It would most likely only be relevant in a handful of states the answer to this question... in most states a car would be exempt if it's old enough that it has a 301 pontiac in it. I test drove a 78 bonneville w/ regular 301 before and it had all emissions stuff intact and didn't smoke at all. I would bet the 301 just had a bad rep because lots of folks planned to swap a bigger motor and when their financial woes didnt allow it sold not so glamorous 301 equipped cars which failed promptly and caused them to have a sort of unfair reputation. I have heard some people with the 301 complain their car burns a lot of oil and overheats after a few hours of use so they can only drive the car around town. Supposedly those are the earlier 301 engines which were not quite as good.
