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Hi Brently, I think RJK is correct, your car is probably as manufactured and therefore legal as is. I used to do smog inspections in CA and am well aware that there are many errors in the application guides that say what is required. The decade late 70's to late 80's was when mfrs were trying desperately to conform to emerging emission standards and changes even within model years, and upgrades/retrofits to inadequate systems, were regular occurrences. A lot of information got lost or erroneously published in that period.
My older printed Mitchell application guide shows all '79 99s requiring catalytic convertor (CAT), fillpipe restrictor (FR), and thermostatic air cleaner (TAC or ACL), the items you got popped for. Apparently you concede on the TAC so I'll ignore that one; typically the flex hose is missing and is cheaply replaced.
HOWEVER, the notes indicating exceptions indicate Oxygen Sensor (O2S) and Computerized Engine Control (CEC) ONLY on California (CA) and High Altitude (HA) models. I expect yours is Federal or 49-State (FED), not CA or HA, so reading the fine print, there would be no O2S (not your specific issue as to the failure, but stay with me), no CEC (likewise), and therefore (by logic of why equipment is required, as opposed to "by the book") no need for FR because FR is required to prevent putting leaded gas into a car with a CAT and for no other reason, so if there is no CAT there is no utility of FR. (Nevertheless, some vehicles from various mfrs were made without O2S, CEC, or CAT, but still had FR although it was irrelevant to the particular vehicle, just so they didn't have to make two different fillpipes and sort them correctly onto vehicles on the production line.)
Is this getting complicated enough yet? HAHAHA, I'm not done.
A look at my ALLDATA vehicle information system for emission equipment application is different from the Mitchell guide but similarly ambiguous. I won't go similarly into chapter and verse, but will say that if you read carefully and go to all the footnotes for your '79 99GLS, including footnotes 8, 13, 14, 15, 36, 39, and 40, and have the wit to follow all the implications thereof, it appears to me that (assuming you have a Federal vehicle) yours is probably legal as it stands. It never had that stuff and if it was legal as manufactured, it still is.
IS YOUR VEHICLE FEDERAL? There should be an underhood sticker, commonly known as VEC which I think stands for Vehicle Emissions Certification, with language indicating that it was manufactured to CA or FED/49-state specifications. I think it may be on the L inner fender on your 99. Of course it may have been lost or removed or disarranged due to accident repair. If you find none, badger your SAAB dealer to see if your VIN can be decoded to identify if CA or FED.
IF YOU HAVE THE VEC, it should indicate not only CA or FED, but also what emissions systems/equipment the vehicle was manufactured with. Note that especially in the decade mentioned the labels were erratically incomplete. HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE SUCH A LABEL AND IT APPEARS TO BE ORIGINAL TO THE CAR (ie the fender is the same color and does not appear to have been replaced or something like that), IMHO at least in CA where I have practiced, the label would take precedence over published information a la Mitchell or other.
Finally, I see that you have been invited to move to a state with no smog inspection. We all breathe better because of emission enforcement. People who think that smog inspections and air quality standards are a government plot to extract money from them or whatever are DUNDERHEADS and that is the nicest word I can use. Keep your vehicle in good condition, keep it tuned, leave it stock or make judicious changes and understand the consequences of those changes, think about the air we breathe, good luck appealing your probably unjust failure, call me if you like 530-899-1123 for further discussion, and let us know how it shakes out.
posted by 198.69.252...
, Thu, 15 Jul 2004 13:32:36, Fri, 16 Jul 2004 09:41:44, Thu, 15 Jul 2004 14:39:12, Thu, 15 Jul 2004 12:51:35, Thu, 15 Jul 2004 13:31:09, Thu, 15 Jul 2004 14:11:56
, Thu, 15 Jul 2004 19:34:28
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