1976 fuel injection questions Options

[JeffBowlsby]

Did paperwork from the previous smog tests come with the car? The CA DMV website used to be searchable online with info on the testing station location and more info that maybe helpful to you.

[wonkipop]

[/quote]
Thank you bothT for your advice ,this was not the news I was hoping to hear . I somehow assumed since this was a 49 state car that has been continuously registered and smogged for 34 years in California that as long as I had all the original equipment installed and working it would pass a smog check as it has since 1985 . I have spent more than I thought on this car than I thought to get back on the road and I'm starting to think I should just try to sale in another state and look for another one .I am going to just take it in to a star station and see what happens and if its possible to get a wavier as a 49 state car . I wish I could ask the previous owner how he was getting it to pass a smog check for 34 years but that is not possible .
[/quote]

well i can only speak as an australian down here and of course our laws would differ significantly. but if i keep my car continuously registered i am not faced with annual roadworthy checks and we don't do smog etc. but the minute i let the registration lapse and the car goes off the road i can find myself in a world of pain getting it back on the road. likely for instance i would have to lose my original windscreen because they have a kind of blanket thing about windscreens down here, they must make you put a new one in regardless. they will use the tiniest chip to condemn it. rhe smallest trace of an oil leak etc.

so possibly if the car has been off the road and the registration has lapsed in Cali that could be a hitch. the only way you will know will be to front up at the desk at DMV and ask the question with all your documentation to demonstrate its previous registration history. as jeff suggests.

it is certainly significant that the car was registered in cali from 85 to 2019. and was smogged. and if it hasn't left the state since it went off the road and it has been only in your ownership since going off the road while remaining in state i would think that would get you listened to.

i'd give it a try down at the desk.

i dunno how it goes stateside but when you want to do something like this the best place to go here for such inquiries is a country vehicle registration office in a regional area.
not a big city office. the staff are way friendlier and more helpful.

[wonkipop]

on the question of how the previous owner got the car past smog as a 49 state car for so many years i have remembered something about my car being smogged back in 90 in chicago. i pulled the papers out of a box to have a look again.
what i see is that i got two chances to get the car to pass.
the idea being if you took it in and it failed they gave you another slip to keep driving for a month and you had to take it for a tune up. then you could go back take a second test and submit the invoice for the tune up and i guess maybe a mechanics short report.
if the car did not pass the second test, but you had paid for a tune up and the new car warranty and emissions warranty was expired well they just gave you a pass even if it failed. they did not put the car off the road.

you still basically had to go every two years to do a smog.
and all they were kind of doing was making you pay for a tune up at most.

so maybe california law was like that back in the 80s.
past a certain date, the car would have been what 10 years old.
well out of its new car and emissions warranty. i think emissions was 5 years or 50,000 miles. so maybe cali was like chicago. if you tuned it and it still failed at a second test they let you keep it on the road anyway. and i guess if you never sold the car and continuously owned it you never triggered any new laws brought in. like junker legislation or the rolling emission cut offs which got frozen at 1976 whenever that was in more recent times.

[wonkipop]

@JeffBowlsby

you always throw up interesting info mr. b (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
and since i reluctantly became something of a evap emissions "historian" with the unravelling of the tangle of hoses in the 74 1.8s i kind of take notice of where the can moved around the car during the life of the 914. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

diving into the marvelous resource of material on your website to take a look at that sinister computer fuel cut off i noticed this image.

looks like the cannister did one final move for those 75-76 cali spec 2.0 L cars.
no room on the side of the battery like the 75 1.8s. so its on the top of the fan casting.
another bit of useless info i will never have need of. but someone might.




i don't believe i have ever seen an image of a fully intact 75/76 2.0 L californian spec car to have noticed this before. i think everything i have seen must be either 49 state cars or cars that have had all their smog equipment deleted. the ones i have seen seem to have the cans off the side of the battery tray. so maybe another small point of difference in those last of the 2.0 L s.

[JeffBowlsby]

Yes! It’s in the Service &Training manual. Thx for posting this Michael

[JeffBowlsby]

I have at least one 75 CA 2.0L with the SL box on my website under the Exceptional Cars link. I did not look thru them all. There may be more. Here it is:

https://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/zEC_4752903075-20.jpg

4 locations for the charcoal canister over the years, right?

[wonkipop]

I have at least one 75 CA 2.0L with the SL box on my website under the Exceptional Cars link. I did not look thru them all. There may be more. Here it is:

https://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/zEC_4752903075-20.jpg

4 locations for the charcoal canister over the years, right?

ah - i see now.
in the service training manual they have unbolted the charcoal can and positioned it out of the way to take the photo in order to show the fuel limiter box.

so there is only the 3 locations always noted.
frunk, rear of engine bay and side of battery tray.

[JeffBowlsby]

I have at least one 75 CA 2.0L with the SL box on my website under the Exceptional Cars link. I did not look thru them all. There may be more. Here it is:

https://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/zEC_4752903075-20.jpg

4 locations for the charcoal canister over the years, right?

ah - i see now.
in the service training manual they have unbolted the charcoal can and positioned it out of the way to take the photo in order to show the fuel limiter box.

so there is only the 3 locations always noted.
frunk, rear of engine bay and side of battery tray.

No, I’ve seen it parallel to the front engine bay firewall, I think it’s mounted to the fan housing. Later cars. 76s I think. Maybe I have photos somewhere.

[Ron914]

When I bought the car I had to go to the DMV and pay all back fees from 2019 to 2022 when the car was donated . I now have a title in my name and was told I only need to pass an initial(two year) smog test to get my tags .I took the car off non-op and have paid for 2022/2023/2024 registration tags .I was also told should the car not pass I had to pay some small fee to get to be able to drive it . The laws here in California are a bit confusing . I now remember a long time ago I had a 71 bug with a 1835cc motor and failed the smog test because of a visual inspection, I had to reinstall the oil bath air cleaner,vacuum advanced distributor and original solex carburator and take it to a BAR shop. It still failed and they ended up giving me a waiver. I am just going to take it in with the 49 state equipment on it and see what happens . Maybe they will give me a wavier again . I really don't want to have to try and source all the smog equipment that came on a 1976 California 2.0L or sell the car .I've put my blood and sweat into this car(and not to mention a few $) and have become quite fond of it . This is a project car so when I get a chance to finish installing the new smog air pump and take it to a smog station I will update this post .
Thank you Wonkipop & Jeff for your thoughts and information .
Ron

[L-Jet914]

If you have a plate number you can see the pass/fail smog of the vehicle over the years. It's available to anyone on the Bureau of Automotive Repair website. https://bar.ca.gov/inspection. I can also confirm what components were required for your vehicle.

[fiacra]

@Ron914

Thank you bothT for your advice ,this was not the news I was hoping to hear . I somehow assumed since this was a 49 state car that has been continuously registered and smogged for 34 years in California that as long as I had all the original equipment installed and working it would pass a smog check as it has since 1985 . I have spent more than I thought on this car than I thought to get back on the road and I'm starting to think I should just try to sale in another state and look for another one .I am going to just take it in to a star station and see what happens and if its possible to get a wavier as a 49 state car . I wish I could ask the previous owner how he was getting it to pass a smog check for 34 years but that is not possible .

@Ron914
You don't need a waiver. I have brought a 49 state car into California before (not a 914) and at the time I was told that as long as it is labeled as a Federally compliant car and not labeled as a car originally sold in California it will not be disqualified for not having the California smog package installed on it. You still have to pass the smog check and meet all the emissions requirements. The car must have all of its original equipment on it (for example, it cannot have been converted to carbs). My advice is that if you are ready to try and get it smogged, go for it. Give it a good run on the freeway and make sure it is fully warmed up and not sitting before being tested. Obviously it must be in good tune. If you fail the test the first time just look at the numbers and tune it from there. For example, if the HC is high then lean out the mixture a bit until you get it right. You can play with the timing to affect the numbers, or change the heat range on the spark plugs, etc. I went through this with a '79 Super Beetle with L-Jet, and it took seven tries but I did get it to pass. I then sold it as quick as I could (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . Here's the link to that thread on the Samba if you want to see what I went through with that car.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic...03348a6294adfdb

Lots of information and advice on the Samba about how to pass the CA smog check, but it will all be about L-Jet. Nonetheless you might find it helpful.

I know there is at least one member in SoCal who has a '76 that they swear passes smog check every two years without problems. You might be able to do the same. But just remember you will have to smog it every two years and if you have trouble this time you can bet it won't get easier.

Here's the link to find out the smog history for your car. All you need is the license plate number. It won't tell you where it was tested, but it will tell you when it was tested and if it passed. I routinely check that when I'm looking at a used car. If it has a number of failed tests I keep looking.
https://www.bar.ca.gov/inspection

[L-Jet914]

Also that is the wrong FI for your car. Your 1976 car should have a L jet instead of that D jet. Personally I prefer the L jet anyhow since it is quite a bit more mechanically robust in terms of all the connectors and wiring. I think the manifolds will have holes for three studs buy your heads will have four.

Um, no. 1976 914 2.0L GC code engines are DJet, 3 stud heads. The 912E is LJet maybe that’s what you are thinking about.

yeah jeffs right.
no 76 l jet 1.8s.

but the 76 D jet california 2.0 is in fact identical to the 75 D jet californian.
its not a different set up.
we did discover in all the californian air resources board certification material that the 76 models though classified as 76 MY were allowed to conform with 75 MY standards under the provision that all cars were manufactured before jan 01 1976 calendar year.
ie they were 1975 manfucture.

this is in fact why the 76s are only a half year car.
and similarly the 912E is also a half year car in terms of MY.
the 912s conform to 76 MY CARB regs and in order to do that those engines ran the L jet not the 914s. the 912E is the second half of 1976 MY car.
all were an interim provision until the 924 could arrive in the USA.

it doesn't really help a 76 model year 914 owner with passing smog.
as noted, its got to be all intact on the car.
but in terms of obtaining the emissions equipment the 76 is exactly shared with the 75 but it does have to be the california engine not the 75 49 states engine.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

apparently (as reported by one member here) many years ago a deal was made with some 76 owners to be released with conforming to that 75 cut off year due to the technicality of the original CARB certification that accepted that 76 914s were for the purposes of certification 75. but since that time the authorities have cracked down and no longer allow that special case.

EDIT
you need the works for 76 california smog.
cat.
EGR.
smog pump.
even the exhaust system (semi exhaust reactor heat exchangers).
the whole muffler set up which has the cat along with the EGR bleed tube.
its a fair bit of stuff.
and don't forget the emission sticker.
someone posted here they want to see the emission sticker in the engine bay. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/screwy.gif)

better off with a 75.
same car. exactly same car.
no smog obligations.

Hello,
I was reading your post and I am in California and purchased a 1976 914 that is a 49 state car that has a sticker on the drivers door jamb that say Non-Catalyist ,it does have a smog pump that I have just found a good replacement for .I have read many of your smog in California posts and have a question.My car was initially sold in Michigan,then moved to Colorado and finally was sold to someone in California in 1985 and has been registered in California continuously until 2019 when it was then donated to a cars for charity organization .I acquired it in 2022 . I am now in the process of trying to get it registered in California . I have 25K invested so far and it seems like I am fighting a losing battle based on all the posts I read on the subject of registering a 1976 model in California. My engine has been rebuilt and all the 49 state smog equipment is intact and working but no cat. What are your thoughts about my endeavor.
Thank you
Ron

If your car is a 49-state vehicle (Federal Certified) and is a non-catalyst it smogs at a 49-state vehicle with all it's required equipment. You will not need a catalytic converter. So with your vehicle it's all about the fuel mixture, timing, egr, secondary air injection (air injection/smog pump). The pass fail standards (cut points) have really lowered it seems to try and get these vehicles off the road. I know that it's been in talks with the CARB and BAR to exempt 1976-1995 vehicles from the smog program entirely but the date/year has not been set in stone yet. Then all 96-newer vehicles will transfer over to the OIS inspection system (OBD Inspection System) (no tail pipe testing).

[L-Jet914]

Everything required for a California certified 1976 914 2.0L https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/...pc_a-7-14-r.pdf
I see @wonkipop beat me to the punch haha. EGR system (valve and tubing), CAT, EGR reset counter, 76 cluster with CAT and EGR lights, CAT temp sensor, heat exchangers, catalytic converter, air injection pump, diverter valve (if equipped), secondary air injection rails (tubing), distributor (with correct part number),76 computer and MPS (with proper part number).

[L-Jet914]

yes its out of a 73 2.0, im not to worried about smog but we will have to see how it goes, at this point just trying to get it up and running with fuel injection. Literally every thing has been removed that should be there for smog and fuel injection

73 equipment will not fly for a CA smog inspection. As the part numbers required for a 76 are different and if the smog technician knows what to look for and where to look for the correct information will end up failing the car for modified equipment.

[Ron914]

@Ron914

Thank you bothT for your advice ,this was not the news I was hoping to hear . I somehow assumed since this was a 49 state car that has been continuously registered and smogged for 34 years in California that as long as I had all the original equipment installed and working it would pass a smog check as it has since 1985 . I have spent more than I thought on this car than I thought to get back on the road and I'm starting to think I should just try to sale in another state and look for another one .I am going to just take it in to a star station and see what happens and if its possible to get a wavier as a 49 state car . I wish I could ask the previous owner how he was getting it to pass a smog check for 34 years but that is not possible .

@Ron914
You don't need a waiver. I have brought a 49 state car into California before (not a 914) and at the time I was told that as long as it is labeled as a Federally compliant car and not labeled as a car originally sold in California it will not be disqualified for not having the California smog package installed on it. You still have to pass the smog check and meet all the emissions requirements. The car must have all of its original equipment on it (for example, it cannot have been converted to carbs). My advice is that if you are ready to try and get it smogged, go for it. Give it a good run on the freeway and make sure it is fully warmed up and not sitting before being tested. Obviously it must be in good tune. If you fail the test the first time just look at the numbers and tune it from there. For example, if the HC is high then lean out the mixture a bit until you get it right. You can play with the timing to affect the numbers, or change the heat range on the spark plugs, etc. I went through this with a '79 Super Beetle with L-Jet, and it took seven tries but I did get it to pass. I then sold it as quick as I could (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . Here's the link to that thread on the Samba if you want to see what I went through with that car.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic...03348a6294adfdb

Lots of information and advice on the Samba about how to pass the CA smog check, but it will all be about L-Jet. Nonetheless you might find it helpful.

I know there is at least one member in SoCal who has a '76 that they swear passes smog check every two years without problems. You might be able to do the same. But just remember you will have to smog it every two years and if you have trouble this time you can bet it won't get easier.

Here's the link to find out the smog history for your car. All you need is the license plate number. It won't tell you where it was tested, but it will tell you when it was tested and if it passed. I routinely check that when I'm looking at a used car. If it has a number of failed tests I keep looking.
https://www.bar.ca.gov/inspection

Thank you so much for that link . I put in my license plate and it showed 14 tests since 1996 12 passes,1 fail and 1 gross polluter. also listed was the following information , star station -required ,refereee certification-no ,program enhanced . It sounds like I have a good chance it should pass .I have rebuilt the motor and other than the idle still a bit high at 1150 ( I will work on that ) it seems to run well.When I got the car the motor had already been torn down in preparation for a rebuild and I found that a few critical parts were missing or damaged and the pulley was missing from the air injection pump ( I located another one from a 914 world member that had a local garage sale ) .Since I have all the 49 state original equipment on the car I feel encouraged it just might pass . After looking at it in my garage for over two years I just might get to finally drive it legally .

[L-Jet914]

@Ron914

Thank you bothT for your advice ,this was not the news I was hoping to hear . I somehow assumed since this was a 49 state car that has been continuously registered and smogged for 34 years in California that as long as I had all the original equipment installed and working it would pass a smog check as it has since 1985 . I have spent more than I thought on this car than I thought to get back on the road and I'm starting to think I should just try to sale in another state and look for another one .I am going to just take it in to a star station and see what happens and if its possible to get a wavier as a 49 state car . I wish I could ask the previous owner how he was getting it to pass a smog check for 34 years but that is not possible .

@Ron914
You don't need a waiver. I have brought a 49 state car into California before (not a 914) and at the time I was told that as long as it is labeled as a Federally compliant car and not labeled as a car originally sold in California it will not be disqualified for not having the California smog package installed on it. You still have to pass the smog check and meet all the emissions requirements. The car must have all of its original equipment on it (for example, it cannot have been converted to carbs). My advice is that if you are ready to try and get it smogged, go for it. Give it a good run on the freeway and make sure it is fully warmed up and not sitting before being tested. Obviously it must be in good tune. If you fail the test the first time just look at the numbers and tune it from there. For example, if the HC is high then lean out the mixture a bit until you get it right. You can play with the timing to affect the numbers, or change the heat range on the spark plugs, etc. I went through this with a '79 Super Beetle with L-Jet, and it took seven tries but I did get it to pass. I then sold it as quick as I could (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . Here's the link to that thread on the Samba if you want to see what I went through with that car.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic...03348a6294adfdb

Lots of information and advice on the Samba about how to pass the CA smog check, but it will all be about L-Jet. Nonetheless you might find it helpful.

I know there is at least one member in SoCal who has a '76 that they swear passes smog check every two years without problems. You might be able to do the same. But just remember you will have to smog it every two years and if you have trouble this time you can bet it won't get easier.

Here's the link to find out the smog history for your car. All you need is the license plate number. It won't tell you where it was tested, but it will tell you when it was tested and if it passed. I routinely check that when I'm looking at a used car. If it has a number of failed tests I keep looking.
https://www.bar.ca.gov/inspection

Thank you so much for that link . I put in my license plate and it showed 14 tests since 1996 12 passes,1 fail and 1 gross polluter. also listed was the following information , star station -required ,refereee certification-no ,program enhanced . It sounds like I have a good chance it should pass .I have rebuilt the motor and other than the idle still a bit high at 1150 ( I will work on that ) it seems to run well.When I got the car the motor had already been torn down in preparation for a rebuild and I found that a few critical parts were missing or damaged and the pulley was missing from the air injection pump ( I located another one from a 914 world member that had a local garage sale ) .Since I have all the 49 state original equipment on the car I feel encouraged it just might pass . After looking at it in my garage for over two years I just might get to finally drive it legally .

You're welcome. The link I posted is available to all consumers trying to do research on their own car or a car their purchasing. STAR station is the new Test Only centers. Best of luck with your smog test inspection.

[wonkipop]

I have at least one 75 CA 2.0L with the SL box on my website under the Exceptional Cars link. I did not look thru them all. There may be more. Here it is:

https://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/zEC_4752903075-20.jpg

4 locations for the charcoal canister over the years, right?

ah - i see now.
in the service training manual they have unbolted the charcoal can and positioned it out of the way to take the photo in order to show the fuel limiter box.

so there is only the 3 locations always noted.
frunk, rear of engine bay and side of battery tray.

No, I’ve seen it parallel to the front engine bay firewall, I think it’s mounted to the fan housing. Later cars. 76s I think. Maybe I have photos somewhere.

ok

i have some photos of intact 76 49 states and they still mount next to battery.
maybe there is a fourth location.
the one you linked to on your website has the can off the side of battery and the evil computer unit is underneath it.

it is always interesting.
never thought i would become an emissions nerd. ha. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[wonkipop]

Everything required for a California certified 1976 914 2.0L https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/...pc_a-7-14-r.pdf
I see @wonkipop beat me to the punch haha. EGR system (valve and tubing), CAT, EGR reset counter, 76 cluster with CAT and EGR lights, CAT temp sensor, heat exchangers, catalytic converter, air injection pump, diverter valve (if equipped), secondary air injection rails (tubing), distributor (with correct part number),76 computer and MPS (with proper part number).

L jet would know.
he is the man who put us on to the dreaded CARB archive.

[wonkipop]

@Ron914

Thank you bothT for your advice ,this was not the news I was hoping to hear . I somehow assumed since this was a 49 state car that has been continuously registered and smogged for 34 years in California that as long as I had all the original equipment installed and working it would pass a smog check as it has since 1985 . I have spent more than I thought on this car than I thought to get back on the road and I'm starting to think I should just try to sale in another state and look for another one .I am going to just take it in to a star station and see what happens and if its possible to get a wavier as a 49 state car . I wish I could ask the previous owner how he was getting it to pass a smog check for 34 years but that is not possible .

@Ron914
You don't need a waiver. I have brought a 49 state car into California before (not a 914) and at the time I was told that as long as it is labeled as a Federally compliant car and not labeled as a car originally sold in California it will not be disqualified for not having the California smog package installed on it. You still have to pass the smog check and meet all the emissions requirements. The car must have all of its original equipment on it (for example, it cannot have been converted to carbs). My advice is that if you are ready to try and get it smogged, go for it. Give it a good run on the freeway and make sure it is fully warmed up and not sitting before being tested. Obviously it must be in good tune. If you fail the test the first time just look at the numbers and tune it from there. For example, if the HC is high then lean out the mixture a bit until you get it right. You can play with the timing to affect the numbers, or change the heat range on the spark plugs, etc. I went through this with a '79 Super Beetle with L-Jet, and it took seven tries but I did get it to pass. I then sold it as quick as I could (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . Here's the link to that thread on the Samba if you want to see what I went through with that car.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic...03348a6294adfdb

Lots of information and advice on the Samba about how to pass the CA smog check, but it will all be about L-Jet. Nonetheless you might find it helpful.

I know there is at least one member in SoCal who has a '76 that they swear passes smog check every two years without problems. You might be able to do the same. But just remember you will have to smog it every two years and if you have trouble this time you can bet it won't get easier.

Here's the link to find out the smog history for your car. All you need is the license plate number. It won't tell you where it was tested, but it will tell you when it was tested and if it passed. I routinely check that when I'm looking at a used car. If it has a number of failed tests I keep looking.
https://www.bar.ca.gov/inspection

Thank you so much for that link . I put in my license plate and it showed 14 tests since 1996 12 passes,1 fail and 1 gross polluter. also listed was the following information , star station -required ,refereee certification-no ,program enhanced . It sounds like I have a good chance it should pass .I have rebuilt the motor and other than the idle still a bit high at 1150 ( I will work on that ) it seems to run well.When I got the car the motor had already been torn down in preparation for a rebuild and I found that a few critical parts were missing or damaged and the pulley was missing from the air injection pump ( I located another one from a 914 world member that had a local garage sale ) .Since I have all the 49 state original equipment on the car I feel encouraged it just might pass . After looking at it in my garage for over two years I just might get to finally drive it legally .

you got to give it a go.
or you will never know.
best of british luck. fingers crossed you win. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[930cabman]

Glad I don't live in Cali