Date:         Thu, 9 Oct 2003 19:39:04 -0700
Reply-To:     Aristotle Sagan <killer_jupiter@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Aristotle Sagan <killer_jupiter@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: California Inspection: Day 4
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

What happened to days 2 and 3? Work mostly.

So here it is Thursday. Van needs to be registered by tomorrow. I am working
noon till 9 so I go down early to sit in the line at the DMV. Pay the
regisration fee on time, smogged or not. 2 hours down at the DMV, pay my $44
bucks and get my new license. This one has a picture of a guy with a beard
on it. Now that's something different.

Guy at the counter tells me if I get it smogged today, just come back and I
won't have to sit in line for two more hours to get my stickers. Fat chance
I tell him, it's already 10:45 and I'm suppose to be at work at noon.

Go home, stop off at the corner repair place and ask if they are still doing
inspections. Holy Smokes, they forked over for the multi thousand dyno
tester do-gizmo, mounted right in their floor. When can you get to it? Now.
!

OK 35 bucks for the pretest, 75 bucks for the smog test itself. $110
dollars!!! Better than last time if it passes.
Pretest numbers:
HC (PPM)
15 mph - 55 (max 129)
25 mph - 39 (max 101)

CO %
15 mph 0.19 (max 0.84)
25 mph 0.24 (max 1.06)

NO (PPM)
15 mph - 1062 (max 1292)
25 mph - 663 (max 1323)

Not bad. He shuts off the engine. Well, do you want to  run the test for
real now? he asks.

Sure.
SMOG test numbers:

HC (PPM)
15 mph - 119 (max 129)
25 mph - 52 (max 101)

CO %
15 mph 0.38 (max 0.84)
25 mph 0.31 (max 1.06)

NO (PPM)
15 mph - 1274 (max 1292)
25 mph - 416 (max 1323)

Yowzer! It almost failed! Don't let them turn off the engine!

So anyhowz, it passed. I went back, got my sticker, don't have to worry
about it for another two years, only 2 hours late to work.

tim in san jose



>
>Got up early today, it's the 6th of October, van needs to be registered by
>the 10th.
>
>Take the van (84 1.9WB) down to Bugformance in East San Jose, they got it
>through Smog last time, let them do it again.
>
>Walk up, ask the mechanic if he can get this through Smog. The story
>begins...
>
>Well, the Smog shop I used right down the alley here just closed up last
>week, sold out to someone else. The doors haven't been open in a week or
>so.
>
>Hmmm. well, do you know anyone else?  There's another shop around the
>corner, but I haven't talked to them about using their equipment yet. I'll
>do that now.
>
>I'll wait.
>
>He's back.
>
>He says he just put new equipment in and it takes two weeks for them to
>certify it. He'll be up and running in a couple of weeks. If you haven't
>gotten through Smog by then, bring it back and we will see what we can do.
>
>OK.
>
>I have a place I used in South San Jose, near where the ex lives. They are
>nothing special but will run "off-line" for me to see where  I am at before
>hooking the machine up to Sacramento. I drive down, getting the van good
>and
>hot, pull into the lot. There's a car on the machine, another one waiting.
>I
>don't want to turn my bus off. So I walk up... there's a roller assembly in
>the floor of the shop and a Denver boot type device on the non-driven wheel
>of the car... hmmm. The operator hasn't a clue. The wheels are driving the
>rollers, the thing is vibrating llike hell, and the tester is standing
>there, scratching his head. Not a clue, I say. I ask the guy standing there
>what's up? He says, that's my car and I've been here 45 minutes. And they
>are no closer to being finished than when he drove up. And it cost 80
>bucks!
>
>Now I get it. I have majorly screwed up this time. By waiting past October
>first, it looks like my van needs to be dyno tested by complete idjits. I
>ask how long to the operator. He says an hour. I don't think so. I drive by
>another "Smog Pro shop". How long I ask? Got an appointment? Nope. An hour
>he says. I doubt it.   Anyhow, I need to go to work, so I drive home, take
>a
>shower and head off to the robots.
>
>Not going to be a good week.
>
>Stay tune for part two/three/xxx
>
>tim in san jose
>
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