[elhigh]

Man, that bites.

In light of that I would hold out for another clean example that never had power steering, because that parasitic loss to keep the pump running is a big drag on your capacity. As you say they're cheap and plentiful due to the Achilles heel of the engine.

It's interesting to me to see how different countries and even states regulate vehicles.

There are lots of states in the US that have required annual vehicle inspections, some for emissions and some for general vehicle condition, often both. In the counties of Tennessee where I live and work, there are no inspections at all. You see some serious junkyard dogs rolling around here as a direct result. If it runs and you can register it, off it goes.

No visible smoke, though. There are regulations on the books that permit cops to pull you over and give citations if you're smoking up the place.