i just moved to this god forsaken wasteland two weeks ago from michigan. the warm welcome i received came in the form of a smog test for my 69 mustang GT. i thought it was a joke at first, or i misunderstood something... no one really tests cars built in the sixties for smog, right? WRONG!!! the wonderful state of Arizona does just that. so i drove my convertible down to the smog center in the 110 degree hell they call summer, "but its a dry heat dont ya know". the car ran perfect, god knows it should considering the money i've put in it!, i got there and failed my first test. apparently the car "pollutes"....who would have guessed.... so i set the timing back to tdc and leaned it way out, then i increased the idle and gave it a tune up, i also put a hipo 289 air cleaner on to see if that helped. so now the car that i spent three years to make perfect runs like crap, im waiting for my 351 to explode at any minute. i went back to the inspection station and again, although just barely, failed the test. this time i had a few choice words for the people running the place..... so here i am: the smog people think im insane and i spent 30 grand on a resto and may have to tear the car apart again. the only thing that is high is the CO loaded, a 4.06 out of 3.75, every thing else is really low. the car has the original 4bbl and i was hoping i wouldn't have to mess with it. the engine is totally rebuilt and i'm worried if i retard the timing any more i may screw it up. is there anything that will lower the CO just enough to pass? and, who else thinks testing cars built before 1974 is ridiculous? Had i known arizona did this i truly would not have moved here.
help with arizona smog!!!
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Hack
15 Year Member
I have no advice, but I have to sympathize with you. Tree huggers just bug me so bad! 
If they had a logical basis for the stuff it would be reduced to an honest disagreement. However, they basically just have their heads up their collective.. well you get my drift.
I love old cars, I'm glad that Minnesota realized quickly that the smog tests weren't doing anything and quit wasting taxpayer dollars on this crap.
If they had a logical basis for the stuff it would be reduced to an honest disagreement. However, they basically just have their heads up their collective.. well you get my drift.I love old cars, I'm glad that Minnesota realized quickly that the smog tests weren't doing anything and quit wasting taxpayer dollars on this crap.
Hc's for a newer car are aound 100 to 120. And much higher for cars with no cats. An almost guranteed pass I would think is to put some temp cats on there. I have also heard of tricks like putting steel wool in your exhaust, may be an urban legend though.
Any state that still requires a smog check on something this old is retarded to say the least. California has the strictest emissions and they gave on that junk years ago.
Any state that still requires a smog check on something this old is retarded to say the least. California has the strictest emissions and they gave on that junk years ago.
Welcome to hell parson! Sorry but you've got to keep your humor when dealing with Arizona DEQ pocket pickers.
I've been going through your ordeal for many years here. 1st with a 1978 Triumph that I sold to get the Mustang. And still with my 77 Toyota Land Cruiser sporting a Chevy small block. That's why my daily driver is a 62 truck and the Mustang I picked is a 66. They don't bother with them if they are 66 or older. There's hope though, legislation is being pushed to adopt the rolling 20 year cut off like CA. Don't hold your breath though. Even the CA envirowhacko's are trying to change that. At this point you still have a few options. Since it's failing under load, the issue is probably internal to the carb, jets and such. And that's a pain to fiddle with, hoping to get lucky. Unless you have your own dyno and sniffer. Some shops around will do it but it costs, and I wouldn't let them under the hood of my car anyway. Try a little something called "guaranteed to pass" or some such thing from the local Checkers or Auto Zone. Added to your tank, it changes the oxygen level or something in the fuel. I have a few friends who have been successful with this. Another way to go is register the vehicle outside of Maricopa County if you know someone you can borrow an address from. You can get away with that if it's not a daily driver. It sounds like your close and you can get it through though. Keep trying, and don't waste your breath on the minimum wage drones manning the station. Most wouldn't know a 4 banger from a V12. They're just following a script. The management types there are usually self important uptight book thumpers and can't be reasoned with. Kind of like a Terminator. It's not really about clean air here, it's about lining the pockets of the emission testing contractors. And don't get me started on the crap gas we have to buy in the winter! Fact is the air gets cleaner every year and that's even with more cars. Because the new cars are burning cleaner all the time. But we don't talk about that, it could cost some one some money.
Hang in there, you'll make it.
And the winters will more than make up for the skillet we're in now. My wife is from Michigan, she'll never go back.
I've been going through your ordeal for many years here. 1st with a 1978 Triumph that I sold to get the Mustang. And still with my 77 Toyota Land Cruiser sporting a Chevy small block. That's why my daily driver is a 62 truck and the Mustang I picked is a 66. They don't bother with them if they are 66 or older. There's hope though, legislation is being pushed to adopt the rolling 20 year cut off like CA. Don't hold your breath though. Even the CA envirowhacko's are trying to change that. At this point you still have a few options. Since it's failing under load, the issue is probably internal to the carb, jets and such. And that's a pain to fiddle with, hoping to get lucky. Unless you have your own dyno and sniffer. Some shops around will do it but it costs, and I wouldn't let them under the hood of my car anyway. Try a little something called "guaranteed to pass" or some such thing from the local Checkers or Auto Zone. Added to your tank, it changes the oxygen level or something in the fuel. I have a few friends who have been successful with this. Another way to go is register the vehicle outside of Maricopa County if you know someone you can borrow an address from. You can get away with that if it's not a daily driver. It sounds like your close and you can get it through though. Keep trying, and don't waste your breath on the minimum wage drones manning the station. Most wouldn't know a 4 banger from a V12. They're just following a script. The management types there are usually self important uptight book thumpers and can't be reasoned with. Kind of like a Terminator. It's not really about clean air here, it's about lining the pockets of the emission testing contractors. And don't get me started on the crap gas we have to buy in the winter! Fact is the air gets cleaner every year and that's even with more cars. Because the new cars are burning cleaner all the time. But we don't talk about that, it could cost some one some money.
Hang in there, you'll make it.
And the winters will more than make up for the skillet we're in now. My wife is from Michigan, she'll never go back.i must admit, i would take the hot summer in arizona any day over the cold winters. its actually a pretty nice state. what's strange is that the government in arizona doesn't usually go out of their way to screw you like they do back east. but smogging cars from the sixties!!! what are they thinking!!! but you're right, it's the tree huggers fault.. today i changed the jets in the carb using ones from a 2bbl. i'm hoping this will fix it. who knows, maybe its time to trade the 69 in for a new ford GT
2nd Mustang
Founding Member
Many years ago, California also required older cars to be smogged tested. What I found worked on a 350 Chevy and a VW Bug, was to retard the timing down to almost "dead" and loosen the carb on the intake manifolds to suck as much air as possible. Both cars passed with questionable smog air pumps and other equiptment. Good luck.
You didn't mention if the high CO was at idle or cruise speeds. CO is directly related to a/f mixture so you just need to lean it out a little more. If it is high at idle then adjust the a/f mixture screw leaner. If it is at cruise then you will have to lower the float level slightly or re-jet. Retarding the timing will lower HC but will not affect CO.
If your gonna stay there. you might consider getting a test carb to pass and having a daily carb to drive. Swapping a carb out takes ten minutes once you are good at it and it is a lot easier than changing jets all the time.
It's amazing to me that a state that allows people to wander malls with side arms gets so wound up about old car emmissions, but I guess a lot of California people have moved their recently.
It's amazing to me that a state that allows people to wander malls with side arms gets so wound up about old car emmissions, but I guess a lot of California people have moved their recently.
oboebrian
Founding Member
Yes AZ is one of the worst states (outside CA) for smog and emissions testing. Just retard the timing, and lean out your carbuntil it barely runs. Make sure there are now vacume leaks (especially if your using a vacuume advance). Then take it to the station off of Dobson between Broadway and Main (on the east side). They are one of the 'looser' stations with some of the older les sensitive equipment. I had problems passing my 72 last time due to it missing, but i found one of the rubber vacuume plugs had disenigrated and one of the spark plug wires loose causing the engine to run rich and very rough. Fixed those two things, retarted the timing and leaned the carb and passed with a wide margin.
BTW welcome to AZ. You picked the wrong time of the year to move here though. PM me sometime and we'll meet up at the Pavilians Car show one Sat night.
BTW welcome to AZ. You picked the wrong time of the year to move here though. PM me sometime and we'll meet up at the Pavilians Car show one Sat night.
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