Hiya --

I'm in the market for a Classic Mini (nope, I'm not an owner yet), and I've found some good prospects. Being in Arizona, I have to be careful about getting a vehicle that I can get through emissions testing. The testing is part hardware compliance, and part treadmill smog test. I'm concerned only with the hardware compliance at the moment.

I called the Arizona state agency that handles emissions testing today to find out what emissions hardware is required on any particular (imported) vehicle. This is what they said: They refer to the documentation ON the vehicle first (to find out whether it required a cat, air pump, etc). If that documentation is not there, they can refer to the importation paperwork and it will list the emissions equipment that the vehicle was originally equipped with. Is importation paperwork something that the typical Mini owner will have? I find it unlikely, but maybe I'm off base.

I really need to have confidence that I'll be able to bring any purchased car into compliance, but I don't know where to find that information. Anyone have experience emissions testing a classic Mini in Arizona or California with a vehicle that was previously registered in another state? If so, how did you find the hardware compliance list for your Mini?

On another note, what's the typical emissions equipment that was 'factory installed' on 60s and 70s Minis? Cats? PCV? EGR? From pictures I've seen there doesn't seem to be _any_ emissions equipment on these vehicle. The little research I've done hasn't given me any clear picture.

Sorry for the long post. Please be gentle on a nubie

Cheers,
Jeff

I can respond only in part - I have a 1996...errr, I mean a 1970 Mini and therefore am exempt from California (the most strict of all) smog laws. If you import one of age (for California that means 1975 or older) then it's a non issue. If that's not available then indeed you do need someone else to answer.

Good luck!

you'll find such equipment on canadian and late model minis. If the car has a US title, it's honored in most states except california if the car is older than 75.

I live in AZ, and drive a 1995 SPI which was titled as a 1970 when I purchased it. When I went through the registration process the inspection station had all of the information concerning the eqipment that should be present on the vehicle. If you're looking at cars made in the '60's and '70's then you shouldn't have to worry about much.

I have a 1980 titled as a 1975, brought over from the UK in 2001. I had no problem with title or registration, but all my paperwork was in order. I didnt use a customs broker, took care of everything myself, including going to the POE in Baltimore and getting the car. Theres a lot of paperwork to have in order,.....probably wouldnt do it again........main reason being its 7 years later, and there are a lot of Classics here in the states to pick from,...everything from fairly original early models [thru the late 70's, early 80's],...to 90's models Coopers, Sport-Packs, Mini 1000's, and everything in between.............and there are some good sellers here, too.
I was lucky....I got a nice Classic Mini, originally an 850, now an 1100...
body quite solid, very stock and not butchered up,....but its easy to get burned on the older ones..............buying from the states, you can look at it, drive it, check it out,...be sure its what the seller says and its what you want,...and assuming its titled, paperwork will be simple.

So start shopping the MiniManias cars-for-sale section, as well as dealers page there,...and enjoy!

I don't know Ariz in detail but california has a strange rule, pre 1975 for cars from other states and pre 1968 for cars brought in from other countries. I don't know the ins and outs of why but that has seemed to be the case for owners of classic minis. I have sold dozens of minis throughout the states and don't remember Arizona being a problem. If importing from UK or other you must make sure the car is 25 years old or older for USA importation full stop. There are TONS of minis that are not 25 years old but have been tagged with older documents from cars sent to scrap yards to make them appear to be old enough. Find out if this is a problem for you and then learn how to tell how old a car is before making a purchase which could be a number of years newer than the car you actually want. I actually got out of the import/export business in minis as there were so few decent cars around it make finding USA legal cars a major chore and not worth the risk of buying a bodge mobile. I ended up buy a few and selling them on with full disclosure over here (UK) to ready buyers of projects. A good solid mini is a rare item, a newly painted bodged car is common. They rust everywhere! Take someone who knows what they are looking for, not a car person, a mini person.

Best of luck and take your time, as stated above there are so many cars in the states it is not worth importing any more. We have 2 left, one consignment car and one that is our last car if you want a peek, www.westpaminis.com

Thanks. Peter

.....and pmustang IS one of the sellers/dealers you can trust, for sure...

[hi Pete...how have you been?]

Steve
'05 MINI Cooper
'80 Mini 1100

Well, with all the good information here I found a project car that's exactly what I was looking for. After a 1000 mile 18 hour trip, I now have a 1973 Austin Mini sitting in the garage. Once I get it driveable, I'll try to emissions test and register it. Wish me luck

if in fact you need to emission test it then the problem is going to be that they won't have the correct figures in the book they use to see what the car should be producing out of the tailpipe. You might want to find out what those figures are and possibly get some info from the UK so you can prove the car meets the requirements of the year of manufacture. This normally how they see if a car of a certain year passes. If its not in their book they may not know if it passed, Best of luck.

Doing well, not doing minis anymore as the stocks dried up and the dollar to pound ratio makes the few remaining overpriced cars even more expensive for the USA market, If I did find something worth buying I probably would buy it to flog but nothing in the past 6 months at least has even raised the radar, thanks for asking.

peter

If you ever plan to relocate to CA, do not get a Mini that is registered post 1975.

Jeff,
The emissions test for a 1973 is fairly straightforward, the same test as my 1978 Bronco so just make sure that the car is well tuned when you go in for the test. Change your oil, plugs, air filter, and make sure the carbs are adjusted correctly. Adjust the timimg and make sure that the engine is warmed up fully when you get to the testing station.
Good Luck.

Whoa...Arizona requires emmission tests on a pre-1976 car? That's a shocker to me because it then means Arizona's laws are more strict than California. That's not good. Are you sure you need to test the car? Doesn't Arizona have a rolling 25 year rule? What happens to Vtec cars?

Nope, AZ does not have a rolling 25 year rule. Yes, I'm sure I need to test the car unless I qualify for an emissions exemption. All 1967+ cars are required to pass emissions tests. I have a 1968 Jeep that, if I chose to road register it, I would have to treadmill and hardware emissions test it every year. Same goes for my 1987 Pickup ... same for my 'new' 1973 Austin 1000. I will be looking into an emissions test exemption for it, however. That requires classic car auto insurance that limits mileage per year.

I don't know for sure, but I would assume that VTEC cars are tested just like any other car. If it's, say, a 1975 car (according to the registration) it will be required to have all emissions equipment required for a 1975 mini. The VTEC will easily pass the treadmill test, as being fuel injected it will produce a fraction of the pollutants of a carbureted vehicle.

Cheers,
Jeff