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For Those of Us Subject to CA Smog Testing

Don't get me wrong I like California it does have alot to offer but I hate all the taxes and how much it cost to live here and the way it is run , you try to vote to change things and it never goes the way you want . So I'm looking to move when I retire in a few years .
 
The kicker is smog testing an old classic car that is driven maybe 200 miles in two years. I am lucky the test falls in July, as that little convertible is never taken out in the rainy season. Still, it is a huge waste considering the amount the car was driven.

California used to exempt cars 30 years or older, but Rep. Sally Lieber, (D) of Mt. View led the change in the law that ended the 30 year exemption She is the most hated person of classic car hobbyists around here. I got three cars that would have been exempt had it not been for her.

the smog is worse from fireplace heat, and a lot of people do burn woodfires now, even in crowded cities. this is in part do to the high cost of gas and electric, taxed like crazy for global warming, or do to the blackouts caused by poor planning of power plant use, and lack of power line maintenance.
So we now choke on wood smoke in the winter, yet that is ok with the rulers as wood smog is carbon neutral so they say, yet our classic cars are evil and they want them crushed. The state sends me yearly offers to crush my cars in return for $1500 each!
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While my Jeep is my daily driver, I don't drive very far due to everything being so close here. My smog check in 2018 was 203804 miles. In 2020 it was 206494. That's a whopping 2690 miles driven in 2 years.

Although retired now, even when I actively worked, I was based out of a home office and most of my out of office travel was to the airport. Over the past 16 years, I avg 3400 miles/year based on the mileage report on my smog checks.
 
yeah, I'm going to stick with kansas. It may be annoying to live in an incredibly red state but I can do what ever I want to my jeep and no one cares! I could swap out 1 ton axles, throw in a carburated 427 with a blower and cut the body down to a tube frame and just send in my yearly payment for tags, lol.
 
yeah, I'm going to stick with kansas. It may be annoying to live in an incredibly red state but I can do what ever I want to my jeep and no one cares! I could swap out 1 ton axles, throw in a carburated 427 with a blower and cut the body down to a tube frame and just send in my yearly payment for tags, lol.

We can do the same except we use later model engines and matching transmissions, and they run better than the old, carbureted engines, I grew up with carburetors and hated them, fuel injection is one of the greatest improvement in driveability, mileage and emission, win, win, win!

Changing drivetrains isn't the huge deal that out-of-staters make it out to be, once you understand the rules. Southern California has a big off-road scene with many shops installing different engines or high-performance upgrades, there are ways to make it legal.

I live with an within an hour of the Pacific ocean, the mountains and the desert,
none of which Kansas has. What good is a built XJ that doesn't have a mountain to climb or hundreds of miles of desert roads to blast down...just wondering?

Every state has its advantages and disadvantages, My family has lived in-state for four generations and it has worked well for us, you do need to understand how things work, pick a needed, well-paid profession and get the required education and experience.
I'm not talking just about college, a person that becomes journeyman in any of the mechanical or building trades can make a good living here, the problem is too many want desk jobs, a computer and corner office with a window.
 
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