I bought a 1976 ford F-150 with a 360 engine a while back, I am just now starting to work on it. The car has no smog parts on it at all, it just has a straight pipe for an exhaust. I have no idea where to start I don't want to just get rid of the truck it runs great I would really like to fix it up, but since there is no smog on the car I have no idea where to start. I live in California, and I was just wondering if anybody out there had any idea what I need to get, to make this pass smog? Thank you in advance for any info.

 

Gp to the llibrary and find an older Chilton's. It will give you a diagram of the emissions equipment.

Trail Rider

 

cant you tag it as a Classic and never have to go through emmissions? you can here in Middle TN but Cali well thats a different story.

 

Check and see if you need to get it emission tested each year. Since it's a truck, it may not need emissions testing or if the GVWR is above the treshold it may be exempt. Seems to me back in those days any truck with a GVWR of 6050 lbs and above didn't come equipped with emissions equipment. Back in then an F100 came equipped with a catalytic convertor and emissions stuff and an F150 did not because the GVWR was above the threshold. If you do, your local Ford parts guys can tell you what the truck had for emissions.

 

Welcome to the forum,You will probably find alot more info if you post your question in the proper area of the forum.Scroll down on the home page,and there should be an area that pertains to your truck.

 

Your emissions sticker decal on you valve cover should tell you what kind of emissions system you have. If you dont have the sticker you can find one for your truck on ebay

 

Was your truck originally sold in CA? I'm not 100% sure but I believe trucks were built for the California market had more emission control than everybody else got but I don't think that cats were stock in 76'. Though I'm not sure if that matters. Use the drop down forums tab and check out the regional chapters western region -> either of the California forums and poke around there. It's likely somebody there has gone through what your going through.

 

Check the warranty tag on the door for the district code which will tell you where Ford sent the truck after it rolled off the line. If it was sent to NY or Texas, chances are it's a 49 state vehicle. If the code is 71 or 72, it was sent to Los Angeles or San Jose districts, and would most likely be a CA spec vehicle. Like 99.9% likely.

If you are going to try to make this thing smog a source for factory info and illustration will be a good thing to have:

https://www.hipoparts.com/1973-79-fo...ts-catalog-cd/

 

I'm no legal expert by any stretch of the imagination but in Cali. I believe PRE-76 vehicles are exempt from annual smog inspection. '76 up require it. Also, just so you know, the SELLER is responsible for seeing that it passes the smog inspection.
At minimum yours had EGR. It could also have come with fuel tank evaporative emission control and air injection. Look above all 8 exhaust ports to see if someone has screwed in a bolt or pipe plug to block off the air injection ports. Look at the right frame rail, next to the radiator for the charcoal canister for the evap emissions, or the line that runs back to the fuel tank if the canister has been removed.
Does your fuel gauge say "FUEL" or "UNLEADED" ? If it says unleaded your truck came with a catalytic converter. It should also have the fuel filler restrictor in the filler neck. Non-converter trucks didn't have the restrictor.

 

In 1974 the federal government released new emissions standards which mandated emissions devices be installed on all vehicles up to 6000 GVW for the model year 1975. By upping the gross vehicle weight to 6050 and creating the F150 , no emissions equipment was necessary nor installed, either on federal or California vehicles. The F100's, being of a lower GVW, did come with all the mandated emissions equipment in 1975 and after. But 1975 and 1976 F150's absolutely did not have any smog devices at all.

By the way, your emissions sticker on the valve cover will substantiate this. If it had emissions equipment installed it would say CATALYST in big letters on the emissions sticker. Below is the sticker that should be on your valve cover. If it's missing pick up a new one at LMC, Dennis Carpenter, Mac's or any number of places that sell them. I have a 1975 F150 with a 360, but since I can't find one for 1975 I have to use the 1976 one, just haven't put it on yet, since I am still working on restoring mine

 

I made this one for a 1973 360. Not sure if a 1975 is the same.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post19574968

 

That's pretty cool. Wish I could find a 1975 one to do the same. As for using the '73, they are different. 1973 had a points distributor, whereas the 1975 used the DuraSpark electronic distributor, which is why I have the 1976 sticker, because the specs are the same even though the '76 used a different module. But if I could find an original 1975 I could have one made, which would keep the restoration original, just haven't found anyone who has one yet.

 

CA or FED spec, you still have to pass the smog check every two years with a '76 or later truck. Whether it had anything or not, it has to have what it had from the factory, or it does not pass. No matter the GVWR, it gets checked at least. My F350 is 8550lb GVWR so has no cats. And while the '78 did not have an air pump, the '79 did. Lots of other vacuum doohickeys on even a '76 FED truck I believe. Also must have a sealed air filter housing. Even if it's not a stock air cleaner for a truck, it has to be a stock type with no holes other than the inlet and for any vacuum valve fittings that it would have had from the factory. Probably had a heat riser tube whether it was originally in CA or elsewhere. Some of the Bronco owners are using early '80's Mustang air cleaners with the dual snorkels. Looks very cool and is low profile with good breathability compared to the stock Bronco filter.
If it's a CA spec truck it had fuel tank evaporative emissions stuff (charcoal canister) and Dura Spark ignition and most would have had a cat in the exhaust. But here's where that GVWR exemption might come in.
If it's a FED spec truck it does not have to have CA emissions equipment on it. But it still has to have what it had from Ford and it gets checked.

You can have things like electronic ignition upgrades and headers as long as it does not interfere with a Thermactor system (air pump), but likely a 4bbl carb is out of the question because they never came with one as an option.
Single exhaust only, whether catalyst equipped or not. Sometimes they let you slide on that, but rarely on the 4bbl carb bit. You can have an approved 4bbl intake manifold, but for checking you need an adapter and a stock carburetor.

I'm sure some of that could easily be outdated as there have been many changes in the last few years. But mostly regarding OBD II newer vehicles. Most of the basics are still going to apply.
You could always buy a junked out '73-'75 and use that title to avoid the testing, but you only get away with it if you don't have to have the initial inspection at the DMV. Most don't, but whenever there is a questionable transfer, they like to see it. If there was ever a good time for that though, it's currently with the lack of time and people to check that stuff so you might just slide on through.

It's always been tempting to get an older rig for the title, but personally I like cleaner running engines so all my junk has full smog equipment on it (if applicable) so passing is not a problem. And I've added catalytic converters to some of my older trucks that did not come with them and so far that's worked out very well too. My Explorer engine in the '68 got the cat left off originally by the builder, but the exhaust stunk up a storm even with all that computer controlled stuff. A new cat from Magnaflow killed the smell and saved a tree. Saved to be cut down later for my new fence that is...
If it becomes burdensome to find original smog equipment, it's often easier and you get a better result by swapping in a later model engine. Anything newer than the vehicle is allowable if it's in the same engine family and displacement or smaller. Like before, it just has to have every bit of smog control devicery on it that came from the factory. But that's usually easy to find if you get a donor from the junkyard. It's likely got everything you need still on it. Much easier than sourcing an air pump for a seventies vehicle sometimes. I've toyed with the idea of a later 5.8 with EFI in my F350, but I still love a good 400. Hard to argue with the way a new engine runs though. Doesn't hurt my feelings at all that it also runs cleaner.
With yours having nothing on it now, it could get quite expensive to bring back into spec. So expensive that a replacement newer engine with all of it's bits still intact might not be a bad way to go. Even price-wise...

As mentioned, seller is responsible for passing smog, but by the time it's been bought and paid for and title changed hands, it's likely in the buyer's court completely now.

Good luck!

Paul