Passing stringent CA Smog check - on the way to registration

At the present time, the Endless Corrado project sits at my mechanics garage as he thoroughly checks all of my workmanship. So far, I've not made any glaring mistakes.

I've tasked him with setting all of the specs and fine tuning the timing. Furthermore, I want him to continue preparing the car for the mandatory CA Smog certificate test. This is a requirement to obtain a CA registration.

So far all has been good but my Techtonics Catalytic converter has been identified as needing replacement. Why am I not surprised?

Looking online, I see there are 49 state Catalytic converters which are not to be sold in California--and there are CA cats which are much more expensive.

So I called Joel over at Techtonics Tuning to get the low down on what was going on.

I was informed that CA has raised the already stringent requirements for automobiles--especially older automobiles such as my 1990 Corrado. Although I have an OBD Excempt car, I am still required to equip the car with a Catalytic converter that is OBD2 Compliant. Furthermore, Techtonics has gone the extra mile and fully qualified themselves to build and certify CA Compliant Catalytic converters.

Joel tells me the CA cat is a 2.25" matrix. This is somewhat smaller than the CAT I had on there previously but he assured me that Techtonics has done extensive flow testing with this CAT and it has similar flow characteristics as their other catalytic converters. I should not worry about restrictions. These are all built to order so he will fabricate the cat to mate up with my downpipe and to match the fittings on the other end with their 2.25" Aluminized Exhaust.

Joel told me that he'd seen CA converters for $700+. While my Mechanic could source a qualifying cat for $450, Joel will fabricate a custom cat to match my Techtonics exhaust for $350. SOLD!

It was shipped and arrived on my doorstep three days later.

The Techtonics catalytic converter--like all of their other items--is well made and fits perfectly. Most important is the CA tag which smog inspectors must identify during the visual portion of the smog check. Lastly, Techtonics provides the qualifying certificate along with their famous decal. With this installed, I should be able to move forward with the smog check and finally get the registration and paperwork completed.

The Endless Corrado project will soon be assaulting asphalt.