gofstbuick? smog-related, but fringe & almost off-topic ...

The car was purchased from a dealer in so-cal new. I was the 2nd owner, the lady I bought it off of went in to a nursing home so she had to sell it. (it had about 50K miles on it)

I wish the sticker on fan shroud was clearer but I am 95% sure it said California for the emissions. That may be why Joe made sure I got a CA chip not a 49 state one.

The statement of a nursing home resident is hardly proof, LOL.
 
The statement of a nursing home resident is hardly proof, LOL.

No, but I have no reason to not believe the original owner. She bought the car in her early 70s and only sold it because she could not drive anymore after owning it nearly 14 years. All the documentation from the car, oil changes, warranty work, etc from the first oil change was from a local dealer.
 
Apparently Joe hasn't been here since last November ....
The board section title also has Jim Testa listed for east coast. That's a name I haven't heard much since the Buick IRC chat channel.... Joe was a awesome resource for dealing with these cars and smog; hopefully he will be back and chime in.
 
If it helps jog your memory a little, I ran the online smogcheck history on the VIN. Here's the essential results.

8/2/1996 Passed.
6/2/1997 Passed.
8/10/1998 Passed.
6/25/2002 Failed test with Emission Device found to be Tampered.
6/26/2002 (Referee) Failed test with Emission Device found to be Tampered.
7/22/2002 (Referee) Passed.
 
On this California ceritification issue, things are far worse for the Chevy TPI 350.

1985 -- no EOs
1986 -- federal version certified
1987 -- no EOs
1988 -- federal version certified
1989 -- no EOs
1990 -- federal version certified
1991 -- no EOs
1992 -- federal version certified
 
This continues to bug me. Maybe someday I'll get used to never being able to reconcile these facts. The issue doesn't affect me personally -- except in how it bugs me! :ROFLMAO:

BTW, I believe someone also misspelled Joe's name. I think it's supposed to be Cheung, not Chung.
 
I think I may have found the answer as to how the '85 was sold in California. According to the GM parts catalog, the emissions label that TType85 wishes he had a better shot of in post #13 was tied to RPO NN5, "Emission System California Override." I haven't tracked down the explanation of that yet, but I strongly suspect it means the '85 was sold under GM's authority to issue revised emission control system parts for the '84, under the CARB EO for the '84. After all, the motor was identical, except for MAF and PROM tweaking. Anyway, it's a strong scent on the trail. What it would mean for an engine swap, I wouldn't venture to guess.
 
This would also explain why TType85 had to use the California chip for his '86 swap: the Referee viewed his '85 as an '84 parts revision, therefore California certified.

Which should make an '85 engine legal to swap into a California car. Although proving that to a Referee could get complicated. :LOL:
 
Cat-and-mouse game looking for RPO NN5. No "official" explanation, and nobody else seems to know. A couple of Corvette sites add Federal Offset Vehicle to the description.

More recently, the EPA has rules for dealers selling vehicles to be registered in another state. The GM RPOs for this are called Federal or California Override, as appropriate. None of them is NN5.

Maybe I'll finally get tired of this and wander away. :poop:
 
RPO sticker. NN5 looks like it is there.

337885
 
Sure is. Along with NA5, "Emission System, Federal Requirements."

Now if we just knew exactly what it means ....
 
It means, "California has power over your ride, you have none." Kalifornia uber alles, as they say.
 
So I guess if I want to know I'll have to dig through the laws and regulations, federal and state, then call the BAR Engine Change Hotline and ask for technical support to see if they know anything about it. Like tearing a motor apart chasing a small problem.
 
Top