All i have to say: May God have mercy on your RX-7's Soul.. Muwahahahahah

it is possible to pass, best advice, run the engine hard before you bring it in, so you get all that gunk out of the exhaust, and make sure you don't turn it off, keep it running while you are waiting for the test, this way the engine will stay hot, and all the harmful gasses will burn off.

 

That is correct, i just got my 82 wagon smogged so i got one of those little pamphlets, atleast for new cars like 2004 and up, they only need smog tests every 4 years, and ones in 2006 can go for 5.

 

My '79 RX-7 arrived yesterday from WI.
Taking her down to the local Calif. test station on Saturday for "judge, jury and (gulp) execution??

Holy crap am I nervous!

 

another thing you might want to do is get a new catalytic converter put in. I did that with my gsl-se and it passed perfectly. I am still running RBheader and full Magnaflow exhaust btw.

 

That might work.........(no cats on 79-80.........thermal reactor)

The nuclear reactors have their own set of problems,but they are actually pretty effective exhaust scrubbers when they work right.The trick is keeping them hot without burning to the ground.Thats the point to the trailing ignition cut-off and the heat exchanger and the extra tailpipe out the back.....its all there to regulate the reactors temp.
Plus theyre very heavy,something like 80lbs hanging off the side of the engine.Best thing to do in my opinion is pitch the whole mess and upgrade to a full 81-85 smog setup.Manifold,carb,intake,exhaust,ignition.Its much lighter,you can use a modern 3 way cat,no more points,itll all bolt up and youll increase your milage quite a bit with the leaner running 81-85 carb.Just find a wrecked car in the boneyard or a scrapper from a private party(you know,one of those $200 clunkers),then just swap it all over.

 

Thanks for all the feedback and advice!
I passed the CA smog test with my '79 RX-7 today!