How do people get away with no catalytic convertors ?>

[candymancan]

Just curious. Ive been watching youtube videos on wagoneers and restos and other vehicles. And ive been wondering, federal law states cars after was it 78 or 79 have to have a cat equipped. Now im seeing a ton of 80s wagoneers with no catalytic convertors on these "restorations" Maybe its because they live in states that dont have a state "safety" inspection so they cut em off. But in virginia if cut mine off they would fail me for inspection. Now i can remove all my emission junk on the engine, and no inspector would know because theyre mostly youngerish guys. But i still have a cat and its a modern one, i could pass a sniff test if i had too. And it isnt just wagoneers its other cars too

I just dont get why people remove them ? And how so many get away with it ? Maybe im being too goodie goodie here ? But yea

[HowardT64]

I have seen people get away with a lot of crap in this world when they should not have. Then on the flip side, decent folks get the heat when they do the least of things wrong. Justice is indeed blind. When I went to remove mine thinking it was clogged, I found out there was NOTHING in the unit!!! Someone gutted it and put it back on. Outer appearance was that a converter was on. When in truth it was for looks.

[will e]

Here in AZ they only do emissions testing in a couple of counties. So if you live, say 'up north' you don't get emission tested or inspected.

CAT's have a bad rap. Initially they were restrictive but the new technology is very good. I replaced the CAT on my jeep a few years ago and it knocked the emissions down to 'almost' zero.

[Stuka]

Even here in CA the more rural areas don't do any emissions testing unless you buy/sell a vehicle.

But really, unless you just want a super loud vehicle, modern cats don't really hurt performance. You can buy 800hp cars that still have cats and clean emissions.

[JeepsAndGuns]

Pretty much if the area you live in does not have emissions testing and/or inspections, then no one will know or care you do not have it. That is how they get away with it.
I would think you would have to really peeve off a cop to the point of checking your vehicle for "illegal mods" to make them look to see if you still have a cat and then ticket you for it.
I used to live in VA 20 years ago and up there they did yearly inspections. They would look under your vehicle to make sure it was still there, but that was it, no emissions testing or anything.
I remember when I was a kid, my dad had a friend at a muffler shop. I remember being there when he took the cat off my dads truck, "cleaned it out" and then reinstalled it. It always passed inspection.

[Hspencer]

Here in NC there is no requirement for safety or emissions inspection on any vehicle 30 years or older. I think the mindset is that there are so few vehicles that on the road and most that are aren’t driven daily. Also the fact that emission parts (vehicle specific, not cat converters) from that era are hard to find and or expensive. The vast majority of vehicles on the road are doing their part to keep emissions low.

I’m not sure how efficient the early emission control systems were at reducing emissions, but on a carbureted vehicle I doubt they actually did very much especially after a few years of neglected maintenance.

To be effective on a carbureted engine it would need the air injection system to be working properly or tuned very lean. Catalytic converters are great for cleaning up emissions from an already clean running engine but can do very little to reduce an engine that’s running rich. Also introducing to much unburdened fuel into a converter can cause extreme heat as the fuel burns inside causing the honeycomb structure to melt clogging the converter.

Personally I don’t see a great benefit running a converter on a thirty year old carbureted vehicle. For me it has nothing to do with performance or cost, I just don’t see a benefit and if it does start to clog emissions will likely increase.


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[rocklaurence]

Cats are expensive. I dont run them on any of my FSJeeps in Florida--no inspections. However, years ago I had a lifted '92 Ford Explorer and I gutted the Cat and it gave me 1.5 mpg improvement--no kidding. Removing the Cat was better than the Flowmaster muffle and headers. No-it wasnt clogged and I guess I could have gone to a bigger/higher performance unit.

[tgreese]

It's about enforcement, not legality. Enforcement is up to the states. Some states choose not to enforce after X years.

I'd presume that much of the state's choice on enforcement depends on what legislators feel will get them the most votes and contributions, without blatant defiance of the law. Result is enforcement that is tailored to the majority preferences of the locality. Prosecutorial discretion still allows enforcement of the law, should the local (or Federal!) prosecutor choose to.

[carnuck]

Carbon Monoxide kills Covid virus.

[MReese Wagoneer]

here in Missouri, they do not inspect emissions on older cars , i do not know the cut off right now.
BUT i have been snagged by muffler shops not willing to work on a truck that had a 'Cleaned out" cat and they said by law they need to replace it. that was a 85 GMC carb truck
I do not have cat on my Waggy , but like I said no emissions test
My son is in Fredericksburg Virginia, and he cant get away with anything. they didn't even like the aftermarket headlights on the Bronco and too many forward facing lights, they originally said not DOT but he found the DOT # so they dropped that argument, he has not been back to that shop either.

[bigun]

Live in the boonies, nobody cares

[HowardT64]

I thought for years mine was on. Thought it was going bad....till I went to replace it and found it was gutted. I guess if some mechanic sees the unit...they figure it is on and its ok. *shrug*

[carnuck]

here in Missouri, they do not inspect emissions on older cars , i do not know the cut off right now.
BUT i have been snagged by muffler shops not willing to work on a truck that had a 'Cleaned out" cat and they said by law they need to replace it. that was a 85 GMC carb truck
I do not have cat on my Waggy , but like I said no emissions test
My son is in Fredericksburg Virginia, and he cant get away with anything. they didn't even like the aftermarket headlights on the Bronco and too many forward facing lights, they originally said not DOT but he found the DOT # so they dropped that argument, he has not been back to that shop either.

There are very few shops in the South End of VA. I was surprised that they were more worried about rust on the brake lines than what came out of the tailpipe. (As was I )