Am I going to need to put cats back on my 79 Z or will I be ok with out them, I was browsing the NPD book and in one of the pictures it shows for a layout it shows a cat in the system, now when I got my car, It dident have a cat on it, was the guy before me lucky to get a sticker or do I not need one here in MA?

If your state has an emissions program you'll have to put a converter on it. Your car only came with one though I'm pretty sure. You might check to see if it's exempt from emissions due to it's age, like my 71.

It is FEDERAL LAW regardless if your state check's and require's it or not so go from there!!

pdq67

Okay, let's see here: AFAIK (and that's the big discalimer here) it is illegal to remove the cat from a vehicle originally equipped with one.
NY or Federal (I forget which) mandates that if you get a car that has had the cat removed you may not replace the piece of pipe that in place of the cat with anything but a cat.
In other words, if someone installed a "test pipe" (which I happen to have on my car, from a previous owner) you may replace everything in front of the test pipe, and everything behind it, and you are okay. Replace the test pipe with another one and you are breaking the law.

Federal law also does not allow you to install a cat on a car not originally equipped with one, or two on a car only available with one.

Many inspection stations don't even bother looking. Sometimes you may have to find one that won't look. That's how most people get around the whole issue.

Hey Mac..

Here in MA, They do not do emissions checking on vehicles 25+ years old (soon to be all cars that aren't OBD2). You can go without cats and get a sticker, technically you need all the original emissions stuff but it will not be looked for, at least it never has been in my Experience's. If your worried a bout a place to pass you, I can point you to the right direction. BTW, the way the law is written (according to an exhaust shop I used to deal with). It is illegal to remove the cats, but it's not illegal to work on the car without them, IE your not at fault.

Where in MA are you. I'm in Newton

Thanks 57LT, Im in boylston, not to far from you.

not at all. Again, lemme know if you need a shop for a sticker ;) rememeber, not having cats isnt illegal, removing them is.

Rememeber, not having cats isnt illegal, removing them is.
Definitely true.
However, I do know that in New York part of the annual inspection is to visually check to see that all emissions equipment is installed and functioning. You could be denied a sticker for not having the cats. I have never heard of it happening though.

Definitely true.
However, I do know that in New York part of the annual inspection is to visually check to see that all emissions equipment is installed and functioning. You could be denied a sticker for not having the cats. I have never heard of it happening though.

x2 same here

Is there anything saying I couldent have them on for the sticker, then take them out until the next sticker?

a previous owner put dual cats on my 81, why wouldnt that be legal the exhaust would be cleaner.(just curious here in Indiana they dont check anyway)

That would be completely against Federal and state laws, and if you got caught you'd get in trouble, but other than that as long as you're not living in California you should be okay.

On a related note, one of the guys I used to work with used to do something similar in Connecticut. He'd bring his Chevelle in for the annual emissions test, get the sticker, and then pull into the parking lot and swap the cam for his normal cam.
One day he was told "Hey, you can't do that!"
His reply was "I've got my sticker, I'm good for another year and there's nothing you can do."

Nova, it's a federal law, why do you expect it to make sense?
Some people have their cars tuned to the point where the emissions are lower without cats than others with cats, but that isn't an adequate argument. It's the letter of the law that bureaucrats want followed, not the intent of the law.

With my 76 Camaro I used to have, I took the heat shields off a couple cats and just clamped them over the pipes and it passed with no trouble. I've still got em out in the shed somewhere I think too.

On a related note, one of the guys I used to work with used to do something similar in Connecticut. He'd bring his Chevelle in for the annual emissions test, get the sticker, and then pull into the parking lot and swap the cam for his normal cam.

Parking lot ?.....Couldn't he wait till he got home? :)

It's the letter of the law that bureaucrats want followed, not the intent of the law.

Too bad they can't wrap their heads around the immigration laws. :)

hmm so basically (although im sure not innj cause nj sucks) i bought my car with a good sticker and no cats, i can just do my x-pipe and mufflers and be fine? the thing is how do you prove that cats werent on when you bought it? also a few years back when i had my 78 type ly i went to inspection with 1 cat and dual pipes. they told me i needed a cat on the other pipe.

hmm so basically (although im sure not innj cause nj sucks) i bought my car with a good sticker and no cats, i can just do my x-pipe and mufflers and be fine? the thing is how do you prove that cats werent on when you bought it? also a few years back when i had my 78 type ly i went to inspection with 1 cat and dual pipes. they told me i needed a cat on the other pipe.
There really is no way to legally install a dual exhaust on a '75-'81 Camaro. You would need to run a y-pipe to a cat and then run a single exhaust (like stock) or a second y-pipe and then two mufflers.
If you got to the inspection station and the pipe where the cat should be is nice and new you would have a really hard time convincing the inspector that it's been like that for years, since before you bought the car.

hmm well thats crap then. guess instead of spending time planning exhaust to meet the motor ill just go single exhaust and a big ol turbo then:crazy: