In a message dated 98-09-22 14:31:31 EDT, jfritz@DECORAH.K12.IA.US writes:

<< After a recent posting asking about buying a California Westy and shipping
it back to Iowa, I had conflicting reports about doing this because some said
it was a bad idea due to all of the Emissions equipment on it.  They said it
was a pain to keep tuned properly because of this.  Others said that the
Vanagon was able to pass CA emissions standards without any additional
equipment.  Which one is it?  I may still look in California for another
vehicle and would like the low-down.
  >>

it depends on which state you live in, and their emissions requirements.
i have a '78 Champagne edition westy, california model.  '79 was technically
the first year for the cat, but on 78 and earlier buses down to '75(?) in
Calif, they all had cats.
since the cat was not required until 79, i removed it from my westy. i live in
PA, and there is no emissions testing where i live. If your state doesnt have
stringent emissions testing requirements, i would remove the emission
components which are Calif. only. the maintenence should be easier, and you
should have a slight increase in performance.

ps - people who want to flame - remember all those big corporations who would
buy up junk cars, and  have them crushed , hoping politicians would look the
other way, to be exempt from the pollution the corporations themselves were
pouring out into the air??? the majority of autos on the road today are less
than 10 yrs old, and very clean running.

chris