ckr said:
> I DO notice the difference with the air pump off. Seems to me that one more
> drag off of the front pulley means just a bit more oomph that my car has to
> run with.
Back when I worked on these cars for as living ('79 and early '80) I was
told that an air pump uses 1/4 of a horsepower as opposed to 10 horsepower
for an air conditioning compressor. Air injection and PCV are the two
emissions systems on MGB's that don't harm the car or how it runs. PCV is
actually good for the car and I've retrofitted it on cars I own that didn't
originally come with it. The only problem with air injection is that it
makes the car run badly if the gulp valve or the check valve go bad and
they cost money to replace. Other than that, it's a painless way to clean
up the air. But you'll notice that all the cars _I_ own are too old to have
it.
> If I recall, one of the reasons the 77+ B's have electric fans is to reduce
> the drag on the engine, since it's so mother-choked with emissions controls
> and other power-robbing devices otherwise. If the designers thought this
> might be a good way to boost power on the car, who am I to argue with them.
>
> I have a complete air rail, pump, Z-S carburettor, flame trap, manifold,
> exhaust system and all attendant hoses and belts on the off chance that some
> inspection-licence wielding pump jockey decides to fail my car on 'lack of
> proper emissions controls'. I'm of two minds on this: one says, if they
> tighten restrictions and someone decides to fail my car, I'll spend 12 hours
> a year putting on and then, after inspection, taking off the bloody emissions
> hardware; the other says, hell with it. If they fail it on that, tag it as an
> antique vehicle. If that fails, move the registration to Alabama. The third
> of my two minds says, (arithmetic was never my strong suit), if the car is
> properly tuned, even without that hardware it ought to pass all but a
> Californicated smog test. Currently, I run with a Weber 32/36 DGAV downdraft
> carb, stainless headers, monza exhaust, and nothing left of the emissions but
> the crankcase breather to carbon cannister connexion. I have a stock cam and
> bore, a rebuilt 79 motor with the original 75 water pump and a Lucas 25D
> destributor. Works for me, and exhaust is pretty clean on unleaded fuel.
I agree that the running condition of the car should be the deciding factor
for whether or not the car should be allowed on the roads. If Webers or
fuel injection improve the efficiency of the engine, their use should be
encouraged, not punished. The people who know enough about their cars to
modify them are also the ones most likely to keep them in tune. Also, they
know enough to not get caught no matter what they do to their cars. The
cars that offend my nose are the ones with catalysts that smell like rotten
eggs. Those people probably don't know or care enough about their cars to
pump their own gas, and their cars will continue to pollute until their smog
check two years down the road.
I need to get my car smogged this year, and this will be the eighth time
I've had the car smogged since I've owned it. It's passed first time every
time. You'd think they'd figure out that there are people out there who
maintain their cars without having to be threatened. There should be a
limit of how many times a particular person needs to smog the same car
that's passed every time. Now that the system is completely computerized,
this would be easy to do. The part of the smog fee that goes to the state
doesn't pay for the maintenance of the system. The fewer cars that get
smogged, the less it would cost us taxpayers. In fact, I'd guess that the
air would be cleaner with less cost to the taxpayer if the state of CA
dumped the smog test system and set up stations that would adjust the tire
pressure on people's cars for free. Elect me empress and I'll fix the
world's problems.
> DISCLAIMER: It is a felony to mucker with the emissions controls on your car
> in any way, shape or form. I do not advise that you change them in any way.
> ;)
Since it's the state that determines smog laws and penalties, I doubt that
it's a felony. However, when I was a mechanic, there were two types of
repairs for which a mechanic could be held criminally liable: brakes and
smog equipment. If a mechanic knowingly bypassed smog equipment, they could
go to jail. If a mechanic made a mistake on a brake job and someone was
killed or injured, they could go to jail. Other than that, a mechanic and/or
the shop where they worked could only be held financially liable. I don't
know if this is still true.
Denise Thorpe, candidate for the vacant position of empress of the US
thorpe@kegs.saic.com
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