LUVTruck.com

I'm in the market for LUV. Just wondering if I should be really concerned about being able to get a 1976 and up to pass smog in CA. I can get a 1978 for $500 that runs and has a straight body. Or should I keep looking for a 1975 and older?
thanks

i don't think it's that hard to get a good running properly tuned LUV to pass smog. If the '78 is in good shape pick it up. technically, the seller is responsible to get the smog done so it's on him/her..

Just move to Kentucky and you won't have to worry about smog. Plus, that way there will be someone closer to me to swap parts with.

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1980 LUV Mikado 4X4
2003 Chevy S10
http://www.luvtruck.com/Gallery/ChrisGo ... index.html

http://www.myspace.com/luvmikado

How difficult are these trucks to tune yourself?

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78' LUV Mikado, Old

not very, you could always move to AZ, unless your in Phx or Tucson you don't have to worry about smog

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

Not to be a a$$, but why is it that when members from California ask about smog info others always say to move here out there? I know that I would not change my state of residence just so I could get to register a vehicle without smoging it. Bottom line, yes we in California have to smog our cars but we do and we have millions that do it every year.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

How far back dose Cali. go back on smog test anyway

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

1975 and older is no longer tested.

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OK, I'm over it. Where's the beer?

I would think that a 78 LUV would have to be in pretty bad shape to not pass a smog test as they have alot of miles and are not fuel injected.I would just put some ethanol in the fuel and that should help with a bad motor.

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

luvrv8: That is exactly why I tend not to respond to smog questions. I figure if I don't have anything intelligent to say, might as well keep my yap shut.

I'd bet that a lot of LUVs don't necessarily fail smog from the sniff test, but from the inspection. Smog pumps and AIR tubing tends to disappear, EGR gets disconnected, etc. If everything is hooked up and actually works, it should pass unless it really needs rebuilt. Of course, I have never had to test, so I don't know how anal they actually are.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

That about sums it up 800.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

Well that is what i was looking for Thank You.

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

gahh that doesnt really bother me too much. I mean if you live here, esp in So Cal, then you know how crowded it is here and how like 50K more people come to your city every year, cranking up crime, gridlock, and just overcrowding in general. I say Let em invite people out of CA... and if people move out...more room for us.. Right? People like us know... we been here forever and know what to do when it comes to smog. we aint leavin...until that next big quake breaks us strike slip fault dwellers off and into the Pacific and then we are forced to buy Arizona beachfront property...LOL

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1978 LUV Truck 2WD
450 "Small Block" Chevy
3.70 Ford 9
28x10 Goodyears

plus the State will pay for any work it takes to pass after you pay the first $100, as long as the vehicle has not been altered from stock. They just bought me a new Catalytic Converter last year...

Well this car runs great and it will not pass. Mabye this smog guy is taking me for a ride on this. I have no idea if he is or not.
How do you go about getting CA to pay for your smog support?

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78' LUV Mikado, Old

Back in the day when i was working as a mechanic in Sacramento, there was a clause in testing that if the cost to repair smog was more that the worth of the vehicle, you could get a waiver. Has this rule been eliminated?
Also, there was ways to fool the sniffer legally. If the vehicle passed, that meant i could eat that day. If it failed, i didn't make any money on the test.
Has the equipment changed that much over the years?

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Yes it has. I believe you pay if you don't pass also. It's up to the individual shops discretion.
The testing machine is pretty much the same, but it runs the drive wheels on rollers in the floor to put a load on the engine.
And the machine will call Sacramento and report a gross polluter automatically, and then your screwed.

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OK, I'm over it. Where's the beer?