muffler/cat question...

[78SilvAnniv]

My question is rather round-about...
As anyone who has read my post about our move from WA to GA knows, the '78 pouted and dropped one of her mufflers at a rest stop in TX. First thing we had to do when we hit town was drop her at a muffler shop.
The drive was long, and I did not want to stand around discussing exhaust options with the shop employee. I mentioned I wanted dual exhaust, and he countered that he could not do that due to smog requirements for my year car.
?????
I need this explained to me.
How is it that many others are able to have dual exhaust installed?
Why can I not have dual exhaust, too?
My exhaust is now flowing into a collection Y, goes thru a catalytic converter to another Y with mufflers so the car LOOKS like it has dual, but it doesn't.
I had better performance and sound in WA with the holes in the exhaust and the muffler ready to fall off!
Can I change my new system to dual?
The dual exhausts discussed in other posts...do they run straight pipes to the mufflers, or do they have cats too?
Can I have duals/mufflers without cats?
Can I legally have duals installed, or will I have to consider other 'off road' options?
What, exactly, is 'off road' application?
*When we purchased hubby's truck, there was a mobile smog unit there testing vehicles, pre-sale. I have not seen any smog shops/services advertised.
I will be checking at the courthouse, or whatever passes for DMV here, about smog laws for GA.
I thought I was done with this when I left CA!
Silver

 

[JCL]

"SMOGGED"

78SILVANNIV. SOUNDS LIKE EVERY STATE HAS ITS OWN IDEA ABOUT WHAT IS NEEDED FOR INSPECTIONS!! THE WAY IS IS RIGHT NOW IS "BS". WE NEED SOMETHING, BUT FOR EVERYBODY NOT JUST A FEW!! IN OHIO I CAN JUMP TWO COUNTIES AND THEY DON'T DO BEANS. SO THAT MEANS I'M PAYING FOR THE ONES THAT DON'T, PLUS THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH JUST ABOUT ANY MODIFICATION THEY WANT. THAT JUST SOUNDS LIKE BASIC POLITICS. SCREWED UP,BUT PAR FOR THE COURSE. I GUESS I DIDN'T SUGAR COAT THAT!!! MY NICKLE. JCL

 

[DDLS3]

Silver, you definately need to check the requirements for GA before you do any mods. But to answer your question, yes you could make your 78 dual exhaust either way. Worst case, 2 catalitic converters. The routing for the left side pipe is a bit tricky and will take some trimming to allow for clearence past the cross member, the right side has a cleft built into it for this reason. I'm guessing that the cost for the extra converter if in fact your 78 needs converters at all in GA is roughly equal to the cost of the two y-pipes. My 81 has no cat and does indeed have two straight runs of pipe to the mufflers "true duals". Your vette will have an increase in performance with less restrictions in the exhaust. Hope I explained it for ya.

 

[GreyGhost]

Florida Dual Exhaust

Silver:

I agree, you need to check with your local and/or state authorities. In Florida, up to last year, certain metropolitian areas required emissions inspections (of course Tampa being one of them). I had true duals put on with seperate cats. Each cat cost about $75. Naturally, after I did that Florida eliminated emissions inspections. But they still require cats and the police carry mirrors so they can verify that a car has cats physically installed. I did realize a slight increase in power after the conversion.
__________

Al

 

[Tom Bryant]

Thanks

JCL,
I think that there is just a few counties in all of Ohio that require testing. I don't know of any in my part of the state. I thank you for bearing the responsibility for the rest of us. You should buy an acre of land in another county. Put up a mail box and register your car there.
Tom

 

[JCL]

"COUNTIES"

59TOM. REALLY DON'T HAVE TO PUT UP THE MAIL BOX!! ALL I NEED IS A FRIEND IN A DIFFERENT COUNTY AND USE HIS ADDRESS. (HOPE NOT TO GET STOPPED BY A COP;DRIVERS LISC. AND MAILING ADDRESS DIFFERENT) MY WHOLE THING WITH THIS IS IT "SHOULD" BE ALL OR NONE!!!AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED I SHOULD BE ABLE TO INSTALL MY HEADERS & SIDEPIPES WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS PASSING THE DAMN E-CHECK. IF A MOTOR IS TUNED RIGHT IT WILL PASS ANYWAY WITH OR WITHOUT CATS!!!! EVERYTIME I SEE AN EIGHTEEN WHEELER AND THE SMOKE AND CRAP THATS COMING OUT OF THE STACKS YOU GOTTA THINK!!! (NOTHING AGAINST THE TRUCKS) THATS MY QUARTER..... JCL

 

[Tom Bryant]

trucks

The new electronic injection engines in big trucks are very clean compared to the old mechanical injectors. In a couple years all new deisel trucks will be egr equipted and that is just the tip of the iceberg. The tree huggers have discovered big trucks.

Tom