Howdy, I'm moving back to Texas from NY soon and we will be going back to El Paso, a city I haven't lived in over 20 years (very little kid). I found one F-Body club there online, but have't seen to much action on their website. In fact their stinkin' password thing didnt' even work ... guess that is why I stick to here and TGO .

Does anyone know what kind of car clubs are around the El Paso area? How about what kind of support I will get when it comes to continuing to rebuild my old rust bucket into a hot rod? My yankee car has come a long way from what I started with and I am not even close to being done.

For now I still have the original L69 4BBL H.O. 305. She smokes for the first 30 secs or so, and then breathes clean. So I plan on replacing the valve stem seals soon.

Are there any emissions laws I should worry about? I still have all my AIR and EGR components ... whether they work or not is a different story. I have my original exhaust manifolds, and just replaced the cat and cat back system this week. This is pretty much a stock car, minus the paint and replacing worn interior parts. My trans was rebuit last year so I don't have any worries there. If I swap my engine (350 Carb, L98, or LT1) is there anything I will need to worry about with TX emissions (i.e. has to pass with '84 standards).

As you see I have thought about a motor swap and all, but for now (thanks to my budget) I am happy with the stock engine. I have been building this car for years and have only put about 100 miles on her, yeah she was that bad when I bought her, and soon she will be my daily driver. Which should help with determining the health of my 305. Besides a compression check what else should I check? All plugs, wires, rotor & cap, etc. have been replaced.

I am working on removing the hidden rust in my wheel wells right now ... any suggestions on removing that? I couldn't find replacement wheel wells so I am look to POR15 the wells, then fiberglass them (a buddy's suggestion and he would do the work), and then paint/rust proof the wells as a temp fix (about a 5 year fix, max).

Are there a lot of salvage yards? Do they have a lot of third gens? Are cost cheap or expensive? What about Autocross racing? What kind of racing is that big in west Texas (dirt is good to me too)? I know I have a lot of questions, and will appreciate any and all answers you guys/gals may be able to provide. Thanks!

(Woo Hoo, leaving the snow belt!!!)
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I did the same thing in July, left the Hudson Valley area and got back to Texas after a few years away. I'm sure you'll love being back, I konw I do.

 

I'm not an emissions expert, but I know that some states emissions compliance ceases at 20 years of age on the car.

 

new york state stops emissions testing (dyno) after 26 years
(1980 or older)