1975 280Z catalytic converter heat shield ?

[Captain Obvious]

6 hours ago, SteveJ said:

He would never do it. The Supremes don't do pub crawls.

What he said!!     

[Av8ferg]

36 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

That's not the altitude compensator. That's a vacuum delay device for the EGR. The altitude switch lives under the dashboard above the driver's knees. But regardless... Other than wiring harness changes, the CA differences can be pretty easily removed if someone really wants to. But according to the FSM, the CA spec should be built into the VIN.

 

Thanks for making me smarter Bruce.  I didn’t really know what that device did just was my understanding that it was only put on CA Spec cars.   I really don’t think the guys working at the inspection garage will be able to tell of the car is CA spec anyway. 
 

 

[Captain Obvious]

1 hour ago, Av8ferg said:

 I really don’t think the guys working at the inspection garage will be able to tell of the car is CA spec anyway. 

Agreed. And even if they did, I'm not sure they know what a CA spec car is even supposed to have on it. I mean, in CA I bet they would know. But in PA or NC, I'm not so sure.

I've got my PA mechanics inspections license, but back when dinosaurs roamed the earth (when I first got it), I don't even think there WAS such a thing as an emissions inspection. And I'm not sure how detailed the pics and guides are for the older cars. Unless the old curmudgeon mechanic happens to remember what was supposed to go where, I don't think much of anything would fail a visual only inspection. Pretty much everyone would recognize an EGR blockoff plate, but other than that, I don't think any freshie mechanic would know what they were looking for.

Can you imagine some thirty-something at Pep-Boys sticking a head up under the dash looking for the altitude switch?

In other words... I'd fail the crap out of the thing, but I know what I'm looking for and I'm clearly in the curmudgeon category.     

[Zed Head]

Cars that came with a converter have a sticker on the door jamb that says "Catalyst" or "No Catalyst".  Not quite the right word, but it's what they used.  I had to point it out to the guy doing my emissions testing in Oregon, while he was looking underneath for a converter with his mirror.

[Killain]

Thank you, I was thinking last night, and my Z was undercoated by the dealer, now if it had a cat and a heat shield, then it wouldn't have been undercoated where the shielding was bolted on, but as you can see, mine was undercoated all the way through the cars tunnel. So perhaps it wasn't a California car after all ?

Edited January 31, 2022 by Killain

[Zed Head]

Here's the best picture I could find on BAT, from a 76.  "Non Catalyst".

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1976-datsun-280z-59/

[Zed Head]

This looks like the Nissan (anti-) resonator.  Doesn't look like it ever had a converter, so it's federally legal, and are you sure that you have to get one?  Looks like you don't even need to get tested.  1975.

 

Wrong below...wrong state.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-registration/smog-inspections/

Edited January 31, 2022 by Zed Head

[Killain]

No, I think my best direction is getting 'Classic' tags, that way I am not required to have the emissions test, but I still need to have the safety inspection done each year, which I find perfectly OK. It was last registered in 2012 in Michigan. So it has been sitting in a garage the last 10 years. Clean a whistle.

[Zed Head]

Sorry, I got distracted by the California comments, thought you were in CA.  Looks like you're in PA.  CO would know the laws there.

I don't see the EGR valve on your engine either.  Just looks like a dirty old 75 280Z, very nice and clean.

Good luck.

[Captain Obvious]

LOL. Hello? Is this thing on?

Check your VIN. Is it a CA car?

All this stuff I wrote here is incorrect. Registering it as a classic will exempt you from the emissions inspections. Both the visual and the enhanced. See post further down for more detail.

I'll double check when I get a chance, but registering it as a classic won't get you out of the visual test. The visual is part of the annual safety inspection. Registering it as a classic would get you out of the enhanced emissions test, but that is moot... Due to the year (1975) you are already exempt from the enhanced emissions inspection.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Captain Obvious

[Zed Head]

18 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

But there is no functional test for anything other than the gas cap. It's all "make sure it's still there" kind of thing.

That could actually be a tough one.  My 76 cap seals were shot and you can't get a replacement cap for less than hundred + dollars.  And the seals are not easily repaired.

https://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/11-3221

Edited January 31, 2022 by Zed Head

[Captain Obvious]

5 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

I don't see the EGR valve on your engine either.  Just looks like a dirty old 75 280Z, very nice and clean.

Right. I don't remember offhand what the EGR requirements were for each year. Some of the cars were required to have them and some others were not. I do know that all 73's and 74's had it, but I also know some of the earlier 280's did not. I bet Datsun convinced the feds that the new fangled EFI system was good enough without EGR at first.

I would have to look through a couple years of the FSM's to refresh my memory, of the details I wouldn't be surprised if EGR wasn't on 75 at all, or if it was only on the CA cars. I'll check when I can.