Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Sooo

[JOHN ASHBURNE (jashburne]

I had Dick Fritz of Amerispec install cats on my 400i so it would pass CT 
emissions. It did so easily but the moron at the state inspection station tore 
a hole in one of the brand new cats when he drove the car onto some brake 
testing platform too quickly. They paid for a new cat with no hassle but it was 
still a pain in the ass. 

Dick had included “test pipes” so that I could remove the cats after each 
biannual inspection. The day in 2008 when the 25 year old 400i became exempt 
from emissions testing was celebrated by me!

John

Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 20, 2021, at 8:49 AM, scott saidel <Scott_Saidel [at] hotmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> Yeah, the PaPa’s had the far uglier giant black bumper solution. 
> 
> If it becomes mine, first thing to go. 
> 
> Scottie 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Oct 20, 2021, at 8:33 AM, Lashdeep Singh <lashdeep [at] yahoo.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Scottie, the front plate story was good!
>> 
>> Some of the early Countach imports used a front wing to qualify as a bumper 
>> during DOT approval a la Cannonball Run car.
>> 
>> [cid:DDCB8784-9309-44F0-BADE-CAE47D843897-L0-001]
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Oct 20, 2021, at 07:09, scott saidel <Scott_Saidel [at] hotmail.com> 
>> wrote:
>> 
>>  Doug
>> 
>> When NJ had its yearly inspection and smog tests, we had to go to great 
>> lengths to get the Countach to pass.  Tuned it down so lean that it barely 
>> idled.  Added a cut out that blew part of the exhaust out, under the car.  
>> Still was dicey. NJ eventually allowed certain shops to certify cars that 
>> failed, for a few bucks - car would magically pass without such shenanigans.
>> 
>> A related, funny story.  NJ required a front plate. Countach didn’t even 
>> have a mount and usually didn’t display one.  For the inspection, The PaPa 
>> used double sided tape to attach his to the front bumper.
>> 
>> Part of the test (after the dyno) was a short acceleration, followed by a 
>> brake test.  Having just (apparently barely) passed the dyno, guy gets in 
>> the car, launches it down the lane, slams on the brakes, and sends the front 
>> plate flying off the front of the car - where it flew several yards, clanked 
>> on the ground, and spun on the floor in front of the crowd that the car had 
>> drawn. (That car has an uncanny ability to draw a crowd)
>> 
>> Well, the guy gets out of the car, looks at the front, where the plate had 
>> been, picks up the plate, hands it to my dad and tells him that he will give 
>> it a pass but that he should “repair that faulty bracket”.
>> 
>> The whole process was crazy - even with a normal car waiting for the 
>> inspection cost an entire day, most of it waiting in the long lines at the 
>> inspection site.  As a young ‘greenie’ I often wondered how much pollution 
>> was generated by all those idling cars waiting in line. My concerns were 
>> validated, later when I was working in NY government and a commission that 
>> was established to evaluate removing the barrier tolls on the parkways 
>> actually did a study that showed a huge environmental outfall from the far 
>> briefer lines that built up when people stopped to toss their quarters. 
>> Never live next to a highway- depending on the wind you are breathing poison 
>> all day.
>> 
>> On the flip side, read an article the other day - apparently, as a result of 
>> the massive improvements in tail pipe emissions over the years, it has 
>> become much more difficult to asphyxiate yourself with the park the running 
>> car in the garage method (although, with the advent of keyless ignitions, 
>> people are now managing to forget to turn off their cars, leaving them 
>> running all night and accidentally killing everyone in the house)
>> 
>> Scottie
>> 
>> Still here dispute no Ferrari ownership.  But open to donations.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Oct 20, 2021, at 2:04 AM, Douglas Anderson <dnt [at] dock.net> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Rick notes “AJ is right.  When the 911 started peeing on their garage 
>> floors, the honeymoon was over.”
>> 
>> Early to late 70’s was hell for the US imports auto industry.  Even the Old 
>> Man made up his mind – screw ‘em – we aren’t going to import a variety of 
>> our line.  What with DOT and emissions choaking the engines even (even??)  
>> the Corvette couldn’t sell a manual transmissioned car in Kalifornia.  And 
>> the phenomenal horse power?  165 Hp.  Ohhhh – wee.  And 15+ seconds in the 
>> quarter mile.  Heh.  No Jan and Dean or Beach Boys car songs or Ronny and 
>> the Daytona’s for THAT era.  Little GTO yer really looking fine . . three 
>> gears left in your four speed – listen to them grind – I’ma gonna wind it 
>> up, grind it up blow it up .. GTO.
>> 
>> So in 1967, along comes Porsche.  Proud as ever for making the largest 
>> pressure cast magnesium engine block in 1968.  Ayep prizes, kudos, things to 
>> put on the wall.  And as the engine progressed through 2.0 to 2.2 to 2.4 and 
>> finally 2.7 things weren’t looking so good on old Porscheplatz #1 in 
>> Stuttgart.  That mag case would wiggle and wander and pull studs and leak 
>> like a sieve – except the underpowered, for the time, 911 T.  It just leaked 
>> a little.
>> 
>> To add to the mag case woes – the wonderful 3 into 1 exhaust (x 2 two cyl 
>> banks) was out and Kalifornia INSISTED on certain stringent emission levels. 
>> To meet those levels Porsche added, taaa taaaa, the  THERMAL reactor.  An 
>> exhaust log manifold to replace the 3 into 1 log manifold.  The thermal 
>> reactor was ducted into the heat exchanger for cabin heat which after a 
>> peppy run would glow red hot and could light a Churchill cigar.  Oh yeah – 
>> and since hot air is lighter than cool and displaces the static after engine 
>> shut down cool air after that peppy run and while enjoying your Churchill, 
>> your 911 engine was cooking.  Cooking to the extent any car that got more 
>> than 50,000 miles on the engine was under suspicion.  Seals were turned into 
>> linoleum and the car peed on the garage floor.
>> 
>> In 1977 the engineers who hadn’t been fired, quit, or died came up with an 
>> idea . . . . let’s pull the aluminum cased RSR engine off the shelf, detune 
>> it a bit and drop it in the 1978 911 SC.  Cool (which was said in German).
>> 
>> BUT emissions kept nipping at Porsche’s heals, and also any importer 
>> including Ferrari’s.
>> 
>> By 1980 Porsche picked up a good idea . . . use the O2 sensor Volvo has been 
>> playing with to manage the catalytic converter.  Voila – perfect.  Out goes 
>> the little oxidizing catalytic converter, the air pump and the EGR and in 
>> comes the O2 sensor and a three way cat.
>> 
>> That made a 100,000 to 200,000 mile drive train.
>> 
>> Thus endeth the newly sold peeing Porsche’s.
>> 
>> And so in our house hold today our 1978 308 GTS with it’s wonderful sounding 
>> Weber’s is waiting to be set up (incorrectly) which will end up barely 
>> passing our Kalifornia smog.
>> 
>> Anyone have a magic set of jet specs?  I’m all ears – or eyes.
>> 
>> (sigh)
>> Doug
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