Hello All,
I live in northern California. In July I purchased a 1979 XJ-12 from a neighbor. The car was sitting in a field and needs TLC, which I enjoy doing. My concern is about getting it smogged because...the original V12 has been replaced with Chevrolet 327 wearing a casting code from 1965. Carter AFB carb. Edelbrock intake manifold. No cats. Evap canister is still there.

There is no Bureau of Automotive Repair tag on the car. Nothing to date the swap. However, by the looks of things that 327 has been in there a long time. Based on some of the documents given to me with the car, I know the engine conversion was done in Chico, CA, sometime prior to 1989. It might even have been done prior to the adoption, in March 1984, of the California smogcheck program, but I cannot prove that.

The seller only had the car for a few months prior to my purchase, and he did not provide a smog certificate. The price was low, and I've often bought cars in this dirt-cheap price bracket without demanding a smog certificate (though CA law requires the seller to provide one).

I have been unable to get in contact with the prior long-term owner. A search of the VIN using BAR's online database returns no smog certificates for this car. None. The car was registered for road use 1990-2008 at a south lake tahoe address, which is a part of my county that does not require biennial smog checks. It has been non-opped from 2009-2017.

So: the car is a '79 model year with an older motor in it. This is not allowed under the current smog laws. Depending on who you ask, it might have been allowed prior to the 1984 smog check law. But under the law since March of 1984 this car cannot be california smog legal. Notwithstanding that, two previous owners registered the car annually for almost 20 years. They may have been in a no-smog part of the county. I, however, live in a part of the county that requires smog checks and, anyway, I have to produce a smog check to register the car in my name (smog certificate is required in all California counties on change of ownership).

My question: has anyone here had any experience going through the CA BAR referee program and, based on that experience, any opinion as to whether the referee will flatly reject the car or might work with me to make it smoggable. I would be ok installing whatever smog equipment was required in 1979 on the 1965 engine, including PCV and catalytic converters. (I think cats would allow it to pass the tailpipe test). I'm not sure what else was required in '79.

Sorry for the long post. I bought the car for cheap so my exposure is low, but its not a bad machine and I'd hate to have to junk it because I cannot get it registered due to the smog issue. Any insight is appreciated.

Blair

 

I have no BAR experience myself but once upon a very long time ago, husband relates that he talked his way around a BAR ref with a 1972 Chrysler, OEM 383, into which he had installed a 1968 440. The car had a BAR sticker on the door until I sold it in 2015. I have no further details and he doesn't remember that far back.

By the sound of your post you've already done enough research to know you probably shouldn't have shelled out the coin until you were sure you could get the car legally transferred to your ownership. It might be a good idea to talk to a BAR Ref yourself, face to face, to get the real story. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say, and at this point you have little to lose.

I wish you success.

And, Welcome to our playroom from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Interesting.


1. CA's DMV had an ombudsman at one time. You might check and see if they still do. Try to register it with a statement of facts. The fact that it has been registration compliant all along weighs in your favor. The point being that the car was and is grand fathered in. Speak in generalities, f at all possible, so as not red flag the car.


2. Yeah, CA has a lot of law that are unenforceable. So, many do buy cars sans SMOG and take on the burden of getting the SMOG done.


3. A "general" talk with BAR HQ as Elinor suggests.


4. If the V12 was carb'd, you have a slight chance of getting it up to 79 standards. But, that isn't the law? You are stuck in a quagmire. The law is that the engine be 79 or younger and that is the standard to be met.


5. Any chance of Id'ing the Chico shop that did the install?


The Carter and the Edelbrock are not likely to be CA approved.


So, the 79 or better donor engine must have all the stuff of a 79 SMOG compliant car. Exhaust, EGR, vapor control. PVC, air injection etc.


Is it worth "digging" up a 79 SBC and it's SMOG junk?


I think, that a "grandfathered" finding is the best hope.


Wild card: Get a South lake Tahoe PO box!!!


Good luck, you are gonna need it.


Carl

 

Two thoughts just struck me.


1. The SBC in the car may be only a 327 block. But, rebuilt to 350 CI.
Because of the popularity of that engine, lots of mix and match took place.


Think of the dates. An original 1965 327 installation in a 79 car some time before 84 or 89???


To verify? A means of checking bore and stroke. There are devices to do it, but where to find one???


So, the probability is that this was a long or short block rebuild when installed, not an original 65 327 !!


Call it a 79. Set up the car to 79 Chevrolet Smog equipment and go for it...


Carl
.

 

Chev had dozens of different smog strategies in 1979- who knows which one the authorities would approve. Most of this equipment would not fit/function on a '65 237 block anyway.

 

Wow, some good ideas there. Thanks everybody. I'm particularly thinking about claiming that the engine IS post-1979, and that the engine number is just because that was the block used. (I have attached a couple of photos, one which shows the casting number). The issue I may run into, though, is the original V12 was fuel injected and the 327 is carb'ed. But if I show up at the referee inspection with cats on the car and an obvious good faith effort to have minimal (circa '79) smog equipment on the car maybe the ref will cut me a break based on the continuous registration history of the car. If that fails, I have a friend who wants to make a Lemons racer out of it.

 

That's a Beautiful car!
I hope you're successful getting it transferred because that's just Too nice to be trashed on a track (and you KNOW if it's on the track it'll be trashed).

Report back to us how it goes, please.
(';')

 

That casting number was used only from 1962-67.

 

Absolutely. I'm with Elinor. much too nice for the race track. And a bit of an insult. Jaguar's ain't lemons.


Go for the OK at SMOG. I think the history is on your side.


Carl

 

The car was resprayed in 2001 and the paint is probably its best feature. The engine runs pretty well considering its been run for about 20 minutes in the last 9 years. The wheel bearings are tight, the dashtop vinyl is uncracked and the interior wood veneer is in good shape. Car is completely rust free with the exception of one hole in the RH front floorboard which looks like the result of rainwater collecting in the lowest point in the footwell. Easily patched. That's the end of the good news. Everything else needs attention. So far I have rebuilt the front end, replaced the front brakes including pads, calipers, lines and junctions. Shocks all around. Renewed fuel lines, because the RH tank hose was rotted and leaked gas on the ground. Flushed engine and radiator, installed new hoses, thermostat, belts etc. I've spent two evenings sitting in the driver's seat trying to make sense of the rat's nest that supplies the window switches, and although none of the wiring schematics I have comports with the colors actually in the car I believe at this point I understand how its wired and will be able to make all the windows go up and down. Remaining to be addressed (in no particular order): rear brake pads, inoperative RH rear door (disconnected latch rod?), leaking steering rack, badly leaking trans sump, horns that are on all the time, flush the black gunk in the rear diff. Water pump is a GM unit and when I had the hoses off the inlet appeared pretty corroded, will be replaced. The 327 is evidently shorter than the V12, and a big spacer has been used to keep the mechanical fan inside the shroud--I'm not crazy about that load on the water pump bearing and probably will go with an electric fan. Inside, the LH cant rail needs to be recovered--the headliner is otherwise ok. The turn signals don't work, and I think its a problem at the stalk. Both front and rear seat leather is like parchment, not savable, but the foam underneath feels ok and I've found a source for nice leather recovers relatively inexpensive. So, as you can see, nothing that is major, just a lot of little things that need attention. I would like to save the car if I can. But I suspect the BAR referee does not view his job as helping me do that.

 

Mikey, I checked the casting number at nastyz28 and yes it shows that block dates to 62-67. My contention in dealing with the BAR referee would be that the block might date to that era, but it has been rebuilt. So that the casting number no longer dates the motor.

I finally was able to track down one of the previous owners. He bought the car from a automotive shop in Chico in 1986 or 1987. He bought it with the 327 in it, and was led to believe that the swap had been just done by the shop, just prior to his buying the car. In other words, the shop was in the business of sourcing jaguars with bad motors and installing the chevrolet motors as an "upgrade". Under those circumstances the 327 was almost certainly rebuilt. As JagCad / Carl points out earlier in the thread, its very unlikely that a NOS 1965 327 was somehow located and dropped into a jaguar in 1987.

I also talked to the shop in Chico that did the swap--well, at least the guy who used to run the shop--and he says he did over 400 jaguars in that period, so he doesn't remember any particular car, and he kept no records. He also says all his cars left the shop with a BAR tag--insinuating that if my car does not have a BAR tag, he didn't do it. But the previous owner says he did it, and the previous owner sounded more credible to me. There is also a brochure from the Chico shop in the old documents I got with the car. No invoice or work order, but I suppose there wouldn't be one if the work was done prior to selling the car to a customer.

 

The casting/assembly date determines the age of the engine not the rebuild date. This particular block cannot be converted to 1979 configuration without machining of various features and substitution of several eternal components. The PCV systems are completely different, for example.

 

Thanks Mikey Limiting the discussion to emissions related items, any idea what would be needed for a '79 engine? There is a PCV in the RH valve cover that is connected to a port on the carburetor. The original evap canister is still present behind the LH head lamp, although I have not chased the hoses to see if it is actually connected to the fuel system. I don't see an EGR. I would prepared to install all of these items, plus the cats. I don't want to have to do an AIR pump.

 

According to this article, the following parts/systems are needed:

Which smog or emissions parts are needed on my 1979 Chevrolet. It has a 350 V8 engine and i want to register it in California?

Answer:
Your 1979 Chevy needs to be equipped with the following smog components:

1. A PCV valve/system (Positive Crank Ventilation). This is the pipe which leads from the top of the valve cover to the intake manifold.

2. An ACL (Air Cleaner Assembly). This is the air filter housing and the duct that leads from the top of the exhaust manifold to the air cleaner assembly.

3. An AIS system (Air Injection System). This system is also known as the Air Pump or Smog Pump.

4. An EGR system (Exhaust Gas Recirculation System). The EGR valve recirculates exhaust gases to the intake manifold.

5. AN EVAP system (Early Evaporation System). This system includes emissions components designed to introduce fuel vapors from the gas tank to the intake manifold as opposed to the atmosphere.

6. A Catalytic Converter. Designed to reduce emissions after exhaust has left the combustion chambers.

 

Thanks Roger. That is very useful information, and all doable except the air pump. I think i might be able to get away with not running an air pump because the jag is a "federal" car and my research indicates 79 was a transitional year for air pumps--installed on CA cars, but not on federal cars. I understand that this is getting into the weeds a bit, kind of tweaked logic, since of course when the jag was a federal car it had a v12 in it. But I'm going to try to make the pitch. I will let everyone know what the outcome is, and I won't send the car to the racetrack until I am completely out of other options (like bumming an address from a friend in NV). Thanks again BW

 

You should install all the rest of the stuff and then drive it there (or drive it there and ask them what they require!!)... most they can do is "fail" it and tell you what they insist needs to be done. To get EGR on the car, you may have to upgrade the intake manifold.

Hope the old casting information does not keep the engine from qualifying.. the article is about a '79 vehicle and 350 engine of the same year..

All that is why I do not mess with cars that need smog.. my '74 Jag with 383/700R had to meet all the early smog rules.. I took off all the crap after a couple of years when it
fell back into the no test years. It had the smog pump but no cats were required...just hoses that ran to the head pipes from the pump (I think- it has been many years!!)

 

Blair:


Roger's list is exhaustive. As you say, more than helpful.


1. The after market intake is an issue. but, an old iron unit with an EGR port can be found.


2. The air injection is plumbed into the exhaust manifolds via rails. Mine is plumbed that way. I wish I had done it differently. But, it got past the referee.


3. And, best of all. The BAR tag might just be there!!! When mine finaly "made the grade", the referee pointed out that there was no room for it on the front door pillar. He applied it on the left rear door pillar!!!


That perplexed a SMOG place, but only til I enlightened them.


So, look all over, again....




Ugh, Jaguar due for a SMOG bout this year... October...


Carl

 

Not strictly true. Many '79 federal GM vehicles came with an AIR pump.

 

Yeah, as did others. My 69 IHC Scout II was "Federal" vehicle as oppossed to CA vehicle. It had that generic air pump. And SS rails to inject air into the head. They rusted and/or burned away!!! I got new rails and "bodged" them on. Got past the SMOG folks. Did it inject, I never knew, or really cared. A dumb thing at best.


Now, the Federal EGR valve was simpler than the CA version. I had to install one of the latter. Again, a bodge. Looked OK. did it work? Same answer.




Carl

 

I just called the smog referee in CA and talked to them about whether I needed to do anything to my car to make it legal in CA. They said since i have a pre-1975 car that I didn't need to do any smog related to it to make it legal. I asked them again since i had a 79 block SBC in it and he reassured me he didn't care in the slightest what engine i had in the car, it didn't need to be smogged.