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ca legal propane conversions ?

22K views 27 replies 23 participants last post by  altfuel1991 
#1 ·
does any one know of smog legal propane conversion for a 1981 toy pickup also looking for any one who has done and propanne conversion with a turbo like to know build specs thanks alot for any info:homer:
 
#3 ·
That is not correct. Propane is a acceptable alternative fuel under california state law. The down side is that its only acceptable on trucks from 83' and older. I'll try and find the paper work on this. Terry at All Pro gave it too me when I bought my GotPropane Kit from him a couple of years ago.
 
#6 ·
I had to get rid of my '74 Landcruiser that was converted to LPG back in the early '90s due to inability to get it smogged. This was right after they dropped the exemption and the state did not seem to have the process in place to handle these conversions. My only option was to make repeated 250 mile round trips to the nearest DMV referee station qualified to handle LPG for inspections. I tried to get a list of what things would be inspected but could never get that and figured the process could take more time and money that I wanted to put into it, so sold the rig out of state.

At one time they told me that only if there was a factory offered LPG conversion (which some of the big-3 makers offered) or if you were '73-or-older (now '74-or-older) exempt would it be legal. But things may have changed in the ~16 years or so since that happened. But yes, check with the referee place and see what they have to say.
 
#12 ·
when did i say i have smogged a vehicle? u quoted my post but did not read it? ive seen trucks that have been converted over to propane instead of gasoline smogged on an ESP smog machine. there is an option that tests it as a propane or a CNG vehicle. you still need to go get the car/truck ref'd before you take it to get it smogged tho.

-Thomas
 
#14 ·
i have an 83 on propane, and yes, ca recognizes propane as an alternative fuel. here's the catch-
the propane kit has to have an EO# for it to pass inspection with the referee. no kits are available with an EO for toyota trucks. early 80's big 3 trucks had kits available with EO#'s but the toyota propane market never had enough demand for someone to pay the insane amount of money to provide a street legal kit. the investment in an EO# would sky rocket the cost of the kits, and no one would want to pay that, so no, ain't gonna happen. the sorry truth about ca is that we have smog inspections to ensure clean burning vehicles to keep the greenies at bay, and i have to change my clean burning, non-emission vehicle back into a polluter to be legal in this retarded state. why ca cant just require a safety inspection of the propane kit to verify it as alternative fuel is beyond me.
fuck bureaucrats.:mad3:
 
#15 ·
Finally some one give the right info.

Here some approved conversion kits. http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/altfuel/altfuelsys93_022607.pdf

I emailed Rose Castro, head of Air Research Board a couple weeks ago about converted to LPG smog standards. This is the response I got.

"California regulations prohibit conversion of emission-controlled vehicles with retrofit systems to operate on alternative fuels, such LPG, unless the retrofit systems have been evaluated and certified by the Air Resources Board (ARB). Assuming your vehicle was converted using a retrofit system certified for that vehicle, you will need to contact the manufacturer (based on your email, it would be IMPCO) and request a label. I don't know whether it's common practice for manufacturers to re-issue labels (i.e. if fallen off after long use) and if they do, whether they would require inspection/documentation (i.e. sales receipt)."

Basically if it doesnt have a CARB sticker saying it is approved by ARB your not going to smog your vehicle. I have been trying to find a loop hole for a over a year. Im at the point of selling my propane set up.
 
#19 ·
And now with the new test equipment that is being required for some new test the price of a smog check is around $77 or so. Unfortunatly that makes the bootleg prices seem reasonable. I won't go that route but man it isn't making sense anymore. They are hurting their cause more than helping it. I guess its a good thing I picked up a 73.

I was thinkin about goin Natural Gas dual fuel on mine because I am pretty sure if you get the Natural gas approved then you can get the sticker that lets you cruise the carpool lane alone. And I hear from someone in the know that those passes are not limited like the Hybrid passes, which are all gone already, because a lot of state and government contractors use the Natural gas cars. It would make my trips to the Hammers a lot quicker.
 
#20 ·
Matters what county your car is registered in. If it is high populated area it is a stricter test (more money), less populated you still get test biannually but its a easier test(less money), low populated areas only have to smog there vehicals when they sell them(super cheap). Bull shit, im getting a PO box in the middle no where to register my cars so I only smog them when I sell them
 
#25 ·
yup
Matters what county your car is registered in. If it is high populated area it is a stricter test (more money), less populated you still get test biannually but its a easier test(less money), low populated areas only have to smog there vehicals when they sell them(super cheap). Bull shit, im getting a PO box in the middle no where to register my cars so I only smog them when I sell them
i live in mendocino county california and i can tell you that for the most part mendo county and lake county are smog free. you only have to smog when buying/selling and most of the people here have ways around that. a lot of people smog the vehicle when they buy it and then do whatever the hell they want to it afterwards. my old boss owns a house and lives in santa rosa and owns a house in lake county and registeres all of his vehicles there so he doesnt have to smog them even though he himself is a smog tech and owns a smog station!
 
#26 ·
Seems obvious to me....why should anyone whole makes cars simply let me remove my polluting mess of a carburetor and all the insane devices and put a simple throttle body propane rig on and pollute even less than the carb ever possibly could? Stick the probe up the pipe and see if I meet ppm/mi?

They want me to buy a new car every 5-7 years like other good citizens, and are gradually working towards 3 year leases for all...they ARE NOT stupid...it's money...always is....CARB is somehow bought of at some level....notice they didn't mess with the big company propane fleets at all?.....they have LAWYER money.....we don't.
 
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