EPA To Prohibit the Conversion of Street Cars into Race Cars

[Fireofficer5]

The sky is falling and the earf is flat.

[Ed Wright]

For guys that don't get the SEMA newsletter:

Fact: The EPA’s proposal would not affect purpose-built racecars, such as sprint cars, open-wheel dragsters and the cars that currently compete in NASCAR.

The EPA agrees that vehicles that were originally manufactured for racing are excluded from regulation under the Clean Air Act. However, the EPA believes this exclusion extends only to vehicles that were never certified for on-road use or issued a VIN.


Sounds like cars built from a Body in White" are exempt? Like NASCAR, and a Pro Stock car?
Maybe somebody with a '93/'02 Firebird/Camaro built from a Body in White please PM me what your VIN tag looks like?

Thanks, Ed

[ss3011]

Yup , no VIN on RaceCars built from a body in white .

[CMcAllister]

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2016...20&bid=1309601

[Pinballer]

So if I read all this right, if I want to have a basic bracket or Stock/SS drag car and am forced to comply with EPA guidelines to avoid getting fined, it either has to

A: be stone stock in all respects as far as engine components, pollution, and engine management systems if it was built from 1965-on, or
B: I have to buy a new factory race car, a 'body in white', or build a tube chassis car with my own hand built body that won't have a VIN. or
C: it has to be something pre-1965 that never had any kind of emissions equipment installed from the factory. Then I can do whatever the heck I want to it without repercussion. Big lumpy cams, 6-71 blower, aluminum heads, alcohol fuel, I can run it at the county fair tracks and sling dirt all over the place with it if I wanted to, etc etc and nobody in the EPA would care.
Wow. That really sounds logical.

Sounds like 1964 and older cars are going to be pretty darned desirable then. Better buy one now if you want to race any more. Time for a total re-write of the NHRA Classification Guide too. The 1952 Hudson Hornets may be the newest killer combo in Stock!

[SSGT Mustang]

Originally Posted by CMcAllister

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2016...20&bid=1309601

No, those guys are just "crackpots." So is the leadership at SEMA. And, so are all the lawyers who actually know the law and can interpret it.

The federal and state agencies are just looking out for us. They don't actually intend to enforce the law...on racers...or the aftermarket. Especially the EPA. They don't have a mandate from the president, who insists that climate change is the biggest existential threat to the United States. No, the EPA is wonderful, and would never put itself in a position to impose a law that is politically motivated.

Nothing to see here, folks. All that you have to do is stick your head in the sand and enjoy the view....

[FireSale]

In Washington state, only registered vehicles built between 1991 and 2008 require emissions testing. If it's not tested how would the Federal EPA find it?

Remember, I'm in the state that legalized pot sales. And no, I don't smoke it. It just seems like I do...

Dale

[Pinballer]

From what I recall, the first pollution controls appeared on cars destined for California dealers in 1965 in the form of a PCV valve and a return hose to the air cleaner to re-burn the blow-by. Other states soon followed and all were fully in by 1968 with belt driven air pumps, AIR tubes in the exhaust manifolds and all that stuff. Then in 1975, everything had to have catalytic converters and their associated parts.
The way I read the mandate is that -anything- that was manufactured with pollution devices has to have them intact and original. Not just 90's on up.

[SSGT Mustang]

There are many ways that EPA can enforce the law. Purchase history, registration transfers, registration renewals, etc. The fines are unbelievable if you are caught. Knowing that...why would anyone risk building a car that is likely to be rendered worthless at some point, after making a sizabe investment to build it. And then, to add insult to injury, have to suffer the financial burden of being fined to tens of thousands of dollars for doing so.

The aftermarket, however, is most at risk. Manufacturers cannot make parts that break the law. Additionally, builders cannot build cars that violate the law. The fines are too great.

I'm unsure why this issue is even being debated. It's not some tin-foil fantasy, where respected organizations and individuals have decided to enter the political foray in opposition to a party and its politics. One need only to look up Edge products and the EPA to understand the issue.

This situation is real. You can debate it to death. You can summarily dismiss it as reactionary. Or, you can defer to an organizations like as SEMA--that have a history of defending motor sports and the manufacturers that make it possible for racing to advance--and take action.

By the way: Federal law pertaining to narcotics is still enforceable in Washington State and any other State in the Union. The same principal applies to so-called sanctuary cities that do not enforce immigration law. The enforcement of Federal law in such cases depends largely on the interests of the administration in office. So, if a new administration--with a new attorney general--decides that federal narcotics laws will be enforced uniformly, then places like Washington State, California and Colorado will be either be visited by federal narcotics agents or face federal defunding...or both.

[CMcAllister]

This applies to motor vehicles, federally certified as legal for use on public roads as part of the Clean Air Act that covers '67 or '68 and up model years.

If Washington or any other state that inspects for federal emission standards is anything like Maryland, which I'm familiar with, the federal government (EPA) compels (I.E. blackmails) the state to develop and institute an inspection program that meets EPA approval. EPA, just like DOT, forces the states to enforce the regulations.

Now if a state department of the environmental, under threat of having federal funds withheld, wanted to find a bunch of post '67 cars, previously driven on public roads legally, that have been modified, had engines replaced, emissions discarded, turned into race cars, resto-mods, street machines, etc., don't you think they'd have an idea of where to look? It's as easy as enforcing any other EPA, DOT, IRS, ATF, etc., regulation, just hire more people. Imagine the amount of potential fines out there, which is a large part of what this is all about.