seme emissions.

If I cannot fix my D-jet to pass smog I will look at an engine swap with newer FI. Maybe a 993 motor will fall from the sky and land in my yard or better yet my 914.

The old way to get around this was to register the vehicle as historical. That ended around 10 years ago. I have made the case to DMV about it being built from 75 year parts without success. I was told it doesn't mater because it was sold as a 76 (VIN).
I was also told since parts are becoming unattainable that I could ask for a variance from CARB but no guarantee.